When someone decides to go out for a meal, today's foodservice industry offers more options than ever before. Choices range from fast food to fine dining, with seemingly endless selections in between.
That's great news for hungry consumers, but you're at their service.
As the restaurant owner or manager, you're responsible for making the best first impressions and cultivating long-term customer loyalty. The job is even more challenging in a healthy fast-casual setting.
You're dealing with unique issues that need smart solutions. As one of California's leading produce growers and suppliers, we're positioned to share insider ideas that make a real difference.
Read on.
What Challenges Do Healthy Fast-Casual Restaurants Face?
1. Overcoming the Fast-Food Pigeonhole
Most consumers associate fast food with an in-and-out encounter. Typically, they don't think of it as a dining experience that offers nutritious ingredients, such as premium produce.
How do you change customer perceptions about your specific type of fast-casual dining?
Smart Solution: Make it clear that your restaurant serves healthy meals without compromising customer time or taste.
Market your menu options as served quickly, ready to enjoy in-house, or as take-out. Highlight how each selection is crafted from healthy ingredients. It all sets you apart from the typical fast-food competition.
2. Keeping Restaurant Employees Happy
The pace in a fast-casual setting pushes staff through peak hours, requiring precision to the task at hand and a solid team attitude. Downtime is often filled with daily routines that require focused attention to detail.
How do you minimize staff turnover and maximize critical employee retention in a fast-casual environment?
Smart Solution: Treat every employee with respect as an individual and a valuable team member. When issues come up, ask for their input. Involve them in real-time problem-solving.
Happy employees enjoy their work, make your job easier, and help ensure the best customer experience.
3. Holding Down Premium Ingredient Costs
The best ingredients are usually more expensive, and that drives up your cost per serving.
This is often true with menus built around premium produce. The vegetables and leafy greens that make your fast-casual restaurant stand out can also make it harder to stay on top of food costs.
Smart Solution: Implement strict storage, prep, and service policies that reduce food waste from the loading dock to customer tables, including:
Stocking premium low-waste ingredients
Multiple daily inventory checks
First in, first out ingredient policies
Carefully calculated portion controls
4. Managing Seasonal Supply Chain Issues
In general, consumers don't give the same consideration to ingredients in traditional fast food that they reserve for healthier menus. Customers expect selections in a health-focused setting to be made with fresh, premium ingredients that reflect the farm-to-table movement.
As the owner or manager of a healthy fast-casual restaurant, how do you consistently stock the freshest vegetables regardless of seasonal supply chain issues?
Smart Solution: Always source ingredients from a trusted grower with a proven track record for supplying the best products available, like Hitchcock Farms. Our company has grown and shipped premium products across the country year-round for over 30 years.
5. Breaking the Bonds of Limited Menu Options
Consumers stay loyal to menus they enjoy, especially those with options that let them customize their meals. This tends to focus their preferences on narrow types of favorite fast foods.
Potential customers don't realize they're overlooking the healthy variety of selections available at your restaurant.
Smart Solution: Put your culinary creativity to work. Expand the menu to include different versions of premium produce served as appetizers, sides and entrees.
Blend silky, rich dips from fresh fava beans.
Win new customers with custom citrus salads.
Surprise with sensational veggie pizza combos.
Focus on different dietary choices, such as gluten-free options. Let staff help promote the changes. Train them to engage customer interest in your new, adaptable menu options.
6. Expanding Your Marketing Outreach With a Limited Budget
Advertising for the fast-food industry recently topped $5 billion. The big brands continue to grow, opening new locations every year. Limited marketing budgets and fewer locations can slow growth for smaller fast-casual restaurants.
Smart Solution: Stretch your advertising budget with the help of online marketing professionals. Choose a company that can demonstrate experience working with the foodservice industry. The right marketing pros know how to keep your restaurant visible across multiple platforms.
7. Distinguishing Your Brand From the Competition
Every business needs to stand out from the competition, but current industry numbers are staggering. The bulk of last year's sales, mainly generated by 50 companies, totaled over $330 billion.
How do you elevate your healthy fast-casual brand and gain market share over a highly competitive fast-food field?
Smart Solution: Add consumer education to your marketing outreach. Customers want to make healthy choices, so make sure they know your brand is unique because of its commitment to sourcing fresh, nutritious ingredients.
8. Opening Up to Online Ordering for in-House Service
Consumers are accustomed to ordering meals online, and they don't want the option limited to delivery only. They use the time-saving convenience to streamline drive-through orders or hold a table inside.
How do you capture this customer preference and stay in control of incoming orders?
Smart Solution: Think of this additional service as an extension of your in-house POS system. Discuss different online ordering solutions with your marketing partners. They have the technical knowledge and real-time experience necessary to help you make the best digital choices for your healthy fast-casual menu.
9. Implementing Affordable Meal Delivery Options
Meal delivery has evolved from a consumer convenience into a service that diners expect on demand. Without the option, you lose sales to competitors and narrow your opportunities to connect with new customers.
Smart Solution: Third-party delivery companies continue to grow and partner with foodservice operations. Their fees are offset by the immediate connection between your menu and satisfied customers.
Some smaller fast-casual operations hire additional staff specifically to develop in-house meal delivery systems.
Serving You With Smart Solutions
As a foodservice pro, you know size isn't everything. You don't have to post huge sales numbers to earn consumer loyalty. Expansion isn't as important as serving the best possible menu in your healthy fast-casual restaurant.
You do want the business to grow. You look forward to increasing profits and elevating brand recognition. Regardless of the challenges, you can count on us here at Hitchcock Farms.
We're here to help with smart solutions developed from years of experience in the foodservice industry. It's always our goal to serve you with our best, from our fields to your tables.
