COVID-19 has driven up demand for at-home food deliveries, making it currently one of the most rapidly evolving areas of foodservice. The line between retail and restaurant channels is rapidly blurring and food brands are looking to branch out of traditional platforms to sustain consumer engagement.

Kerry’s latest analysis underscores the influence of shifting meal ordering occasions over the F&B landscape, while the rise of “dark kitchens” and new smart delivery technologies are helping pandemic-impacted brands adapt and power through.

“Our report contains a broad range of insights that food businesses can leverage throughout the current crisis,” Elaine Druhan, foodservice marketing manager for Kerry Europe and Russia, tells FoodIngredientsFirst.

“Comfort is key to delivery, with family mealtimes and sharing occasions rising in popularity. In our report, we look at these growing dayparts as well as occasions and timings of delivery, for example bordering early in the week instead of just at weekends.”

The report flags that there is a grocery food ecosystem that aligns with the restaurant delivery ecosystem. This is posed as the “big question” regarding the future of F&B retail, which remains opaque at present as the pandemic continues.

Kerry presents the question: “Are the big players in each of the different food delivery options – from grocers to full service restaurants – about to encroach on each other’s spaces in this ecosystem?”

In particular, prepared food brands and manufacturers are expected to capitalize on the growing delivery market. As these companies endeavor to extend their brands to at-home consumers, partnerships with third party delivery providers will be a focal point for industry.

“The way in which the consumer will engage with prepared food brands will change, brands we once only bought through retail/convenience channels can become available at home/on-the-go as delivery grows,” the company notes.

Restaurant brands must have a clear strategy for delivery that complements existing business, from resources needed, menu suitability and consumer demand, Druhan observes. “We spoke to a number of industry experts to share their views on how this can be done.”

“The value of the market in Europe pre-COVID-19 was estimated at €17.5 billion (US$ 20.4 billion) but is set to grow to €21.8 billion (US$25.4 billion) by 2024, representing year-on-year growth of 26.5 percent,” she details.

“From apps to drones, we looked at new technologies and innovations that will make delivery more efficient and enhance the consumer’s delivery experience.”

The rise of dark kitchens
Foodservice delivery is evolving at lightning speed as a result of the current environment and is not likely to slow down anytime soon. “Innovation is key to survival,” Druhan envisions. “Technology and dark kitchens will also play an important role.”

Dark kitchens are kitchens used by restaurant brands and virtual brands to prepare meals exclusively for the online delivery market. They offer restaurants the opportunity to pool resources and reduce overheads, increasing their capacity to better serve the consumer.

“These facilities can be shared by restaurants or owned by large chains whose restaurants struggle to meet the demand for delivery. The benefit for these brands is that they can ensure dine-in consumers and delivery consumers are receiving the same experience,” says Druhan.

“More and more operators are either engaging with shared or owned dark kitchens, with multiple virtual brands taking full advantage without the hassle of costly overheads.”

Technology already plays a role in delivery, with apps being the norm for some years now. However, Druhan forecasts that this will accelerate in the coming months and sustained in the years ahead.

“The most exciting innovations include those around technology and how our food will be delivered in the future. Will it be via drones, autonomous vehicles or robots?”

“In the US, Uber is preparing to test its new drone delivery service for UberEats. If these are successful, a commercial launch is set for 2023,” she highlights.

Hygiene innovation case study
Food safety remains a high priority for consumers ordering take-out during the pandemic, with new technological solutions being leveraged to curb the spread of the disease.

In this space, Creator in San Francisco, US, has engineered a sealed transfer chamber to isolate restaurant operations from outside air with a self-sanitizing takeout-window conveyor belt. Spotlighted in Kerry’s report, the company provides heat-sealed bags – labeled with a tamper-proof sticker for extra reassurance – for delivery drivers or customers to pickup.

Creator’s culinary device prepares your burger, from start to finish, inside its transparent containment box. This includes tasks like slicing the bun, tomatoes, onions and pickles while grinding and delicately shaping meat into patties and griddling them. 

All refrigeration and cooking processes are under the precise watch of a computer-controlled system rather than “eyeballing-it”. Each burger is built completely inside a takeout box and never touched by staff.

The future of consumer engagement
In summary, Kerry observes a shift toward a data centric foodservice model. In this context, knowledge is key, with an expectation of companies to invest in consumer data oversight.

Moving ahead, digital engagement with consumers is valuable. Utilizing data to drive micro targeted marketing campaigns is a prime strategy to meet this goal.

Meanwhile, consolidation is unavoidable in the current climate, and is expected to increase the lock-in power of large delivery providers. Looking at the future of foodservice, the merging of retail and restaurant ecosystems will present “new players and winners” alike.

Indeed, industry players have been actively scaling up their in-house activities. Impossible Foods, for instance, recently launched a new e-commerce site for its US consumers to purchase family-size quantities of the plant-based Impossible Burger.

In March, a new virtual “in store” concept by LifeStyles in 360 debuted, allowing consumers to shop from their homes thanks to virtual reality technology, paired with a white-glove delivery service.

For more pandemic-related headlines and guidance to navigate your business through this challenging period, readers can follow FoodIngredientsFirst’s COVID-19 updates.