If you want to manage the cost of Restaurant Insurance, you must manage risk. Food delivery, which has skyrocketed since the pandemic began, poses new risks that need to be addressed.
According to SevenRooms, two in five restaurants began offering food delivery services due to pandemic-related closures in 2020. Many turned to third-party delivery services as restaurants that did not formerly offer food delivery scrambled to adjust.
In 2020, more than 45 million Americans used a food delivery app - a 25% increase over 2019. Between 2019 and 2020, Grubhub grew its customer base by 35%. On average, consumers have two delivery apps on their phones that they use three times per month. However, most off-premise orders - 78% -were still placed directly with the restaurant, and only 22% were placed through third-party platforms.
Experts and three in ten restauranteurs do not expect the demand for food delivery to decrease significantly in 2021 once indoor dining is back to full capacity. So, whether you hire your delivery people or use a third-party, it looks like food delivery is here to stay.
Two of the most significant risks with food delivery are food safety and food quality, which should always be a top priority with any restaurant. Ensuring the safety and quality of the food you serve in-house is challenging enough. Start shipping that food off with employees and third-party drivers in extreme weather conditions, and you have a whole new set of challenges. Fortunately, there are several steps you can take to help minimize those risks.
Temperature
When it comes to both safety and quality, temperature is a key component. To begin, you'll want to keep food safe before it's picked up. Timing drivers and food delivery isn't an exact science. Keep cold foods in the fridge or cooler and hot foods in a warmer, only transferring the food to the driver at the last possible moment.
Then consider how you keep hot foods hot during frigid temperatures and cold foods cold during hot temperatures. You may need to invest in insulated food delivery bags, coolers, ice packs, food warmers, or heat packs.
The packaging you use can also make a difference. For example, Styrofoam containers are good insulators and help keep food hot; however, they aren't considered as environmentally friendly as some of the other options. Aluminum foil also holds in heat, keeps steam from escaping, and is relatively inexpensive but not appropriate for all food types. On the other hand, a vented container helps reduce moisture buildup, which helps keep french-fries from becoming soggy.
Hot food should never be packaged in the same container as cold food. At the most basic level, that means not putting ice cream and hot soup in the same bag. But also consider keeping foods within the same meal separate. For example, a cold salad with hot chicken might not fare too well in a 15-30-minute car ride, so you may want to consider keeping the chicken in a separate container and allowing the diner to mix the two. This will help minimize cross-contamination and result in a more tasty and appealing salad.
Prevent Food Tampering
You know what it's like driving home with hot fresh French fries in your car. They smell so good, and your mouth begins to water. You can't wait to get home and dig in, and you may even "steal" a few fries to hold you over until you get home. Many food delivery drivers face the same temptation.
Your customers would probably be shocked to discover that a survey conducted by US Foods found that nearly 30% of delivery drivers are snacking on the food they're delivering. Gulp! 30%! One way to avoid food tampering is with tamper-evident labels. If a driver tries to open a package with a tamper-evident label, the seal is broken, and it's clear the food has been tampered with.
Choose Your Drivers or Third-Party Delivery Company Carefully
Hiring your own drivers gives you more control over your customers' experience, but finding good drivers can be challenging. Finding good drivers starts with the hiring process, developing specific protocols, and focusing on training. TouchBistro offers more tips.
If you're working with a third-party delivery company, make sure drivers are provided appropriate equipment for maintaining temperatures and that they aren't making too many stops before delivering your food. Restaurant Clicks offers more tips.
Get the Right Restaurant Insurance
Despite every precaution you take, things happen. A customer gets food contamination, one of your drivers is in an accident, someone hacks into your system and accesses customer data.
The right Restaurant Insurance – such as Liability, Commercial Auto, and Cyber Insurance - will protect your business if/when something does happen. Give one of the American Insuring Group's independent agents a call at (800) 947-1270 or (610) 775-3848 or connect with us online.
