Posted on September 28, 2021August 3, 2022 by

Finding Comfort, and Profitability, in Mobile Coffee Stations

It’s 3 a.m. in the maternity ward of the nearby hospital. An exhausted, soon-to-be father going on 36 hours of no sleep is making his way down the hallway to grab a cup of coffee to keep him alert when he needs to jump into action to help his wife.

Meanwhile, in the lobby, an excited set of grandparents arrive, ready to start their day with a hot, fresh cup of coffee, eagerly awaiting the arrival of their grandchild. While seemingly insignificant, those cups of coffee carry an enormous impact on these hospital guests seeking comfort when they need it the most.

It’s well known that foodservice plays a critical role in hospital and healthcare operations. Not only is food and beverage critical for wellness, but it can also provide comfort to both patients and visitors alike while creating profit points for operators. A hospital’s overall satisfaction ratings are largely dependent on how foodservice is perceived, and those same satisfaction ratings play a key role in an operation’s reimbursement rates.

More and more hospitals and healthcare establishments are turning to alternative points of sale as it relates to food and beverage, using otherwise unprofitable parts of a hospital and turning it into the potential for profits. Kiosks and mobile serving units are a big part of this equation. This brings us back to that cup of coffee.

Coffee Kiosks Provide Value and Profit

More than just about any other type of food and beverage operation, coffee kiosks will generate interest amongst hospital guests and visitors, but what considerations do operators need to determine before initiating a kiosk coffee program that results in high patient satisfaction?

What styles of coffee beverages are being served, and will there be additional food items or other types of beverages on the menu? This is an important determination that will impact just about every other decision, from the type of kiosk cart being used to the ordering and inventory process. Using just one espresso machine? What about syrups and other extras to add to guests’ drinks? Think about both the menu you plan to serve and the space you have to serve it.

LOCATION

Next, where will the cart be located, and is it important to be able to move the cart from place to place throughout the day or week? Again, this will impact that type of cart being used, as well as other factors such as service hours. Looking for flexibility as to where you plan to offer your coffee service? Consider portable, mobile coffee counters that can move through hallways with ease, with plug-and-play functionality.

SERVICE HOURS

Service hours are important from both a staffing and a menu perspective, as this can change depending on the certain type of daypart. At the same time, service hours will determine where coffee stations should be located. For example, if a coffee kiosk is operational 24 hours a day, during the nighttime hours, it should be located in a place where it won’t disturb sleeping patients. Lobby coffee kiosks will likely result in the highest traffic of guests, so refrigeration and sinks may be additional components to add to a kiosk, as opposed to a self-contained smaller counter.

Healthcare Foodservice Is Interdependent

As you can see, the three factors above are all interdependent on one another. Hours of service will impact location and menu and vice versa. Regardless of the decisions on the above, though, the one important factor that might provide the versatility to run an operation as desired is the actual type of kiosk being used. In healthcare, it’s important to be flexible, ready at any moment, and provide comfort when it’s needed most. Your coffee station should reflect those same characteristics.

Posted on September 7, 2021August 3, 2022 by

Making Money with Small Space Foodservice Pop-Ups on Campus

The bands are playing in the end zone and the quad is filled with tailgaters getting ready for the big game. Yes, college campuses are back in full effect, and all you need for proof are the stadiums on a Saturday afternoon.

For C&U foodservice directors, the increase in on-campus foot traffic, whether it be on gameday or on a random Wednesday morning, is an opportunity to increase revenue for the overall program. One way to achieve this is to develop otherwise unused spaces as pop-up foodservice operations.

Traditionally, college foodservice has been relegated to cafeterias. Just think about the movies. We all know the classic scene in Animal House as John Belushi moves his tray down the serving line. Today, though, college foodservice can be much more creative, in large part because of the equipment C&U directors can use to serve it.

THE TOP 3 REASONS COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES SHOULD CONSIDER POP-UP FOODSERVICE OPERATIONS

First and foremost, pop-ups contribute to profitability: By moving the point-of-sale to an area on campus that is otherwise unused, C&U foodservice directors can literally create new points of profit.
Keeping students on campus is critical for the fiscal health of a C&U foodservice operation: And if you can move the point of sale just about anywhere, why not in places of convenience that will keep students on campus rather than walking half a mile down the street?
Pop-ups provide marketability: By developing creative, mobile foodservice solutions, a college foodservice operation gains the ability to develop a brand for the overall program, much like the team all suited up in the stadium can do.

