Notably, the rise of street food stalls has evolved from outdoor markets since the outbreak of Covid19.
What was once considered a hipsters craze, street food and pop-ups have grown significantly quicker than the fast food market. As of 2018, the street food market consists of 2,000 businesses, equating to a value of £1.2 billion. But what’s changed?
In this blog, we uncover the rise of street food stalls and pop-up experiences and understand if this will be the new normal of restaurant dining moving forward.
For the experiential diner searching for something unusual when it comes to the eating experience, pop-up stalls and street food are extremely versatile in their offerings. Whether it's a unique setting, a personal encounter with the chef, or a creative menu or theme, pop-ups have the advantage of allowing for a new level of creativity and freedom that traditional restaurants don't always offer.
There’s nothing better than enjoying a hot dog straight from your hands for many people. Complete with the smell of frying onions and a variety of flavours, the rise in street food stalls boils down to the unique offerings, limited time frames, and authentic experiences.
According to Caterers.com, 48% of consumers have admitted to prioritising an authentic dining experience over the price of the food. What appears to appeal the most is the widest possible range of countries and cultures. Typically for the taste bud travellers, sampling the different foods at mobile events offers a much more authentic dining experience than many high street restaurants.
The true novelty of pop-ups is the idea that they’re not permanent, so this creates a sense of urgency among consumers to try the food whilst it’s available to them. Pop-ups are a great option for festivals, one-time events, and chefs or restaurateurs who want to 'test the waters' for a new concept.
It’s no secret that Covid-19 has played a role in the rise of street food stalls and pop-ups. During the pandemic, many small businesses turned to pop-ups and delivery as a means of creating a living whilst indoor dining was restricted. Knowing there was popularity around pop-up dining at outdoor markets, many saw the opportunity to flourish in the pandemic. Not only this, but the idea of outdoor dining offered a sense of safety with social distancing being easier to maintain outdoors.
These pop-ups specifically attract the foodies who dine out more frequently in search of refreshing eating experiences. Most pop-up events are low-key affairs that are only discovered via invitation or word of mouth, giving the event a sense of exclusivity and therefore resulting in the gradual rise of street food stalls and pop-ups.
Additionally, many people are drawn to the idea of getting their hands on food that is freshly prepared in front of them. Not only this, but they simultaneously support small businesses and learn about other cuisines in their purest form by eating street food. Trying different foods and roaming among pop-ups and stalls with friends and family is a great way to spend a day, which ultimately offers so much more than any restaurant could.
Albeit there is a rise in street food stalls and pop-up dining, will this remain a trend or will it gradually transform the restaurant experience for good?
With a recorded 82% growth in the industry following a survey from Eventbrite, it is clear that street food could soon fase out as a trend and become part of UK culture. Many workers can now buy their lunch at street food carts and eat something healthy, affordable, and unique. There are numerous food trends, but the speed with which food is prepared is something that restaurants just cannot match. Sitting down to eat can take up to two hours of your day, whereas street food is a quick alternative that provides both authenticity and a sense of community.
Considering the rise of street food stalls and pop-up markets is only growing, it’s difficult to see a future without them functioning as just a trend. As things progress forward, many chain restaurants could look towards a pop-up dining offering to ensure their consumers can enjoy both a sit-down dining experience and a street food one as well.
Whilst some restaurants offer a variety of food, it's not unusual for mainstream chains to offer generic dishes for the customers that prefer to play it safe with their food choices.
The rise of the street food experience isn’t for everyone as a lot of consumers look forward to relaxed sit-down dining where they can browse the menus, enjoy the food from a plate, and have quality time with friends and family at their own leisure. As a result of this, there is still a strong desire for restaurant dining. Soon after the Covid-19 regulations began to relax, restaurants were flooded with bookings as people had missed the interactions and experiences that restaurant dining offers.
Although street food dining is more accessible and casual, there is a gradual increase in independent and unique restaurants offering something more exclusive to their diners. For example, restaurants such as Miyako Teppanyaki have live cooking where you can watch the chefs cook your meal before your eyes. Other establishments such as Gaucho, Adam’s, and Marco Pierre White offer Michelin star ratings or sit-down meals in decadent surroundings with stunning views and sensational service. Some of these factors can be much more valuable than the convenience of street food and offer refreshing new experiences than regular high street restaurants.
It is possible that as consumers, we can enjoy a healthy balance of both restaurants and street food stalls. Trying to imagine the food industry with no sit-down dining would be almost impossible as it is enjoyed by so many.
Respectively, both experiences offer something different and although the rise of street food stalls and pop-ups can never take over the traditional sit-down dining at a restaurant, they’re definitely here to stay.
Is your restaurant website working hard enough?
In the next of our Restaurant Marketing Unlocked series, we’re bringing key marketing insight that will help inform your restaurant’s website design.
We take a closer look at how optimising your website’s capabilities will ensure you’re securing regular bookings once reopen.
Heard of the phrase ‘Hangry’? Customers aren’t very patient when they’re hungry, so your website will need to be stress-free for users to browse your menu, book a table and place their order online to ensure they don’t choose a competitor over your restaurant.
