Mountain Lakes, NJ —January 8, 2018 — MunchOn Eats Online Ordering
Who out there has ever had to answer that difficult question...what’s for dinner?
Whether you’re asking it rhetorically or you really are asking it aloud to someone else, there should always be an answer on the other side.
Here at MunchOn EATS, we have an easy answer that that indomitable question. Italian. Pizza. Salad. Subs. Wings. Those are just to name a few.
In the world today, you can have egg rolls, calzones, chai ice cream, or tikka masala on speed dial. Your choice. Your preference. Your day. No matter what you are in the mood for—burgers, sandwiches, wraps, seafood, fast food, vegan food, gyros, Mediterranean, Indian, gluten-free food, paleo-inspired options, $, $$, or $$$$$, we have got you covered.
Here at MunchOn, we are an online ordering company for your favorite local and independent restaurants, and we are always at-the-ready to help you figure out the answer to that age-old question: What should I have for dinner? What should I have for lunch? I’m still hungry...what should I order now?
The Rise of Food Delivery: Tracking American History Through the Channels of Food Delivery
Where did the rise of food delivery come from? Well, the truth of the matter? People were hungry.
According to Time, http://time.com/4291197/take-out-delivery-food-history/, people have been eating food “to-go” since the beginning of advanced societies. Even in Pompeii, Italy, “cook-shops” were options for hungry Romans that could not get home and have a hot meal in the middle of the day. It wasn’t a rarity in Aztec markets for there to be places to get a tamale and have a bite, even if you were moving between one place and another. Even in 14th century Paris, butchers were working on their own system of home delivery options. These Parisian butchers would often deliver their best cuts of meats to those who were the most well-off, clearly their very best customers. In Mumbai, hungry workers at lunch often got their home-cooked meals delivered straight to them.
In our era of smart phones and online ordering, one thing certainly hasn’t changed: people are still hungry.
People will always be hungry. And you know what? We find that comforting.
Even in this age of cloud-based everything, tamales are still tasty.
One thing is for sure: us humans, we will always be ready for the next meal.
Forging a New Path: The Future of Food & Food Delivery Options
In 2016, restaurants were at a crossroads and they had to be ready to forge a new path towards the future. The percentage of orders booked online or through the use of smartphone or tablet exceeded the quantity of orders placed verbally over the telephone. A whopping 6.6 percent of the total came from a computer, smartphone or tablet order compared to the 5 percent of orders that were put in over the phone. (http://fortune.com/2017/06/09/order-online-food-delivery-starbucks-mcdonalds/)
What would you rather do? Whether people were feeling anxious, anti-social, or simply preferred to click on three orders of pumpkin pie instead of calling in their order over the telephone, we don’t blame ‘em.
At the end of the day, it really is no surprise that individuals are logging on to the Internet to place their own order for their Monday night chicken tacos instead of picking up the phone and calling it in. The age of the Internet also comes with a simplicity, an awareness, and a way to track the whole transaction that can get overlooked when you place an order over the phone and with an individual who is only human, who can still make a mistake. When you place an order for food online, your total is calculated right before your very eyes. You can be certain you clicked on “corn tortillas” instead of “flour tortillas” and you generally will have an email confirmation that, even if you don’t do anything with, will be some added assurance that what you’ve just done matters. With an email, you always have proof.
Order Up: How Electronic Ordering Has Changed the Name of the Game
Electronic ordering has certainly changed the name of the game for the food industry. People actually dining out, whereby we mean...actually….dining in the restaurant are declining. Convenience is key. Comfort is key. Gratuity may be reserved for the biker who brought your food by. But if you for one minute think that restaurants are losing business, you are mistaken. Restaurants are just as busy—if not busier—than they have been in the past.
Their new reality? What works best now that their food delivery options have increased?
Within the realm of food delivery, what matters?
Well, for one, internet access can be a deal breaker. But, the internet isn’t the only thing that matters. Food is at stake here! When food is involved, it’s not always about the password-protected WiFi. When it comes to the food, it’s all about when the spatula hits the hot pan. How the beignets are sugared. What kind of creamer the coffee cup has.
In fact, it goes back to basics. Phones are getting slimmer and kitchens are getting smarter. Individuals who work in those said kitchens are creating new and newer solutions, some of which are really transforming the world of food delivery. Even those restaurants that are linked up with us here at MunchOn are no exceptions to how the world of food delivery is changing.
Restaurants and food designers are hard at work designing and fashioning new containers that will keep food hot, crisp, and fresh so even once it arrives at your doorstep after an uptown/downtown/cross-town commute, you will have barely any idea your pork belly bao had ever been on the back of a bike.