A Successful Pop-Up Depends on the Right Foodservice Equipment Solutions

Mobile, pop-up foodservice is beneficial, but it’s not easy. It requires the right planning, equipment, and training.

The teams at Lakeside and Multiteria have developed solutions specifically for this niche market, and we’d be happy to share our tips and tricks to help develop a successful C&U pop-up foodservice program.

From grab-n-go sandwich shops to coffee kiosks, we have solutions that can help turn these ideas into reality.

Posted on August 3, 2021August 3, 2022 by

Considering Multifunctional K12 Foodservice Equipment

School cafeterias don’t always have the space needed to serve students as conveniently as possible, but switching to multi-function foodservice equipment can make it easier to keep your K-12 kitchen clean, organized, and profitable. And as we’ve learned in the past year, versatility in service can be a game-changer. With the right equipment, school nutrition staff can change the points of service, adjust countertops and shelves to match menu options and grade levels, move food around, and even help maintain a sanitary cafeteria.

Let’s dig into a few important considerations when reviewing multi-function school nutrition equipment.

Allow for menu versatility.

Counters that can be adjusted to have flat tops or hold a variety of configurations of serving containers provide the highest level of flexibility and efficiency when it comes to serving different types of meals. Bulk containers of spaghetti, soup, salad, or similar menu items usually benefit from being kept in a large container that can be nested into the counter so that the food is at the level of the counter, which makes it easier to scoop without making a mess. However, regular flat counters are usually a better fit for pizza slices, sandwiches, and other solid items, which means that choosing countertops that can be filled in or left open provides the most options for efficiently serving various types of foods.

Changes the points of service.

Adding portable serving carts allows schools to move away from traditional lunch lines, instead, serving students in their seats or even in the classroom to minimize touchpoints. Lakeside’s wide variety of utility carts are able to help you find the perfect solution for your foodservice equipment needs. This was certainly critical during the COVID period. Mobile serving is easier with reliable and sizable carts that can help staff move food from the cafeteria to other parts of the school. Mobile carts can also be used for storage when they’re not in use. Though the needs for in-class service may not continue after COVID, the concept will likely continue because of the convenience it provides.

Ensure sanitation and safety.

Multi-function foodservice equipment makes it easier for schools to configure stations as needed. Having the ability to add hand sanitizer or even a sink, for example, can allow schools to help ensure safety and sanitation. These safety needs will likely continue into the future. For schools that don’t have existing sanitation equipment, it can be added to a line as part of multi-functional serving equipment.

Providing barriers between prepared foods and students in line is also a helpful step when it comes to making your school cafeteria more sanitary, but blocking off the entire food service area may not be possible. Versatile lines can include options to help protect food by allowing directors to add or remove safety barriers as needed.

Explore equipment options.

Switching to multi-function foodservice equipment can make serving students more convenient and more sanitary. At Lakeside, we offer a variety of foodservice solutions that make it easy to serve students in ways that best fit the layout of your cafeteria and the needs of your school. Browse our website to explore how our products can make your K-12 foodservice more innovative and more convenient.

Posted on July 20, 2021August 3, 2022 by

Are Meal and Cocktail Kits the Future of Foodservice?

Kits are “it”.

During the pandemic, all we wanted was to find a way to simulate normal, a normal that was changed due to the closure of the bars and restaurants we frequent. For many, stopping at our regular pub for a beer or eating lunch at our usual restaurant is more than a way to get sustenance, but a ritual that brings us comfort and joy. Restaurants and bars had to adapt, and this is when cocktail and restaurant take-home kits gained popularity.

By providing pick-up boxes of food and beverage — often paired with detailed instructions and a personal touch of service — take-home kits became a great way to enjoy our favorite establishments within the constraints of the new normal. Having a designated space for kit pick-up has helped many businesses streamline this process in a contactless way. Here are some contactless cart options for your business.

These kits have allowed us to have a new cocktail from our favorite speakeasy or a multi-course meal from our favorite restaurant without the risks of leaving home. Cocktail and meal kits started as a means to an end, a way for us to comfort ourselves, but even with the country opening back up, cocktail and meal kits are still doing well. Are they here to stay?

What are cocktail and meal kits?

Getting into the details, cocktail and meal kits provided a new way for food and beverage establishments to remain relevant in the eyes of their most loyal customers. As we mentioned, detailed instructions were often included. In some cases, those instructions were even videos or live teleconference sessions where consumers could have direct access to chefs and mixologists.

