Modern Takeaway

[Sickosims]

Hello All,

My first post and im going to suggest a new style of takeaway. The concept is that every sunday 8 main meals will be suggested for takeaway the following friday and saturday evening. 4 healthy selections and 4 not so healthy. People vote until Tuesday evening when the 2 highest voted takeaways from the healthy and not so healthy sections become locked for order. Orders are then taken up until Thursday even. This way you will know exactly how much to cook so less wastage, will be able to order delivery drivers more efficiently.The only concern is you lose the spontaniety of a traditional takeaway, but this is a high quality restaurant hydbrid concept anyhow. Thoughts?

 

[Sickosims]

Does anyone have anything more insightful?

 

[seeingISbelieving]

Does anyone have anything more insightful?

Yes, don't give up the day job.

It won't work.

 

[Sickosims]

reasons?? the day jobs an accountant so any excuse

 

[seeingISbelieving]

reasons?? the day jobs an accountant so any excuse

Then being an accountant you would know that if someone selects a meal they really fancy from a list you have provided, and then find out it has been 'eliminated' . . . what % would happily take the alternative? Particularly when they can phone another place and select from a multi-choice, fully comprehensive menu.

The whole point of takeaway deliveries is the choice. Try cornering people into accepting fixed options and it simply won't work. Why do you think it's not currently being done?

 

[Sickosims]

We are becoming alot more adventurous as a nation with our choice of food, people like being exposed to, and trying new food. The main selling point is that the menu will be gastropub like in nature and not your bog standard Pizza, Indian, Chinese etc. It will be high quality which tries to broaden peoples knowledge of food with the convienience of a delivery service. There is definately nothing like this at the moment.

 

[QuickHomeBuyers]

I am going to get some food not a detailed investment advise.

Sorry but I don't see the possibilities.

 

[QuickHomeBuyers]

And I don't know what I will be eating in next 3 hours let alone 3 days later and to vote something to eat?!?!? lol

 

[ScotComp]

I usually decide the type of food and from which place I'll order about an hour before. Every time I order it's different food based on what mood I'm in so I wouldn't bother taking part in any betting system a few days before ordering.

I think it's a bad idea I'm afraid.

 

[Sickosims]

OK forget the voting system how about a takeaway which changed its menu every week??

 

[Dot Design]

Only way you'll really know is to test it on a small scale, seems overally complicated though.
Most people don't make any detailed decisions on their food choice until they are seated with the menu or are at the counter (if takeaway).

All that said, it certainly hasn't been done before (as fair as I know) so it's worth considering but I wouldn't chuck any significant money at it.

 

[a1anm]

OK forget the voting system how about a takeaway which changed its menu every week??

The main problems I see are:

- What chef's would you use who could cook all of this? I always think places which do a small number of things really well our better than places that try to do everything to a mediocre level.

- Having to decide by the Tuesday would definitely put me off. We usually don't know what we are doing over the weekend on a Tuesday so we wouldn't want to lock ourselves in to having a take away in case something else came up.

- If I did decide on the Tuesday I wanted Italian on Saturday I would probably just order from my favourite Italian. Not from somewhere which doesn't specialise in this type of food.

I can see that the idea you are going for is to try and give the customer more choice but I think the end result just limits them and makes something as easy as ordering a takeaway more difficult than it already is.

As already mentioned if you believe in the idea you could try it on a small scale and see how it went.

 

[ScotComp]

OK forget the voting system how about a takeaway which changed its menu every week??

Most people go to takeaways because that place sells a particular type of food they like. If I went to an Indian to buy a Chicken Korma because thats what I want and find it's been changed this week and it's not on the menu I'd wonder what the point is?

 

[Sickosims]

Thanks aianm, they are all points i've thought about. You wouldnt have to order on the tuesday, thats just when the menu gets locked down. It may well be that i allow people to order on the friday or saturday to offer that convience/spontaneity.

