Food for Thought: How Covid-19 Transformed The Act of Eating Out
For many decades, dining out was a weekend ritual or monthly staple for countless families. Enjoying a delicious meal in the company of loved ones was one of life’s simple pleasures. However, as we welcomed a new decade, it brought about a wave of change that none of us would have expected.
Locked Down Without Warning
In the first quarter of 2020, the unprecedented spread of Covid-19 brought the world to a screeching halt. A three-week-long lockdown turned into an indefinite period of fear and uncertainty, leaving people from all walks of life grappling with changes that nobody was prepared to deal with.
While no industry was untouched by the effects of the virus, the hospitality sector suffered a huge hit, in the form of layoffs and hotel/restaurant closures.
The extent of pandemic layoffs was highlighted in an Economic Times article, dated October 26, 2021. A report published by the National Restaurant Association of India (NRAI) revealed that roughly 23 lakh restaurant workers lost their jobs during lockdown, out of an estimated workforce of 75 lakh! This marked the beginning of new challenges that would soon emerge.
A Series of Setbacks
Circa June 2020 – both restaurant owners and restaurant-goers were quick to celebrate when the government allowed establishments to resume operations, subject to certain conditions.
Restaurants adopted enhanced sanitization measures, enforced social distancing norms, and went digital with their menus. There finally seemed to be some light at the end of the tunnel. For a while, it seemed like the looming threat of the virus would soon become a distant memory.
That was until a second, much deadlier wave of Covid-19 started wreaking havoc in early 2021. With deadlier symptoms and increased rates of hospitalization, the pandemic began to spiral out of control. A new lockdown was imposed with even stricter measures than the previous one.
This dealt a fatal blow to numerous eateries that were now drowning in losses. It is estimated that one in four restaurants were forced to shut shop between the two waves of the pandemic.
The Emergence of “The New Normal”
These events had a ripple effect on the food and hospitality industry. Highly skilled and experienced employees were pushed out of the workforce, taking up jobs in other fields to stay afloat. A vast majority of them shifted from food retail to food delivery.
Ordering in became the new normal, with the revenue of industry giants such as Zomato and Swiggy jumping from 10% pre-Covid to 33% post the second lockdown.
Over a period of just three years, Zomato witnessed astronomical growth. The online food delivery service went from just 25,000 restaurant partners in early 2021 to 2,54,000 restaurant partners in March 2024!
People turned to ordering food in the comfort and safety of their homes, shielding themselves from the dangers of the pandemic.
Even as the end of the pandemic was declared by the World Health Organisation (WHO) on 5th May 2023, and restaurants started limping back to normalcy, something had changed.
Forgoing Tradition: A Loss of Human Touch?
In the current scenario, a lot of restaurants have retained certain post-Covid measures which had been in place during the pandemic — from digital payments to virtual menus.
Though patrons no longer had to be masked up and could mingle freely once again, the ubiquitous QR scanner had become a common feature in most establishments.
There was a time when customers would call up restaurants, squabble over who wanted what, and place their orders over the phone. Now, delivery partners from Swiggy and Zomato are found in swarms at almost every other eatery.
Thanks to options such as contactless delivery, customers need not interact with the people delivering their food.