Cocktail kits came with liquor, botanicals that were often hard to find, and sometimes even glassware. Meal kits came with pre-measured ingredients, recipes, and sometimes hard to source proteins or items that came pre-marinated for a taste that would be difficult to simulate at home. Using these clever kits, anything difficult in the process or in the flavor profiles were handled by the restaurants or bartenders. But with the country opening back up, why are these kits still selling well?

Why are cocktail and meal kits still selling?

People discovered that cocktail and meal kits are fun. It’s nice to create the foods and drinks you love at home, and even more fun to surprise someone with a drink or a plate of food they thought they couldn’t get. In a sense, the meal and cocktail kit concept has completely changed the concept of the dinner party into something that can be more of a conversation starter than just a home-cooked meal.

In fact, meal kits even go beyond our local neighborhoods. Thanks to companies like Gold Belly who ship foods from famous establishments across the country, the novelty of creating a sandwich from Katz’s Deli when you live in Ohio or Som Saa when you live in the US is completely possible. Taste bud tourism is alive and well thanks, in large part, to consumers being stuck at home over the course of the last year and a half.

As we look to the future, more and more consumers might realize they just don’t feel like going out but would like to enjoy the same level of quality. At the same time, restaurants and bars have opened up new profit points by providing meal and cocktail kits. Only time will tell if meal and cocktail kits are truly the future of dining, but if they keep on selling as they are, they will certainly have a strong presence in the marketplace.

Does your business have a streamlined process for customers to pick up their at home meal or cocktail kits? Check out Lakeside’s Curbside and Carry Out carts for quick, contactless distribution to your customers.

Posted on June 29, 2021August 3, 2022 by

Reimagining “All-You-Can-Eat” in a Post-Covid World

The world is starting to open back up, and so, too, are our beloved restaurants and foodservice establishments.

We're all grateful for this, especially knowing that while it may take some time, things should pretty much return to normal -- eventually -- in a post-COVID world. There is one type of operation, though, that still might look a little different.

Buffets.

Many consumers have stated they wouldn't feel comfortable going back to such open settings that allow anyone and everyone to grab what they want whenever they want. The once-beloved tradition is simply not feasible in current times and may not make a true comeback for years to come. So, how are restaurants and hotels recreating the buffet experience?

PIVOTAL MOVES

While all-you-can-eat is often associated with buffets, it doesn't have to be. Some restaurants have been using this model forever, most notably Korean BBQ service. K-BBQ has gained popularity with the rising trend of Korean cuisine, and this model offers all-you-can-eat servings that are personal to the individual table. Consumers will order from a specialized menu, paying a flat rate and the dishes will be delivered to their table rather than going to a buffet.

This has been shown to be successful in K-BBQ settings and many restaurants are using the method to transition their services. By offering an “endless supply” of selected dishes, customers are able to still get the all-you-can-eat experience without the fear of cross-contamination.

This style of service also requires moving foods from the kitchen to the tableside while preserving safety, freshness, temperature, and quality. With the right food delivery system, operators can not only serve amazing foods but also reduce the potential for food waste by rationing serving sizes.

MOVING THE SOCIALLY DISTANCED LINE ALONG

No restaurant is escaping the transition of re-opening unscathed, and that's part of why many businesses are relying on disposable items so heavily for to-go orders and delivery services. Unfortunately, that's not exactly cost-efficient and adds an extra layer of labor to the daily list of tasks. One solution that vendors are finding success with for maintaining a somewhat buffet-style service is by mimicking cafeteria lines.

Consumers are encouraged to socially distance in lines, but they can experience an almost traditional buffet by moving through an assembly line. While in line, they can choose from pre-assembled plates from the menu or encounter staff-served options that don't require any consumer engagement with serving utensils.

Serving lines and foodservice solutions are a critical component of this type of service. Units that are easy to configure, provide visibility, ease-of-use, and are easy to clean can help make operations more efficient and profitable.

ORDER UP

In addition to utilizing Korean BBQ settings and Cafeteria line styles, buffet models can benefit from ordering directly from the table. This would include a tablet or mobile device that allows customers to quickly review the menu and place their orders. The virtual order is then sent directly to the kitchen to begin preparation and helps create a hybrid of ordering on the go while still enjoying the dine-in experience.

