The Covid-19 pandemic showed that the habit of ordering food at home is here to stay. After all, many people discovered — and approved of — the new experience of being able to enjoy dishes from their favorite restaurants in the comfort of their own home.
Even during less restrictive periods of the pandemic, we saw that demand for delivery did not lose momentum. On the contrary: in 2021, iFood reached the mark of 60 million orders per month.
This scenario made it clear to restaurants that it is necessary to explore new paths beyond service in the dining room, and many of their managers are seeking courses and specializations to better operate in delivery, something that before the pandemic was not part of their daily lives.
It is clear that not only restaurants went to delivery, but also people who lost their jobs and started looking for new ways to earn an income. If experienced entrepreneurs feel the need to have more knowledge to operate in delivery, imagine those who are just starting out in this segment.
Even before 2020, iFood was already seeing an exponential growth of restaurants on the platform, forming very heterogeneous groups, ranging from small cafes to large chains. During the pandemic, the numbers increased drastically and we reached 270 thousand establishments registered on the app.
The challenge of offering a better experience to all these restaurants, which was already great, became even greater. Over the past few months, we've listened to a lot of what they have to say and understood that we need to be better than we are today (and, of course, also what we need to do to get there).
In 2022, improving the restaurant experience with our platform is a priority for iFood, so much so that we are allocating technology and product teams to reach a new level of positive experience. And we will not rest until this evolution is noticed by restaurants.
Our action fronts
When we talk about improving the restaurant experience, we create three fronts of action. The first is to offer effective tools and functionalities so that they can operate with quality in delivery. Some already exist in channels such as the Partner Portal and the Order Manager, but we know that we can improve them to offer a higher quality service.
The second front seeks to empower restaurants so that they can create their own campaigns and conditions to sell even more within the iFood platform and achieve their personal goals.
We want entrepreneurs to have more freedom to operate in this environment and access consumers through campaigns and promotions created by themselves, so that they are not dependent solely on initiatives that come from iFood.
The third point is to create more connection and dialogue to take our relationship with restaurants to a level not yet seen, transforming iFood into an accessible partner, which listens to what entrepreneurs say and offers the best for each segment.
To this end, we are already opening these doors through forums, listening and feedback processes, occasions in which we give more voice to restaurants and their representatives (such as associations) so that, together, we can create solutions that effectively meet the your desires and resolve your pains.
How will we expand the dialogue
Talking about the restaurant experience on the platform is a complex challenge when we take into account that iFood is talking to 270 thousand partners of various sizes and with different needs.
Therefore, the process of listening and collecting data with research helped us identify what we are looking for to be better for restaurants tomorrow. The stability of the tools, the level of service and the support we offer are among our priorities. We know this will get better every day.
To facilitate this dialogue, taking into account the diversity of restaurants that are currently our partners, we are creating groups. One of them is a type of council formed by restaurants engaged in iFood and who want to contribute to making the platform better for everyone.
We will also advance our relationship with industry associations and are strengthening partnerships with influencers, people considered references in the food and delivery market.
The objective of this approach is to expand the scope of knowledge that iFood has to offer entrepreneurs, especially those who are just starting out. They also help us quickly receive feedback from partners about iFood.
Alongside influencers, iFood wants to be close to restaurants and be an education channel so that entrepreneurs can make the best decisions for their businesses and resolve day-to-day doubts throughout the operation, from cash flow to marketing campaigns. , for example.
Our big dream is that, in the future, restaurants think of iFood with pride in this relationship, as a partner that helped those who started small to have a big business. After all, iFood does not see itself just as a platform that transacts orders, but rather as a Brazilian company that uses technology to truly transform the lives of these entrepreneurs.
Read more about restaurants:
- Technology for restaurants: how to innovate and attract more customers
- Digitalization of restaurants: How to use technology to benefit your business
