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How Restaurant Franchises Can Take Advantage of the Shift to Off-Site Ordering
A QSR Magazine report looks at how some foodservice chains have gone beyond takeout and delivery.
As restaurants across the country have been forced closed in compliance with social distancing orders over the past two months, many brands have turned to off-site ordering to stay afloat, and certain segments, like pizza delivery, have even seen an uptick in orders. But the shift to off-site ordering, which increasingly promises to stick around even after dining rooms reopen, offers perhaps a greater opportunity than many restaurants realize.
In a special report published Monday, QSR Magazine looked at some restaurant chains who are taking full advantage of off-site ordering, and the results may be instructive for any restaurant franchise that hopes to compete during or after the COVID-19 crisis.
130-unit fast-casual franchise Dog Haus remains closed for dine-in, but its kitchens are still turning out food for delivery through apps like DoorDash and Uber Eats. But Dog Haus isn’t just delivering its own food; under a new umbrella company called Absolute Brands, the franchise is operating eight virtual brands out of its existing kitchens, effectively turning one brand into 8 without any additional brick-and-mortar infrastructure.
The thinking behind The Absolute Brands goes like this: Platforms like DoorDash and Uber Eats only allow restaurants to identify a few searchable keywords. Dog Haus has selected key terms like burgers, hot dogs, and Americana. Those are great for much of the menu, but they don’t do anything to draw a user who’s looking for something like a chicken sandwich. By creating the Bad Mutha Clucka virtual brand around its chicken sandwiches, Dog Haus maximizes the company’s exposure on delivery apps with virtually the same amount of effort from employees in the back of house.
Wow Bao, too, is experimenting with expansion through off-premise delivery, but rather than creating its own new brands, the Asian-inspired eatery is offering a version of its concept for resale by other brands.
With just a few pieces of equipment and a box of its frozen product, just about any store with a kitchen can start selling Wow Bao buns out the back door to third-party delivery drivers, president Geoff Alexander says.
“We believe that any kitchen can be a dark or ghost kitchen,” he says.
Other franchises have used delivery as a way to build their brand in new markets before investing heavily in new units. Hurricane Grill & Wings’ parent company, FAT Brands, is giving the emerging franchise an introduction into new markets by integrating it into sister brand Fatburger’s existing kitchens.
That allowed the company to introduce its predominantly East Coast Hurricane’s concept into new markets without investing heavily in new stores. And it instantly doubles the local market presence on third-party apps without introducing an untested concept.
Whether or not those off-premise innovations continue to pay off after dining rooms reopen, they indicate an marked attitude shift among franchisors, many of whom are no longer concerned solely with surviving the coronavirus crisis and are now looking to take advantage of a new consumer landscape.