The point is that im not offering it to people who just buy a chicken korma week after week because thats what they are comfortable with, that isnt my target market. My target market are people who like to be treated on a friday/sat night who are real foodies and fancy something different from a takeaway. The idea is they then rate what they had, this gets stored in a database whereby people can then access the recipe and build another avenue to get traffic through the website. Its a social takeaway which is very differentiated.

 

[Esk247]

Your concept needs a lot of work. You need to sit down with a pen and paper and think it through as at the moment, it just seems completely random and a very difficult product/service to advertise.

Think how many different menus you'd have to produce for different products? The costs and time scales just don't work, you're going to run out of time and money before anyones even ordered anything..or worked out how to order.

I don't think you've quite understood how the trade works. 'Real Foodies' don't want a different menu every day they select the restaurants they like to eat at. They like the style of the place, the food on the menu, the weekly special, the service, the prices.

For take aways you're dealing with a different level of customer, you won't get foodies going to a take away, thats the point, its fast food on the go. You know what you're going to get before you've even go there e.g. McDonalds, everyone knows what you can buy from there, fries and a burger, sorted!

 

[a1anm]

Ok, I actually quite like the idea in theory.

It just seems like it could be very problematic and you may find it hard to get regulars as one week they'll like the option and the next they won't. If there are 4 friends all wanting food the chances of them all wanting the same dish are slim.

Myself and my girlfriend never order the same food so it would be a no go for us. She is mainly a vegetarian and I love meat so having just one dish would rule couples like us out.

Or if you have a party of people and one person doesn't like one ingredient in the dish then it rules your takeaway out for everyone.

Basically what I am trying to get at is that you our massively limiting your target market by just having one dish.

Also, If you are going for food which is a level above a takeaway then I'm not sure how well this type of food suits being delivered in a take away box? And again what chef is capable of cooking such a varied amount of food to a high standard. They will need to come up with and perfect 4 dishes every week as they won't know which one will get selected.

 

[Sickosims]

Esk what im essentially offering is a weekly special from their favourite restaurant which is then more affordable and more convienient by the form of a takeaway. The concept only works if people order, enjoy it and are then willing to try something different the following week. For me if I go to a restaurant and enjoy a particular meal I go back again, but not to eat the same thing?? It works in exactly the same manner.

 

[Vaheed Akhtar]

Hi,

It all sounds good in theory - however, having owned 3 independent take aways for the past 5,3 an 2 years - respectively, the idea will be almost impossible to execute in a profitable manner. Consistently.

Firstly, I've never known any place that can cook multiple cuisines to a high standard. Taybons is a perfect example of this. Jack of all, master of none...completely sh*t actually.

secondly, how are you planning to market this idea? Advertising cost's are high and for this sort of idea, you would need to throw allot of money at marketing - because the whole concept of it is dependent on awareness. Unlike a shop take away - where a high % of your custom will be passer byes/local residents/regulars.

I also think that the idea of having a 'take away' is more of an instinctive one, rather than a planned one. How many people here plan a week in advance about getting a Indian/chip shop/chinese cuisine? I don't. Mainly because it's dependent on my personal circumstances at the time. I might not be bothered to cook when I get home from work - I might be working late - the family might be away - we haven't had a chance to go to the supermarket etc etc.

p.s - I own 2 sandwich bars and a fish and chip shop - so my take away choice is normally a Indian style grill/chinese or Nandos.

 

[Sickosims]

Similarly to a traditional takeaway the majority of customers will be local residents who here about it through word of mouth, leaflet drops etc. In time I would hope for a takeaway premise with the possibility of some tables to use as a restaurant. For the time being I will be using a cafe which shuts at 4 and will be operating out of there for no cost as its a friend. The thought of producing the quality of one of those make indian, thai, chinese and european places is a complete no go. I have high standards.

 

[Gaskell]

Are you thinking of delivering to the customers home? if so, changing your menu weekly would be a nightmare explaining the menu on telephone orders.

