What is the Future of Food Delivery?

The food delivery industry has experienced tremendous growth in the last two years due to the pandemic. With online food delivery sales estimated to grow to $220 billion by 2023, restaurants sought to cash in on this growing trend, so most resorted to food delivery. Approximately 60% of consumers order food at least once a week. Understanding the future of food delivery helps restaurant operators to keep up with the new market trends, consumer’s needs, and to beat competition. keep reading to discover what food delivery trends are in store for you.

Increased third-party delivery

It is now standard practice for restaurants to partner with third-party delivery services to increase their delivery services to suit all times of the day. Think DoorDash and Uber Eats.

Even though this places control in the hands of third-party delivery companies, they provide food delivery apps with delivery management software that offers food tracking. These third-party providers take the pressure off running an in-house delivery vehicle fleet.

Who are the major players in this field, and how do they compare to each other? Learn more about the top five food delivery apps.

To-go alcohol

The future of food delivery will expand to include ghost bars. These essentially employ the same concept as ghost kitchens; the only difference is that they serve To-Go alcohol.These are alcohol drinks & cocktails prepared on site and sold curbside or delivered to customers. That presents some hygiene & delivery packaging challenges, but you can allay customer fears using SecureIt tamper evident labels. These prove that no one has tampered with the drink, so you get it delivered safe and sealed to your customer.For those restaurants operating in states that have allowed alcohol deliveries, a novel opportunity is present. How can you operate under new restrictions? We have several tips for navigating the latest restaurant trend. Lear more about alcohol delivery.

Zero waste

The environment is in a bad way, and one way to help mother earth is by using environmentally friendly products. Many restaurants are joining the zero waste movement, using reusable or ecologically friendly containers. Also, restaurants offer drop-off points where customers can return containers for reuse or recycling.

Restaurant-owned delivery fleets

Rather than outsourcing to third-party delivery companies, you can come up with your delivery fleet. Food businesses owning their delivery fleet save thousands of dollars in revenue while improving service delivery.

Food delivery subscriptions

The food delivery subscription service has a global market value of $17.9 billion. There is a growing interest in meal kits among several demographics, more so millennials.

Some prioritize specialized food subscriptions, like no-gluten, vegan, paleo, or organic food. Food delivery apps include services from meal kit providers, making it easier to deliver specialized meals straight to a consumer’s doorstep.

Exploiting new channels to place orders

The future of food delivery involves integrating new channels to place orders, in addition to traditional channels. These new avenues include social media, virtual assistants, and smart devices.

For instance, Domino’s allows customers to place an order on Twitter. Customers can also use their wearable devices to place orders at the restaurant.

Cloud kitchens

Ghost or cloud kitchens emerged following pandemic directives to social distance and stay indoors. Since people could no longer dine in restaurants, their only option was to order food.Lockdowns forced a lot of restaurants to operate from their kitchens only, preparing and delivering food to where customers were courtesy of food delivery apps. Enter the cloud or ghost kitchen.

Even though the term ghost kitchens may illicit thoughts of a haunted kitchen, the actual meaning is more mundane. Ghost kitchens are food preparation areas with no dining room, no waiters, and no parking lot. As part of food delivery trends, these kitchens make it easy to prepare food for off-delivery consumption.  Laern more about Ghost Kitchens – All the Information You Need to Know

Final word – What food delivery trends spell for food businesses

With online food orders growing faster than ever, the biggest challenge is delivery. The quest for quick and efficient food delivery has spawned innovative food delivery trends such as third-party food delivery, to-go alcohol, and ghost kitchens.

Shop online at dotit.com, or Contact us  today and  learn more about Dot It brand fulfillment solutions and services that allow you to streamline your restaurant operation at sales@dotit.com, or call 800-642-3687