Packaging makes 51% of customers change restaurants on delivery

The preparation of meals at home showed a trend during the quarantine imposed by the pandemic of the new coronavirus. The practice had already been flagged in the first half of April, in the first study on how Covid-19 impacts consumers and the food business developed by food service consultancy Galunion, with Qualibest, but proved even stronger in the second wave of the study: now, 97% of respondents responded that they started cooking at home or increased their frequency. However, 44% say they would buy more meals per delivery if part of the value was directed to helping needy people affected by the pandemic. The second highest motivation (34%) would be to earn a discount to consume in the future in the establishment. Delivery has gained great importance in restaurant revenue and also in consumer habits, since 21% of respondents intend to maintain the habit of ordering food after the end of social isolation. A total of 1,100 people were interviewed between May 5 and 7 and it was possible to identify that the "fair price" factor (19%) gained importance with the passage of quarantine, as 40% of respondents claim to have had reduced income. The difference for the previous search is +10%. Even with the reduced advantage compared to the previous research, Hygiene and Cleaning (36%) remains at the top of concerns when choosing a restaurant. Delivery apps are considered very secure by 40% of respondents, followed by WhatsApp or direct text message to the restaurant (37%) and menu downloaded via QR Code (33%). The biggest point of attention is with the packaging chosen by restaurants: 51% said they have stopped buying in the restaurant due to packaging problems. Lack of sealing, messy or leaking food are some of the problems cited. Of those who are satisfied with the current delivery, 72% agree that the containers used by the establishments are adequate to maintain the temperature and texture of the food. So much so that 45% agree that products always arrive at an acceptable temperature. Upon receiving the order, 42% always say they transfer food to dishes before consuming. Sporadic consumption on the packaging itself is adopted by 51% of consumers. The container is also used frequently to store leftovers by 17% of respondents. The tips of the consultancy is that the entrepreneur invests in sealed, hygienic packaging and that maintain the temperature of the food, guide on the process of transport and delivery; place instructions for reheating the food and ways of using the packaging; and enter direct contact information with the restaurant. In general, respondents miss socialization, which was deprived by social distancing, and restaurants go through several stages of this process. Family programs for meals away from home (74%), celebrate important dates in bars and restaurants (68%) and eat your favorite dish in the places you usually frequent (68%) are some of the activities that consumers have indicated they miss the most. With this, 79% intend to eat out again when all this passes, and 49% intend to eat on site. Still, 76% say they will eat their favorite food in the usual restaurant (In the South of the country, this number reaches 90%). However, there is an important obstacle pointed out by the survey: 69% do not believe that other people can act responsibly when they return to these establishments. Regarding the possibilities of protective measures, 82% consider interesting spacing of two meters between chairs in food courts and restaurants and 57% like the idea of transparent partitions between people. However, being attended by robots rather than humans is rejected by 44% of respondents.