 

[Salt & Paper]

The marketing costs would kill this. I can't see how you are going to get a decent return on your marketing offering just one thing - and as everyone says:

1) I don't think foodies would really buy from takeaways
2) How will you maintain the quality of the food when transporting it?
3) Where will you find chefs that can cook all these different dishes?
4) Takeaway purchases are usually spontaneous IME, not thought out days before.

Sorry to be so negative.

 

[Sickosims]

No worries, all feedback is good feedback. The food would not be anywhere near michelin starred so not into real foodies who turn their nose up at takeaways. I love good food and would order from a takeaway, but I want something homecooked and homely. Not unhealthy and greasy. My business partner has just set up a Pie takeaway shop in Clapham and is enjoying huge success, mainly because it is different to the usual takeaway offerings.

I will address the common complaint that you want the convience to order on the day and thats fine. The voting would still take place to select the weeks menu but then you can order at anytime.

I know there are many challenges when you try to change the normal process for doing something, but sometime change is good. Always look at what peple are doing and do he opposite, thats my business motto.

 

[antoine82]

Do you have any experience in catering ?
DO you know how hard it is to come up with just ONE single menu which tastes good, easy to prepare and is good value for money for both the customer and you?

You will need to try lots of different ingredients which means a lot of waste and time. You'll then need to print / rebuild all your boards/menus and this costs a fortune if you want to have it nicely done.

And last but not least, when people go to a take away, they don't want to be surprised, they want their pizza/burger/indian food.
If they know that they might not find what they want they will never come!

Sorry to say that but I really think this is a bad idea (don't take it personaly, hopefully it will save you time and money!).

Good luck anyway!

 

[Floyd Pink]

You should get Simon Cowell to tell the public which food they like and why he chose it for them. His flock of millions would be straight round to you with their menus marked.

 

[mit74]

as you mention something different is the key but your idea doesn't do it for me. Takeaway is always a last minute thing decided on the night... who is going to want to vote what dish they want the week before? If it's a hig-end yuppie thing then it might catch on with some big investment but other than that I wouldn't think it would work.

 

[daud]

this simply wouldnt work.

Changing menus every week even for the biggest takeaways and restaurant in the industry wouldn't work even with a massive marketing/advertising budget they have never mind a local small business.

Imagine getting a menu everyweek through your door:
- you will think this takeaway is having a laugh with its different menu every week.
- you will think this takeaway is trying to be jack of all trades - kind like the shops that serve kebab, chicken, indian, chinese, thai all under 1 roof which doesnt convey a high quality restaurant.

On top of this it will cost you ££££! this cost of getting this menu out to the market is all before you even had a chance to put the food on someone plate, ordering the next set of ingredients of stock for next the menu, paying for the design of the menu, organising for the menus to be distributed and this is all time consuming! time is money!

Voting system wouldn't work because people don't even bother going to the polling station nevermind a local takeaway - but you already said in one of your posts you will get rid of the voting system

Targeting real foodies? how much percentage do you really think there is that makes up your local area? probably not many
want to attract market further out? how can you get real 'healthy good tasting high standard' takeout food to someone that will probably take you 30 minutes to get to.

Takeaways are instinctive and fast food on the go. You go to somewhere where you know there is consistancy, good food, value and great service.

You may aswell offer everything you want on 1 menu. healthy section/unhealthy section abit like mcdonalds with the deli and salad part of the menu. That way your customers have the choice and something to order different each week like you say you want to achieve. In addition to that you can have a "special" of the week which you can say on the menu that they need to ask what it is or you can upsell it when a customer calls up and comes in.

 

[antoine82]

And one last thing. You say that you have high standard, which is good in my mind. I think that nowadays to succeed in this industry you have to go either for the cheap (ie Greggs) or the high quality (ie Paul). No future for the average.

But on the other hand you say you will be working from a friend's cafe. High standard means nice food but also a nice shop. How are you going to do that? Change the name on the frontshop every afternoon? Is the decoration nice enough? What about the quality of the counter? THe floor? The ceiling? To have a nice coffee shop, you can easily spend £15k for the designer and £100k for the shop itself.

This not only only about what is IN the box but also about the box itself (well I don't know if this sentence makes sense !)