This solution may also assist in offsetting some labor costs, reducing the number of front-of-the-house staff needed on shift. Staff that are serving would focus more on seating customers and delivering orders rather than constantly taking orders and checking on tables.

STAY UP TO DATE WITH THE LATEST FOODSERVICE TRENDS

There's no single direct solution to getting back to normal, and the truth is that the current day foodservice is creating a new normal. With modern-day technology, adjusting to local mandates and re-imagining the industry's day-to-day setup is constantly changing.

Our goal at Lakeside is to keep you informed as well as provide you with serving stations, portable serving carts, serving lines, countertops that bring you innovative solutions for a post-COVID experience. The all-you-can-eat buffet tradition might look a little different from now on, but you can still create that sense of enjoyable engagement for consumers dining with you.

Posted on June 22, 2021August 3, 2022 by

Webinar: Back to Campus: College Foodservice Trends of 2021

Your world has been dominated by shifts and progressions, forcing the evolution of your campus operations. So how can you keep up?

After months of surveys, conversations, trainings, and research, we’ve identified three college and university foodservice trends to help you rise above.

You’ll learn:

The top three college and university foodservice trends of 2021
The impact of these trends on your campus
How to implement these strategies for yourself

To experience all the 2021 trends, view our interactive trends report below

Posted on June 15, 2021August 3, 2022 by

3 Benefits of a Student-Run Coffee Program

Over the past decade, one of the biggest growth segments for coffee has been younger demographics, and this trend is expected to continue its upward climb.

As a result of coffee’s growing appeal and popularity amongst student-aged populations, many high schools across the country are considering or have already begun student-run coffee programs.

There are three important benefits to beginning this type of school nutrition service, so let’s walk through each of them now.

1. Would You Like Some Milk with Your Coffee?

Promoting milk-rich coffee drinks like lattes, café mochas, and cappuccinos can result in improved milk consumption among teens who might otherwise avoid drinking the white stuff. This can help schools meet federal and local guidelines on milk consumption.

Coffee drinks offered at school have to follow the same strict USDA nutrition standards that apply to school lunches, meaning drinks should be made with fat-free or 1% milk that averages around 150 calories. They also can’t exceed 12 ounces, so no ‘venti’ drinks at the school coffee bar. At the same time, coffee can replace other, sugary drinks as a caffeine substitute. Drinking coffee is a lot better for students than carbonated energy drinks or even soda, for example.

The bottom line is more milk/less sugar is the desired result in our high school foodservice operations.

2. Keeping It All on Campus

Keeping high school students on campus where they can be properly supervised is often a challenge. Offering their favorite caffeinated beverages in-house is one way to meet that challenge, especially for schools that have open campuses where students are permitted to leave. As many schools remove soda and vending machines from school grounds, replacing them with a coffee bar can be a great alternative, giving students an off-campus type of experience inside the school.

As we mentioned, coffee drinks are substantially lower in sugar than soda and include a healthy dose of milk. This helps them meet the USDA’s Smart Snacks in Schools parameters. The coffee bar can also provide an increased profit potential within the school. This much-needed infusion of money can help offset the loss from the removal of the soda vending machines.

A study comparing two high schools’ experience with installing coffee bars was presented at the 2019 Annual National Conference of the School Nutrition Association. According to that study, the projected ROI from adding a coffee bar was just over a year and a half. Since the demand for coffee drinks is only increasing among students, your ROI could come even sooner and will continue into the future.

3. Learning About the Business of Coffee

By setting up and running a coffee stand, students can actually benefit from hands-on learning during their business classes. If they’re working in conjunction with the school nutrition department, even better! All parties benefit when a coffee cart draws more students into the school cafeteria.

While working at the coffee cart or helping to set up the program, students learn the basics of running a successful business. Those basics include marketing, quality control, budgeting, scheduling, and other essential skills. If a class requires hands-on work hours, students can develop and improve in areas like customer service and management without leaving campus.

Is Your School Ready for a Coffee Program?
As we’ve shown above, an investment in a student-run coffee program benefits both the students and the school. If your school district is interested in implementing such a program, connect with a Lakeside expert for more information and guidance.

Posted on June 8, 2021August 3, 2022 by

What to Expect from the Post-Covid Labor Crunch

After laying off a huge number of staff members, the foodservice industry is now struggling to find and hire labor.

In some ways, the shortage in staffing has created a sense of panic in regard to how the foodservice industry and restaurants will move forward. For smaller businesses, it can be difficult to compete with larger chains that are now offering monetary incentives to entice workers. The industry will move forward just like it’s always done, and here are a few important factors.

