05 May 3 Tips for Ensuring Consistent Quality of Takeout Food Orders
The food service industry is always changing and evolving, but the past few years have represented a seismic shift in how business is done. For instance, while takeout and delivery have always been an important part of many restaurants’ business plans, those elements now are absolutely crucial.
Here are three tips and tricks to help your products travel better:
- Up to 86% of Americans report ordering takeout or delivery at least once a week (source: smallbizgenius.net).
- 59% of millennial consumers’ orders are for takeout or delivery (source: Fundera).
- Takeout and delivery revenues are predicted to hit $43 billion by 2025 (source: Hotel Tech Report).
- Ghost kitchens, which have no dining room and are designed for takeout and delivery only, were valued as a $43.1 billion industry in 2019, and are expected to grow to $71.4 billion by 2027 (source: National Retail Federation).
These statistics are staggering! The
opportunity for food service operators to grab a slice from this business bread
basket is huge, but shifting more resources to takeout and delivery comes with
particular challenges. Foremost among them: how can operators ensure takeout
and delivery quality?
Here are three tips and tricks to help your products travel better:
Pack Item Separately
Compromised texture is a big problem with takeout food. One- or two-ounce plastic cups with lids are great for packing dressings, sauces and condiments, allowing the customer to assemble the finished dish at home. It doesn’t stop there! Toppings like herbs, chopped nuts, slaws, seeds, salsas, etc., often work best packed on their own and separate from the dish. Soups, like ramen and pho, can be packed with the broth and other ingredients in different containers. Composed dishes with sauces, like biscuits and gravy or curry and rice, can also be packed separately for best results. Taking this extra step will pay off when all of the dish’s components are assembled in the moments before the customer enjoys them.
Choose To-Go Vessels Wisely
There are so many kinds of takeout containers available these days! Brothy, saucy dishes, like pastas, soups and stews fare best in sturdy plastic containers with tight-fitting lids. Styrofoam containers hold heat relatively well, and are a good choice for tacos, burritos and barbecue platters. Foil containers are best for food that’s meant to be reheated or finished at home, and cardboard and compostable materials are great for cold dishes, or anything that’s not too hot or oily. Deli sandwiches can simply be wrapped tightly in foil or wax paper, while others like fried chicken sandwiches and burgers should get packed up in boxes.
Use Quality Ingredients — And Treat Them Right
So many to-go dishes’ fate comes down to the quality of the ingredients used and how they’re prepared. Tribeca Oven’s bread, sandwich carriers and burger buns travel exceptionally well, thanks to our artisan baking methods, which build flavor and integrity into every product. There’s an art to baking bread that creates an appealing, tender crumb while still maintaining shape and structure. It’s that expert balance that sets us apart and makes our breads such a popular choice with our food service operator partners, whether for to-go or in-house diners.
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