The landscape has changed dramatically for restaurants, and if you own one, you have no choice but to look at diversification if you want to ensure a future for your business. You never know what might happen and having multiple revenue streams will allow you to adapt and not depend on one facet of your business. Diversifying is much easier than many people think too. All you need to do is think outside the box and look at as many options as possible. Let’s take a look at a few ways in which restaurants can diversify their revenue streams.
Start a Meal Delivery Service
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One of the simplest ways that you could diversify right now would be to start a meal delivery service. A lot of people think that they need a large-scale operation to get in that space or compete with big names, but that’s not necessarily the case. You could start a small local meal delivery service and focus on a specific type of food or demographic.
Implementing this kind of service is pretty simple too. All you have to do is create a menu, pre-package your meals, and build an app. Don’t be intimidated by the app creation process either. You could easily find a freelancer on a site like Upwork who will build a perfectly functional app that will allow you to manage orders and start serving clients.
Know that you’ll have to invest in a vehicle for your business, however. This should be a refrigerated van, ideally. Vans can be expensive, but you could always get a refrigerated van on a lease if you want to limit the cash flow hit.
You’ll still need to look at van insurance, however. If you want to find cheap van insurance NI, you should check out an insurance comparison site. Services like these will allow you to compare van insurance NI fast and easily. They have partnerships with all the top insurers in the country and will allow you to compare prices and coverage straight from their website. You can usually sign up for your policy through their website too.
Look at Retail Option
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If there’s a specific product your restaurant is known for, you could start a line of branded products. You could sell things like frozen meals, but you could also sell sauces or even seasoning mixes. And, if you think the process would be too complex, there are services like Taste Shakers that will handle the whole manufacturing and branding process for you.
Create a Second Brand
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Another thing you should consider is creating a virtual brand that will only focus on delivery. You can continue serving your regular clients, but you could have a virtual restaurant with a menu that is more suitable for delivery. It can have roughly the same theme as your main restaurant, but you could also go in a totally different direction. So, look at different options and research the demand in your area.
As you can see, there are tons of things that you can do as a restaurant to diversify your income and keep making money in these tough times. Don’t be afraid to be original and consider hiring outside help if you feel you need it.
