Food on Demand: With Hybrid Delivery Model, Wing Zone Sales are Up

While foodservice brands across segments are scrambling to stay afloat during an unprecedented crisis for the industry, Atlanta-based Wing Zone has managed not only to survive but to thrive throughout the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

According to an article in Food on Demand, the popular wing franchise has enjoyed booming sales in recent weeks and is looking to hire workers and drivers across the country. Despite missing out on March Madness, one of the most popular times of the year for the brand, Wing Zone’s sales have surpassed sales from the same period last year.

“For us, direct delivery is a more profitable customer for us,” said co-founder and CEO Matt Friedman. “We want to control the profit, and let’s not pull any punches, these third-party delivery services are charging 30 percent off the top and it’s a huge hit for restaurants.”

Friedman attributes some of the brand’s success to a clear communication plan he established with all franchise owners, which included a webinar led by an expert from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in order to ensure the most safe and successful contactless delivery.

“In this time, just pulling everyone together and letting people talk is really important, and it’s the beautiful thing of being in a smaller franchise group,” Friedman said.

According to the Food on Demand, the brand had not previously offered curbside pickup and rolled out several new procedures and standards for its franchise owners, including limiting customers coming into the stores wherever possible. The brand’s franchise owners have continued to use the brand’s online platform and are also free to set up third-party delivery programs if they choose. Friedman expects an even greater surge in restaurant sales and catering orders when restaurants open due to positive delivery experiences with the brand during this time.

“There’s gotta be something good that comes of this for your particular brand or business, so we’re just looking at it from that perspective,” said Friedman. “I have a corporate team and a franchisee network with that mentality, and it’s contagious.”

Friedman has also recently outlined the steps that the wing franchise is taking to ensure contactless delivery by sanitizing every touch point from the moment that food is taken out of the kitchen to the moment that it’s delivered to the door, which can be found here.

Read the full article at foodondemandnews.com

.