How Has WFH (Work From Home) Changed The Food Landscape And Its Impact On People's Health?

It goes without pointing out the obvious that the pandemic has reshaped our food landscape for now, and the future.

Ever since the pandemic took the world by storm, the majority of us have been cooped up inside our homes, prioritizing our safety and that of others around us. Not surprisingly, sudden changes in working style ‘work from home’, brought along mixed-up schedules and longer working hours. During this time, while some people started adopting healthier eating practices, others were grappling hard to even maintain a healthy diet.

Cooking on a daily basis, eating healthily and on time became a real challenge for a lot of people as they didn’t find the time to cook balanced meals in between taxing WFH and never-ending household chores. As a result, the majority of them started ordering online or opting for local tiffin services so as to fulfill their daily meal requirements. This, in turn, led to the rise of cloud kitchens, online food deliveries, and app-based food subscription services. However, from surviving on junk to not having access to proper meals, all these disrupted eating patterns became a major cause of concern for people as they had negative effects on everyone’s health.

FOOD LANDSCAPE HEADS ONLINE

It goes without pointing out the obvious that the pandemic has reshaped our food landscape for now, and the future. As per many studies and experts’ opinions, hybrid workplace models are likely to persist in the wake of the pandemic, which has a bigger impact on restaurants than one can imagine. As people worked more from home, the majority of the restaurants faced the brunt, which used to rely on lunch breakfast sales in particular. The quick-service restaurants, casual dining local eateries, bakeries, and coffee/tea shops, where the working crowd used to go for breaks or refreshments, certainly upended. Many of the food companies rethought their business strategies for the sake of survival. Ergo, the trend completely shifted to online ordering or take-aways only. It can be said that the businesses related to food and meals were somehow saved by the implementation of technology and digitization.

SUBSCRIPTION MODELS ARE THE FUTURE OF FOOD DELIVERY

At present, as more and more restaurants go online or rely on third-party delivery services, delivering food that is affordable to consumers still remains unsolvable with the current dine-in models. While on-demand platforms and dine-ins might struggle to bring down their costs on the menu, this is where food subscription models such as sprink.online come into the picture. Due to its business being vertically integrated on a platform using science and technology, a brand like Sprink can optimize every aspect of menu planning, food production, packaging, and logistics. As a result, it can also deliver a variety of food choices to the customers on a daily basis in a fraction of the cost a customer might spend on an average meal order from a dine-in or via third-party delivery app. All of it, in a delivery-fee-free, flexible and affordable subscription package. The subscription models might be the practical solution to a sustainable and scalable business model for the present and post-pandemic future.

WE ARE WARMING UP TO THE IDEA OF HEALTHY EATING

Almost two years to the pandemic, the population which probably survived on junk food and unhealthy eating are now opting to eat more balanced and healthy wholesome food. While on-demand food delivery services may remain a popular choice for binge eating, there is a clear demand in the market for building the daily food segment homely, healthy and fresh. One of the major factors contributing to staying healthy is, of course, to start eating nutritious, balanced meals and opt for services that can provide the same every day in a convenient and affordable manner. It will be exciting to see the impact of the latest consumer behavior changes on the food landscape and if more restaurants and delivery services partially be open to the idea of subscription-style business models.