Coronavirus in India: Restaurants witness Sales Slowdown
Coronavirus in India: Restaurants witness Sales Slowdown

With the ongoing widespread of Coronavirus across the world, the restaurant industry is witnessing a major slowdown and are making extra efforts to aware and ensure customers about cleanliness and hygiene practices. For example, online delivery platform Swiggy recently issued a circular via an e-mail on the steps taken by it to maintain a safe and healthy environment. 

Zomato also released a similar circular. They are also giving customers the option of having their order left at their doorstep. While online aggregators are training their employees to follow the best hygiene practices, Physical restaurants are also doing their best to assure customers by sanitizing their restaurants as much as possible. Not only are they training their staff regarding taking extra precautions and maintaining their personal hygiene but they are also providing customers masks and sanitizers at their restaurants. 

Sales slowdown

Meanwhile, Dinesh Arora, Founder of restaurants Unplugged Courtyard and La Roca says “There has been a slowdown in this industry, people are cautious about the situation and we need to understand that while doing everything we can to help the situation and hope for things to turn back to the way they were as it’s not just good for business but also for the health of everyone.” 

On the other hand, Vikrant Batra, Founder of Cafe Delhi Heights differs from Dinesh. He says “The industry has not seen much of an impact. The current situation is a situation of panic, which requires people to maintain their calm along with social distance and personal hygiene. As a brand, we have abided by our social responsibility and are doing as much as we can.”

Mumbai’s Sante Spa Cuisine restaurant is also facing slow-down in its sales and footfalls because of the work from home mandate issued by the offices nearby. Kaneesha Shah, Founder at the Sante Spa Cuisine, BKC echoes a similar sentiment as Dinesh. He says “The impact has been extremely strong and we have seen a drastic dip in the sales. The footfall in BKC has gone down because a lot of offices have issued work from home mandate. And since there are hardly any residential buildings, we are not able to get as many guests.” 

He further says, “We thought that the deliveries will go up but that’s not the case either. People are preferring to eat home-cooked food and are restricting getting out unless it’s absolutely necessary.”

 

Supply chain

Restaurant chains like McDonalds’ heavily rely on their supply chains. 

With the outbreak of Coronavirus, these QSRs are keeping a check on their supply chains and have become extra cautious in importing and dealing with the supplies from other countries. Supply chain firms, which are badly hit are also training their employees to employ better hygiene practices during work. 

“We are making sure that employees at their suppliers’ end also go through stringent hygiene checks before entering the plant or going for their shifts. Each minute detail in the food safety process is given the utmost attention by us,” McDonalds’ India says in a statement.  

 

Global Impact

Globally, restaurants are stepping up and taking steps to ensure the safety of customers. McDonalds recently agreed to pay hourly workers in the US as they demanded sick leaves. Companies are seen to be tweaking their policies to ensure the health and safety of their employees and customers. 

Similarly, QSR chain KFC has suspended its finger licking advertisement amid the coronavirus outbreak. The company in a statement says that they have paused the campaign for the time being and they look forward to bringing it back at a later date. 

 

 
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