Since the Coronavirus crisis, take-away sales have become widely democratized in France and have become a permanent part of consumer habits. According to a Harris Interactive study, 26% of French people have meals delivered to their homes several times a month (up to 41% in the Paris region and 48% among 18-24 year olds!) And this trend is even resisting inflation for 44% of consumers.
What are the regulations? How to set up a takeaway? And what digital solutions exist to facilitate take-out sales?
Takeaway sales in restaurants: what regulations?
In France, the restaurant sector is strictly regulated. If you want to start a take-away business, the legislation is identical to that of the so-called "classic" restaurant business.
In particular, care should be taken to:
- Mandatory signage in restaurants,
- Obligations related to the sale of alcohol with a liquor license,
- Complete the declaration of preparation or sale of animal food or animal products,
- Make a declaration of modification of the company on the "guichet des formalités des entreprises".
Focus on the HACCP approach
The regulation in force(Regulation (EC) No. 852/2004) requires the implementation of HACCP in any structure offering foodstuffs. It is therefore mandatory in take-away restaurants.
👉 To go further: HACCP approach in collective catering
Anti-waste law for a circular economy: watch out for plastic packaging
The anti-waste law for a circular economy obliges waste producers (and therefore takeaway restaurants) to declare the amount of packaging used. This law aims to limit the production of disposable waste as much as possible, especially single-use plastic waste.
Thus, since January 1, 2021, straws, disposable cutlery and boxes made of expanded polystyrene are prohibited!
How to set up a takeaway in your restaurant?
Take-out represents an additional source of revenue as it increases the volume of orders served.
Learn about the three different approaches to takeout. 👇
Direct takeaway
The principle of live takeaway is simple:
- the customer places his order directly on the spot or by phone,
- at the specified time, he goes to the restaurant and picks up his dish as soon as it is ready.
Although direct take-out is mainly used in fast-food restaurants, many traditional restaurants experimented with it during the Coronavirus crisis.
✅ The benefits of live takeout:
- you maintain contact with your customers,
- you have no solution to deploy.
❌ Disadvantages of live takeout:
- ordering by phone or at the counter wastes precious time, especially during rush hours,
- The line of customers crowding your restaurant can disturb your customers at the table and discourage other customers from dining with you.
However, there are practical solutions to remedy these 2 disadvantages. For example, Cot Cot has installed an order terminal on an articulated arm dedicated exclusively to takeaway sales. And it works!
👉 To go further: Discover the history of Cot Cot
Marketplaces and distance selling platforms
Deliveroo, Uber, Eats or Just Eat... Delivery platforms are very popular digital solutions that allow restaurant owners to develop their business via home delivery and take-out.
How it works:
- users log on to the app,
- they choose the restaurant of their choice, a menu, a collection time,
- then they go to the location to pick up their order at the specified time.
✅ The benefits of marketplaces and delivery platforms:
- Your restaurant gains visibility on platforms,
- Your customers are autonomous on the order taking and the payment.
❌ Disadvantages of marketplaces and delivery platforms:
- the fees applied are high and affect your profitability,
- Each platform provides a specific tablet for order management, which multiplies the number of tablets by the number of platforms and complicates order management.
Click & Collect
The principle of Click & Collect is as simple as direct take-out. The only difference: the customer places an order on a dedicated website, managed by the restaurant owner. It's the perfect mix between direct takeaway and a marketplace!
✅ Click & Collect benefits:
- your customers are autonomous on the order taking and the payment,
- orders come directly to the kitchen (if your kitchen is equipped with a KDS),
- you receive all of your sales,
- Your customers no longer queue up in your restaurant to order or pick up their order.
❌ Disadvantages of Click & Collect:
- You do not benefit from the visibility of platforms and marketplaces.
Charlène, BCHEF franchisee in Merignac, France, has implemented Click & Collect in her restaurant to increase her sales volume while reducing the waiting line at rush hour.
Discover his testimony in pictures 👇
How to organize your takeaway sales with Innovorder?
Innovorder meets the requirements of today's restaurant owners. Our digital solutions are designed to make you more efficient, simpler and faster to support your restaurant's growth.
Simplify take-out with online ordering
Online ordering is the essential digital tool for today's restaurant owners. Innovorder helps you design your online ordering space.
You choose your colors, your visual identity and the dishes to highlight. Thanks to the online ordering, you can easily communicate the details of your menu and the ordering process of your restaurant.
On the other side of the screen, the customer places his order at his own pace, without effort, and without having to wait in line at the cash register. He chooses the time that suits him to receive his order and the method of collection: Click & Collect, delivery or drive. Meanwhile, his order is sent directly to the kitchen.
At the same time, the online ordering system developed by Innovorder allows you to build up a customer database on a daily basis, which will help you to keep them coming back via exclusive offers.
Kitchen side: process orders faster with a production screen
With production displays (or KDS, for Kitchen Display System), onsite, takeout, online and platform orders are all consolidated on one screen, located in your kitchens.
Here are two advantages of the KDS:
- Better organization in the kitchen: orders appear in order of priority, allowing your teams to focus on preparation, without making mistakes.
- Better overall productivity: no more lost, illegible or misplaced paper purchase orders. The screens display the status of orders in real time. Once an order is sent, it disappears to make room for the next ones.
And with Innovorder, no jealousy! The front office teams also benefit from the advantages of our solutions thanks to the reception desk. It centralizes all orders placed in real time: click and collect, delivery, counter orders, order terminals, etc. It's practical to have an instant view of the status of orders and stocks.
In the dining room: streamline order collection with the customer screen
With the Order Display System (ODS), automatically tell your customers when their orders are ready! TheODS, or Order Display System, is a screen placed in the room, in front of the customers and the delivery people, which allows todisplay the order numbers and to warn them when they are ready.
This way, you lose less time responding to their requests, especially during rushes!
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Would you like to develop takeaway sales in your establishment? Contact an Innovorder expert and get personalized advice for your restaurant!
