In the case of restaurants, this led to the creation of a completely new ‘makeaways’ market, which for Pizza Pilgrims and many other casual dining brands sat alongside the more traditional takeaway and delivery market.
Moving into traditional delivery
With two units trading when the pandemic hit, fellow branded pizza business PizzaLuxe didn’t have the scale and reach to pivot to makeaways, but it reopened quicker than most to service the booming lockdown delivery market.
“The timing of lockdown was actually quite fortunate for us because we completed a venture capital deal in February,” says founder Paul Goodale. “As the ink was drying on the deal, the world changed completely.
“One of our two sites was in an airport, so that was a no go. But I took the view that if you’re not trading then you haven’t really got a business, so I reopened our inaugural site in Leeds city centre for delivery during the first lockdown.”
Such was the delivery offer’s success, Paul took on a ‘dark kitchen’ site (ie in an off-site commercial kitchen catering for deliveries only) in the Leeds suburb of Headingley in order to get closer to his key customers. He has also taken advantage of the high availability of restaurant sites and more realistic premiums and rents that the pandemic has brought about. A third PizzaLuxe recently opened in Manchester Arndale and more sites are in the pipeline, with PizzaLuxe likely to look to explore opportunities at service stations.
“Happily our new backers have been supportive and understanding,” says Paul. “They are not asking why we have not signed any airport franchise deals, which was a core part of our growth strategy.”
Pizza Pilgrims has also taken advantage of softer property costs to launch a further three sites, bringing its total number of restaurants to 17.
A permanent change?
Both pizza businesses have done a good job of weathering the Covid-19 storm and in doing so have developed new strings to their respective bows. The big question now is one that faces many hospitality businesses: to what extent are these shifts in consumer behaviour going to be permanent?
Interestingly, according to our 2021 retail report, just under a third (32% of consumers) believe their spending habits will change permanently as a direct result of the pandemic. The report goes on to point out that changes to spending habits will depend on the product category and consumer group in question.
Unsurprisingly, sales of Pizza in the Post kits aren’t what they were in the heady days of lockdown, but it remains an important part of the business. “Typically we turn over £30,000 a week. We believe it still has huge potential,” says Thom, who is exploring ways to integrate Pizza in the Post into the Pizza Pilgrims restaurant experience – for example, giving customers the option to send a kit to a mate that’s not there – and is also considering following the likes of Pret A Manger and LEON in launching a subscription service.
Quite what will happen to the makeaway market and wider delivery market is unclear. While for some businesses it will likely fade away, others are viewing is as an important new revenue stream and a means to expand their brand by connecting with customers that aren’t in venue.
What is unquestionable is that digital will play an even bigger role for hospitality businesses going forwards, whether allowing customers to quickly and easily order makeaways via Instagram, capturing customer details at the point of booking a table, facilitating safe mobile ordering in venue or securing detailed feedback at the end of a restaurant visit.
Our report also predicts that successful retailers and leisure brands will use more sophisticated techniques to assess the quality and value of physical interactions in-store and in restaurants. This will include more wifi, video analytics and AI-powered insights.
Restaurants doing what they do best
While all this talk of new markets and technology is exciting, Thom and Paul are clear that restaurants should not lose sight of their primary function: to bring people together for a good time.
“I believe the pandemic has permanently changed our customer’s relationship with us,” says Paul. “Everyone now realises that restaurants and pubs are important for their mental health and the overall quality of their existence.”
NatWest head of retail and leisure David Scott agrees. “People have missed going out and socialising and being able to do the things they took for granted pre-pandemic,” he says. “We’re looking at a fantastic uplift for hospitality and the wider leisure sector in the short term. As the industry recovers, agility and positioning yourself as fit for the future are key, together with the acceptance that recovery will be different across the industry.”
This article was first published on BigHospitality.