These specific and scientific-like pieces of packaging have become hot commodities in the world of food delivery. So much so that certain investors have started to take notice. According to Fortune, (http://fortune.com/2017/06/09/order-online-food-delivery-starbucks-mcdonalds/) Denny’s spent two years developing a specific box and plate to make sure that eggs, burgers, and waffles would survive even the rockiest of transports. (Syrup on the side, anyone?) Red Robin, the burger chain that boasts endless supplies of french fries, is also tinkering with a variety of containers that can take care of business and keep burgers—no matter how complicated the order—in tact.
From a Business Point of View
If you are on the restaurant side of this food delivery equation, having a delivery option and linking up with a take out app and/or delivery service like MunchOn is, at this point, a no-brainer. Reach out to us if you are interested in getting connected, as we would love to hook up our hungry consumers to your delicious menu options and fine fare.
Consumers who are ready for breakfast, lunch, dinner, or just about anything in between are expecting self-ordering options and capabilities when they show up hungry. Do you know quite what happens when consumers and customers are taking advantage of these self-ordering features, self-service tablets, and kiosk stations? Can you guess? Consumers and customers are spending more money! That’s right. https://totalfood.com/5-restaurant-technologies-watch/
Why is that exactly? Long story short, apps, sites, and digital realms are automating the up sell. As restaurants give customers the option to add avocado, to add bacon, to add cheese, to add extra sauce...customers are actually taking them up on the offer! Face to face, hungry customers more often will decline the “extras,” but when they customer is making the decision themselves, they are adding on just about everything.
Over time, not only does the burger get better and more delicious, the cost of that burger gets more and more expensive. According to the Harvard Business Review, Taco Bell announced that “orders made via their new digital app are 20% pricier than those taken by human cashiers, largely because people select additional ingredients.”
Self-service is like the self-check out line at the grocery store. In today’s world, consumers just want to take care of business themselves. If they only have a basketful of groceries and perhaps a pocketful of dimes they want to get rid of, they will want to ring up their purchases themselves, bag their own items, and do it all themselves. Do It Yourself (DIY) is not only for girls in high school—DIY extends in every direction these days.
DIY and Why That Matters For Your Restaurant
When it comes to food and DIY, the up sell factor for restaurants and the convenience for individuals to place the order themselves or have their food delivered is not going anywhere. In fact, as MunchOn consumers have shown us thus far, when food delivery offers an added convenience to their day, they will continue to purchase food that way.
It has been reported that 71 percent of 18 to 34 year olds prefer to order for themselves from a table side tablet. Why exactly? Chances are individuals in this age bracket are still hoping to split the bill. If there are a handful of them dining together, they can use a table side tablet and split the bill themselves, without ever annoying the wait staff. These individuals within the 18 to 34 year old range may also often be crunched for time. If they have gone out for a lunch but are on a strict time schedule, the DIY approach means they may be able to save a bit of time. With a kiosk station, these diners can see just how their order goes through what the total comes out to be, and they will not require a server to ever come wait on them at a table. DIY ordering will continue to be easier than dining quickly, tipping, and rushing out.
Make Sure The Food Arrives Quickly
Once you’ve figured out what you’re going to eat for dinner, the next question at hand...how long will it take?
When hungry consumers are ready to eat, sure they want to know that what they are about to eat will be delicious. But what else are they concerned about? Speed.
Obviously, speed is another important issue when it comes to what hungry consumers expect when it comes to food delivery. You may have seen at certain popular American restaurants that now take-home options at like, say Chili’s, have certain designated parking spaces reserved for individuals and families that may be dashing in real quick to pick up their food that they are choosing to enjoy at home.
But, if you aren’t able to arrive with wheels and take your food to-go home, don’t worry. Delivery options often mean that restaurants are capable of bringing the food directly to your door.
The YUM Factor
Historically, in the past, food delivery was primarily for pizza and for Asian food. But, history, you have now changed completely. Of course, pizza and Asian food are still top choices to get delivered, but now, even in big cities, delivery has transformed to be just about anything you want, just about whenever you want it.
If you want freshly baked chocolate chip cookies to be delivered to your dorm room in the middle of the night, you got it.
If you want hot pho to be delivered to your office between your one o’clock and two o’clock meetings, you got it.
If you need a bone broth soup in the dead of winter when you have come down with a horrible cold, you got it.
Food delivery...it changes the world.
Don’t get caught being hungry.
Good food...it is only one click away.
Welcome to the work we are doing here at MunchOn.
#Foodtech #onlineordering