WHY ARE WE FACING A LABOR SHORTAGE?

At the start of the pandemic, many cities mandated lockdowns that shut businesses down completely or dwindled services to curbside pick up and delivery. This had serious impacts on the workforce, with millions of workers being either laid off or furloughed during the heart of the pandemic.

For those who remained, there was certainly the added concern of COVID exposure, in addition to the higher demands foodservice jobs brought over the last year. With so many worried about getting sick and potentially spreading the virus to loved ones, that mentality has continued to some degree up until the present day. Tack on the presence of poor working conditions in some situations, government assistance, and numerous other factors, and the result is an industry now facing a labor crisis. Simply put, the causes cannot be simply put. It’s a complex situation with many facets.

In April of this year, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that 266,000 jobs had been added throughout the economy. While many people have concerns about what to do as businesses re-open, the numbers show that the majority of industries are not experiencing a shortage in labor. It’s mostly targeted towards the leisure, hospitality, and foodservice sectors.

WHAT CAN WE DO TO ENCOURAGE HUNTING WORKERS TO APPLY?

Due to the shortage of staff, many foodservice operations are unable to fully open back up and some have even begun to cut back hours to try and offset the frustration. Many employers are having trouble getting people to show up for actual interviews, and when smaller businesses are unable to offer monetary incentives, updating SOP’s and providing transparency can help.

People are looking for safe conditions that provide them with reassurance in the workplace. This means being fully open about what you’re doing to protect employees. Adding in additional cleaning and updating kitchen or in-house equipment with hand sanitizer stations and more have been key turn solutions to encouraging many workers to ease their way back in.

RELIABLE EQUIPMENT TO HELP EASE THE STRAIN

The labor shortage isn’t only impacting the operational process for restaurants. It’s leaving the few workers on shift exhausted from overtime and lack of help. Fortunately, digital solutions and technology are making waves in easing the pressure from staff and providing a sense of functionality. Mobile ordering and apps that allow consumers to place orders directly from their table are allowing employees to focus more on cleaning and serving rather than constantly seating or checking on guests. This has offered phenomenal assistance in allowing workers to do their jobs without becoming overworked.

Other options include portable serving carts or pick-up cabinets to assist in providing options for hungry consumers, effectively changing the points of service. This equipment ensures that multiple orders can be taken care of at once, and it provides security to the customers that placed the orders. With the help of durable and reliable equipment, many foodservice operations are gaining some structure again.

Posted on March 30, 2021August 3, 2022 by

How the Pandemic is Changing Meal Delivery in Colleges

Step onto a college campus in 2021 and you’ll notice a few stark changes from a few semesters ago. First, the students, or lack thereof. In order to mitigate the spread of the coronavirus, many colleges and universities have moved to a virtual learning environment or a hybrid of in-person and online classrooms. Second, the staff. Professors, administrative staff, foodservice staff, maintenance staff, and more have all had their normal work routines and hours altered, with some, unfortunately, losing their positions entirely. But one thing that hasn’t changed on college campuses is the need to feed students in safe and efficient ways.

WHAT COLLEGE FOODSERVICE DIRECTORS ARE SAYING

At a recent NACUFS Town Hall, foodservice directors from colleges and universities across the country shared the changes, challenges, and opportunities that they were seeing.

STAFFING

While avoiding layoffs was a top concern in regard to staffing, foodservice directors felt that restaurant chains around campus were affecting the ability to hire and keep students on campus. In response to limited staffing, foodservice programs are doing more with fewer team members, with plenty of cross-training and bringing in labor from other departments. Staff training is mostly virtual, and technology limitations affect the quality of training that can be done, with a majority occurring remotely.

SERVING

The biggest challenge right now is an obvious one, and that is feeding students. A number of states prohibit inside dining or limit the number of students allowed in a dining hall at one time. The goal for colleges right now is to get students in and out of the dining hall in under five minutes. That means a serious adjustment in menus and execution. Microwavable meals and grab-and-go items are the primary meals nowadays. While some programs are using reservation systems, others use mobile ordering.