Your website will need to load quickly - ideally in less than 2 seconds to satisfy the 47% of users who expect this online. It will also need to immediately instil a sense of authenticity amongst customers, with research by Blue Corona finding users decide in less than 10 seconds whether they trust a company based on the design of their website.
We touched upon how online ordering can be easily set up and branded in our previous Restaurant Marketing blog looking at how to plan your new menus.
Integrating online ordering into your website doesn’t have to be costly or difficult, there’s plenty of options out there to choose from. It’s just about finding the platform that best works for your business.
By integrating online booking or menu ordering systems into your restaurant’s website design, it reduces face-to-face contact. Some of these systems also have the option of creating an app, allowing customers to choose a platform that works best for them.
With in-app or online ordering, you’ll be able to gather details on the most popular dishes to help streamline your menu, whilst collecting customer data. If you’re able to gather consent for marketing at the point of sale, you’ll also be able to use this customer data for campaigns in the future.
Although there is a high volume of consumers ready and waiting to dine out, you may have customers who still want to enjoy your food but do not feel ready to eat in public.
With an online booking system in place on your website, you can extend the service and open up a new revenue stream to cater for click & collect and delivery orders as well as in-house diners.
Consider encouraging customers to pre-order meals and how you might stagger your collection times to avoid too many people queuing outside your restaurant.
In our latest whitepaper ‘How to get your restaurant open for business within the current government guidelines’, we delve deeper into ensuring your website is optimised to maximise bookings and how to choose the right online ordering platform for your restaurant.
Analysing your current website and making changes to maximise table bookings or click & collect and delivery orders, will ensure your restaurant has multiple revenue streams in the future. By optimising your restaurant’s website design you will:
Sound good?
Download our free whitepaper today to get the inspiration and insight you need to optimise your website to boost table bookings or click & collect and delivery. .
As part of our Restaurant Marketing Unlocked series, we’ll be letting you in on key marketing insight that will help your restaurant bounceback once reopen.
This time around we're looking at how to ensure your restaurant’s reopening internal safety information is on-brand.
For restaurants to safely reopen, Government advice includes ensuring social distancing and hygiene notices are clearly available for customers to view inside your restaurant.
Almost half (47%) of consumers questioned in research carried out by restaurant intelligence platform Yumpingo, said their key criteria for choosing where to dine in the future will be based on a restaurant’s social distancing policies - especially if they exceed the legal requirements.
The difficulty for all restaurants reopening will be striking the balance between informing customers on the importance of following rules, in a way that doesn’t disturb the ambience and is still on-brand.
Plastering glaring and garish safety notices everywhere will not only impact the interior design of your restaurant, but also detract from the experience for customers who dine out for that sense of escapism.
Whether it’s your signage, posters or floor markers, keep your internal messaging consistent to reassure customers.
Ensure your tone of voice is clear without being overbearing and any social distancing markers are on-brand.
In our latest whitepaper ‘How to get your restaurant open for business within the current government guidelines’, we delve deeper into how to create Covid-19 safety notices around your restaurant that are inline with your brand and still get the message across.
Customers are ready to dine out, they just need reassurance that you’re taking the situation seriously. By your restaurant reopening with internal safety information that’s consistent with your brand, it will:
Sound good?
Download our free whitepaper today to get the inspiration and insight you need to establish what internal safety information you need to create and how to do this inline with your brand.
As part of our Restaurant Marketing Unlocked series, we’re bringing key marketing insight that will help inform your restaurant’s bounceback campaign.
This week, we take a closer look at the updated government guidelines on using disposable print or digital menus for restaurants and what impact this could have on your business.
When previously it was acceptable to reuse menus during each shift, updated coronavirus guidelines indicate this can no longer be the case for restaurants. The Center for Disease Control & Prevention, advises those in the industry to look at using disposable or digital menus for restaurants to limit customer contact with commodities.
Deciding which option is right for your restaurant depends on your personal taste, budget and brand.
One option for new menus in your restaurant is to make them disposable. Disposable menu cards can be printed on paper and discarded after customer contact.
Although inline with regulations, this option could prove to be unsustainable in terms of printing costs for the long term.
Another option is to scrap individual menus altogether and instead use digital menu boards to showcase all food available.
These can be installed with ease, but some restaurant owners could find them too expensive to fit and upkeep.
There’s also the risk of diners moving around your restaurant to get a better view of the digital screens - not ideal when you’re trying to keep strict social distancing in place.
A more modern approach to Covid-friendly menus is through customers ordering via your website or app. This ensures contactless ordering and keeps customers safely seated at their tables.
It is relatively simple to set up and brand online ordering for your restaurant, you’ll just need to find the right platform that works for your business.
As well as encouraging customers who are dining in your restaurant to view your menu and order via your website or app, you could also roll this service out to the wider community.
Online ordering could be used for both click & collect or delivery, with customers directed via a link on your website for both click & collect or delivery options, providing you with ownership of customer data and a commission free service.
In our latest whitepaper ‘How to get your restaurant open for business within the current government guidelines’, we delve deeper into how to choose the right menus to suit your business that will keep both your team and customers safe.
Taking the time to analyse and weigh-up your new menu options now will save you potential problems in the future. By opting to use digital menus, you will:
Sound good?
Download our free whitepaper today to get the inspiration and insight you need to choose the right menus for your restaurant.