 

[Sickosims]

This is purely an internet based takeaway so no need to spend money on printing the updating menus etc. . It would initially be very small, Guildford is my area and would rely on word of mouth after an initial marketing campaign.

The cafe is just where I would be operating out of and everything is over the internet so noone would know. To say that people dont use the internet to order takeaway is incorrect, just look at hungryhouse and justeat. Yes I would lose the traditional customers who want to order over the phone. Hey this is now the 21st century!

 

[Sickosims]

And can I just also say that you will be able to order at anytime, you do not need to plan in advance. The voting system was just to have something a little different. What might happen is that I will have a standard menu with a voting system to decide the weekly special.

 

[antoine82]

The cafe is just where I would be operating out of and everything is over the internet so noone would know.

So you are going to do delivery?

 

[Sickosims]

Yep, does that change your opinion for the better? haha

 

[the Chocolate]

Can't you replicate the pie takeaway idea?

 

[antoine82]

Yep, does that change your opinion for the better? haha

I must say it makes more sense .
But this will incur extra costs: software that receives the orders, staff who will make the delivery (wage + national insurance), bicyle or scooter, insurance for them, parking...

And last but not least, you might have a license issue. You are going to need an A5 license to make your delivery and your friend may have just an A1 (A3 at the best) for his cafe. And good luck to get an A5, it is quite complicated these days!

 

[SillyJokes]

You really want a new takeaway, the one genre I would buy from over and over is good noodles like Wagamama's. You never get that outside a city centre.

Other takeaways trade on being exactly the same wherever you go. It's their strong point, because the food often isn't that great, but it's always the same. This also means they can employ just about anyone because they have very structured systems that work and don't relay on the creativity of individuals.

I love noodles and they can be very healthy. Foodies love them too, if you are determined to appeal to them.

 

[Sickosims]

Its not necessrily the fact I want to create a new takeaway, its just I see a huge gap in the market. The current recession has seen alot of people opt for a takeaway instead of going out for a meal, I dont see that changing for quite a while. The problem is that the choice of takeaway is very limited where I am. Maybe something that delivered food just like your mum used to make? A nice wholesome hearty meal, from one home to another.

 

[Suzuki]

I wouldn't use the service as you aren't going to have the quality I can get at a restaurant, and you aren't going to have the convenience I can get at a regular takeaway. For me you're in a horrible place in the middle.... no way I would be paying you to serve me a sub standard meal, inconveniently.

 

[Sickosims]

I really dont see why i dont have the convenience?? You just cant order over the phone? not a real biggy these days.

 

[Suzuki]

I don't want to have to think about what I want to eat on Sunday, till its actually Sunday. I don't want other random peoples votes dictating what I can or can't order. I don't want to commit to ordering food, till its an hour before I would be eating it.

Also how are you going to get around the food selections... a lot of traditional restaurant choices are going to be a no go. Nobody is going to want to eat a steak that was cooked half an hour ago.

 

[Vectis]

Changing the menu every week really doesn't appeal.

People choose a certain take away because, in most cases, they know what they are going to get. Take away 'A' does a great pizza, take away 'B' does a brilliant prawn vindaloo. Would you go to take away 'A' for the prawn vindaloo though? No, of course not. Likewise, what would you think if you went to order a pizza from take away 'A' and found it wasn't on the menu this week?

You need to have set items on the menu so that people know what they can get from you. It seems pointless me ringing up for a pizza and you telling me there's no pizza this week but you've got a steak diane on the menu instead.

Sorry, but I can't see this catching on at all!

Perhaps you need to concentrate on building up a reputation based on quality and not changing the menu every week?

 

[Suzuki]

I'd be more interested in a service where the chefs turn up where I live, with all the ingredients. Then they cook the meal, clean up after themselves and leave.

For me that would be a viable alternative to high quality takeaway, as it completely removes the massive issue of some of the food just not transporting well.

This is obviously only an idea that would work in areas with a high concentration of wealth as I realise it wouldn't be cheap