HOW COLLEGE FOODSERVICE PROGRAMS HAVE FOUND SUCCESS

One major shift in how colleges are serving meals during the pandemic is by taking a more retail approach to campus dining. Members of the Town Hall echoed similar sentiments, saying all you can eat dining has changed into retail only. The grab-and-go method of meal service has proven to be an effective one at mitigating contact by limiting the time inside the dining hall. One approach to a more traditional, pre-packaged grab-and-go meal that some colleges are adopting is the home replacement meal trend or meal kits that we’ve grown accustomed to seeing advertised. The goal of meal kits is to provide fresh, chef-quality meals with an emphasis on the convenience of ordering and pickup.

Prior to COVID-19, the University of Massachusetts at Amherst is one college that has taken the home chef kit model and made it their own. UMass Fresh “provides ready-to-cook dinner kits” that are cooked and chilled for transport right in the college kitchen, then packed up for takeout. With many students living off-campus, this offers them a practical meal plan solution as an alternative to off-campus takeout dining. The meals themselves are easy and quick to prepare, with multiple meal choices each day to choose from. Once a meal kit is prepped, it’s packaged for takeout and ready to pick up at a designated location. Now fully entrenched in a pandemic, this style of meal delivery makes more sense than ever.

MEAL DELIVERY DURING COVID AND POST-COVID TIMES

Whether it’s grab-and-go, meal kits, or takeout from mobile orders, college and university foodservice programs have found themselves adapting to this new environment. With easy-to-use, durable transport, meal delivery can get from the kitchen to the students in safe, convenient ways. The Curbside Pick Up Cart is the ideal solution to provide eye-catching, weatherproof transport options for your program’s meals, giving students on-campus meals without the risks associated with COVID-19. Drive-through pick up is commonplace for restaurants all over the country during the pandemic, and now your dining program can offer that same convenience.

Posted on February 16, 2021August 3, 2022 by

The Ghost Kitchen Trend of 2021

Living in the digital age definitely comes with a lot of perks, especially when it comes to foodservice and what’s known as the “ghost kitchen”. In the last five years, apps like GrubHub, UberEats, and DoorDash have taken over the food industry. Offering convenience by taking away the long lines and busy hustle of sitting in a restaurant waiting to order, these apps have provided a simple way to grab breakfast, lunch, or dinner without having to leave the comfort of your office or home. What more could you want?

Well, from an industry perspective, staying on par with the latest trends without having to take a loss to be a part of it is the goal. As consumers further move towards online orders and delivery services, keeping up without going into debt can be difficult for start-ups and older businesses. Fortunately, the ghost kitchen is offering a perfectly balanced solution to help you keep up with consumer’s technology-savvy desires.

WHAT IS THE GHOST KITCHEN PHENOMENON?

Simply put, a ghost kitchen is a facility set up for delivery-only meals. It provides space to prepare and produce these meals so that online orders are successful without any snags or troubles along the way. Through ghost kitchen services, foodservice operators are able to expand their areas of service, focus more on seamlessly contactless methods of serving, and cut back on the costs of real estate.

PERKS, CONS, AND MORE

Ghost kitchens are dominating the food industry by honing in on a specific style of food or a particular cuisine. This allows kitchens to focus on multiple brands of an item, making it easy to reach customers looking for a specific dish while also taking advantage of the real estate market. Perks you can be on the lookout for are:

Cross utilizing products between brands
Quick launch phase
Cheaper than opening a brand-new location for each brand
Less equipment needed
Expand customer reach by taking advantage of a broader delivery area away from your permanent location

With any new business model, there are disadvantages. As ghost kitchens grow and work out all their kinks, here are the cons you might experience:

High competition due to an increased virtual food court
No walk-in traffic
Limits on your delivery service based on where that kitchen is located

As trends change and services such as ghost kitchens continue to rise in popularity, staying on top of the foodservice industry will also change. Ghost kitchens’ rise in success comes from their ability to expand business in small increments. They allow you to reach consumers you may not reach otherwise and help you break into the delivery service movement that’s taking over.

Following the odd year we had in 2020, consumers will continue taking advantage of online ordering and curbside pick up or delivery services. In 2021, we can expect that the ghost kitchen trend will grow drastically. It only takes somebody 66 days, on average, to form a habit. If we look at that from a delivery perspective, then the habit of utilizing quick service apps is already habitual.

For more information on how you can implement the ghost kitchen into your foodservice operation, contact us at Lakeside today. Our experts focus on manufacturing top of the line foodservice equipment as well as continuously monitor the latest industry trends. We’ll be following the ghost kitchen trend through 2021, and we look forward to helping you make the necessary changes to do the same and to further assist in increasing the success of your overall foodservice operation.

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