Food for Thought: Planning The F&B Industry’s 2021 Communication Strategy
The food and beverage sector has been one of the most impacted industries amidst the ongoing pandemic.
Brands that leveraged on digital were immediately better positioned to survive in the new normal.
DEVELOPING A BUSINESS DURING A GLOBAL CRISIS
COVID-19 suddenly brought out nearly every Filipino household’s inner Ina Garten or Gordon Ramsey. Throughout ECQ, we saw home cooks take their family’s best kept recipes into profitable businesses.
This paved the way for social media food trends like the Sushi Bake, and of course, the ever famous Ube Pandesal.
Pre-pandemic, the F&B sector has already been one of the most competitive industries in the country.
Add to that today’s plethora of digitally native competitors, restaurateurs and business owners need to strategically plan out their next steps to thrive.
From new business models, offering product alternatives, to reinventing the dining experience altogether, here are 3 tactics that F&B businesses can implement as they plan out next year’s communication strategy.
1. TRANSPARENCY AND AN EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION PLAN WILL BE A KEY ELEMENT IN GAINING CUSTOMER LOYALTY.
A report by Bain indicates that 73% of Southeast Asian consumers are slowly adapting to a more health-conscious mindset.
Industries across the board have begun embracing this change by capitalizing and leveraging on health and safety to promote new products and services.
The same holds true for the F&B industry, too.
As consumers shift towards more health-conscious and sustainable lifestyles, brands can benefit from effectively communicating how they are improving their own processes to support said lifestyle shifts among their target market.
One way to do this is by implementing enhanced transparency in communications - from the supply chain, sourcing of produce, down to the new measures that are being imposed in response to the pandemic.
Restaurant owners need to recognize that consumers demand honesty and authenticity, now more than ever.
Here’s an example from local chocolatiers, Malagos Chocolates. If you haven’t heard about them yet, they’re an internationally acclaimed Philippine cacao grower and chocolate producer, based in Davao.
Aside from sharing drool-worthy snaps of luscious chocolates, we love how the brand uses video content within their communication strategy to communicate the story behind each Malagos fine chocolate.
This particular video shows how each tree-to-bar fine chocolate purchased by consumers helps uplift the lives of farmers & encourages the growth of the Philippine cacao industry.
What we love about Malagos Chocolates is their honest and authentic approach to creating content - probably a reason why their customers have maintained loyal to the brand despite lockdown and the implications of the pandemic.
(Also, who doesn’t love a rich bar of artisanal chocolate, right?)
2. BRANDS NEED TO BE INNOVATIVE AND THINK ABOUT REINVENTING THE ENTIRE DINING EXPERIENCE.
Much has been said about leveraging digital transformation to grow and expand your business in the new normal.
While we genuinely believe that this is the way to go, before getting stuck in, we recommend brands to take a step back and re-examine their current business offerings.
Some questions to consider:
What is my brand’s unique selling point?
How can I re-create or elevate the dining experience for my customers?
Is there a way that I can bring the experience closer to my customers?
Here are two quarantine all-stars, which we think are worth mentioning:
REINVENTING A JAPANESE DINING CLASSIC: THE SUSHI BAKE
Why settle for a roll when you can have an entire tray?
Say hello to the quarantine snack trend that we can totally roll with. The Sushi Bake.
The newest food trend is essentially an entire baking tray with all the elements that make up your favourite sushi roll - only this time deconstructed for you to enjoy at home.
No need for chopsticks too! (Just remember, to wash your hands!)
What makes the Sushi Bake great is how the concept introduces a level of playfulness to the dining experience, while keeping the same traditional flavors that Filipinos love about sushi.
CURATING PERSONALIZED EXPERIENCES: 205 BGC’S COCKTAIL KITS
Still keeping tabs of your Zoom happy hours and virtual drinks?
Just in case you’re in need to mix things up a bit, here’s another innovative quarantine trend that local bars and restaurants have introduced: at-home cocktail kits.
Although your go-to watering holes and bars may have shut temporarily, doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy all the things you loved about these spots - music and of course, cocktails.
We particularly like this cocktail kit from local restaurant and bar, 205 BGC, which best exemplifies a well-thought out and curated experience.
Since closing their doors, they have introduced the 205 Cocktail Kits, which include:
✔️Ready to pour cocktail mix made with quality spirits and fresh citrus
✔️Soda Water (as needed)
✔️Garnish
Aside from that, we also really appreciate the attention to detail through QR-code enabled curated playlists to match the cocktail kit.
What makes these two examples effective is the fact that the brands innovated their product offerings.
Through this approach, they were able to focus more on the experiential aspect of their product by highlighting the elements that make the dining experience great.
Whether that’s sharing a hearty meal with loved ones or enjoying a nice cocktail with curated beats in the background, these brands received serious traction from consumers.
At the end of the day, the success of your communication strategy and communication efforts will only be as good as the product or experience that you’re trying to sell, so take as much time as you need to think this through.
3. CREATE A COMMUNICATION STRATEGY THAT SUPPORTS YOUR BRAND’S LONG-TERM PLANS OF REOPENING AGAIN.
Though the pandemic has lasted longer than any of us had hoped for, it’s not going to last forever. Meantime, this is a great time to recalibrate your brand’s communication strategy to prepare for a strong comeback in 2021!
As businesses slowly welcome customers back in-store, an effective communication strategy should include a comprehensive outlook of the changes that your brand is making to safeguard customers.
Here are three examples from various local brands who are introducing socially distant and alternative business practices in-store:
PRIORITIZE YOUR CUSTOMERS’ PEACE OF MIND: ARMY NAVY’S PARK & DINE
With customers’ health and safety taking front and center, this is the time when brands need to be most sensitive and aware of their customers’ needs.
While some customers might be itching to get out in the real world again, local brand Army Navy recognizes that not all diners might be 100% eager to step out of their comfort zones just yet.
In response to this, they decided to introduce a new service offering called Park and Dine, where customers can park, order, and dine safely and comfortably inside their cars, as they please.
This is a good way strategy that brands can adapt to slowly instill confidence among customers and bring them back in-store. What’s more is diners get the best of both worlds, so to speak.
INTRODUCE SOCIALLY-DISTANT ALTERNATIVES THROUGH TECHNOLOGY: ZOMATO CONTACTLESS DINING
Qr code technology is an effective integration within the in-store dining environment because it offers a touch-free approach to the entire consumer experience.
Here’s a great example from Zomato who is currently helping their partner restaurants digitize their entire process through Zomato Contactless Dining.
Through Qr code scanning, customers can book a table, browse through the menu, order items, and seamlessly checkout through online payment, all while limiting person-to-person contact or interaction at the same time.
To educate consumers on these changes, Zomato also used social media and video content to demonstrate how these technologies work.
Aside from offering a safe and socially distant alternative, this is another innovative way to introduce technology and elevate the in-store dining experience.
REINVENT YOUR BRAND EXPERIENCE TO WIN IN THE NEW NORMAL
In the new normal, a communication strategy that combines both elevated business processes and marketing tactics will be key in winning consumer confidence and trust.
If you need support in kickstarting your 2021 communication strategy, our team at Near can help. From generating content ideas to producing videos that generate results, we can help your brand win in the new normal.