Snapshots of Food Industry News
Dabur India Resumes Production at all Locations
Dabur India has resumed production at all its manufacturing locations, after the announcement of relaxation of lockdown by the government. The company had suspended production of all items except essentials like hand sanitizers, hand wash, disinfectants, ayurvedic medicines, juices, coconut water and honey. It has now resumed production after evaluating the ground situation. The Corporate office and regional offices have started working with critical staff in the first week. All employees at work have been advised to strictly follow the social distancing and self-safety and hygiene protocols.
Dabur India has taken various initiatives to overcome the impact of COVID-19. Its “COVID Management Strategy” covers employee well-being, brand building, driving sales growth, streamlining supply chain and community welfare. Dabur has also launched new products in the health and food categories which target the growing consumer need for immunity-boosters and hygiene products.
NRAI launches ‘Rise for Restaurants (R4R)’ Platform
The Restaurant Industry is presently fighting a grim battle for its survival and so the National Restaurant Association of India (NRAI) has launched a first of its kind, platform called ‘Rise for Restaurants (R4R)’ to support members and their employees. The NRAI represents the interests of over 6 lakh restaurants across India. Diners can support restaurants by buying virtual cash worth Rs 1,000 at a flat 25 percent discount from an expansive list of restaurants across India on https://r4r.nrai.org/ and redeem it in the future against dining bills at the respective restaurants. The NRAI has developed this entirely keeping in mind the current plight of its members and their employees.
At the time of purchase, customers only pay Rs 250. This amount will contribute towards paying the wages and salaries of restaurant employees. The remaining Rs 500 is to be paid by the customer only when they dine at the restaurant. Virtual cash can be used within 6 months from the purchase date, with limitless purchases and no minimum expenditure amount, blackout dates or redemption conditions. This will ensure revenue for immediate survival of the restaurants’ employees, while patrons will be able to dine out at a discount in the near future. This support of enthusiastic diners will enable restaurants to get back on their feet.
Paytm Launches Rs 100 Crore Loyalty Scheme for Kirana Stores
Digital payment firm Paytm has announced a Rs 100 crore loyalty programme for grocery stores to cover losses faced by merchants from transaction charges. Businesses are now required to pay 1 percent MDR (merchant discount rate) for transferring payment received on Paytm wallet to their bank account. The Rs.100 crore would be invested in giving access to financial services and various marketing tools to encourage kirana stores to accelerate the growth of digital payments through Paytm all-in-one QR, during coronavirus pandemic.
Paytm said that as part of the new loyalty programme, all merchant partners will be eligible to earn reward points for accepting payments from Paytm Wallet, Rupay Cards, and all UPI based payment apps. They can redeem the collected reward points for a voucher instantly or for purchasing exciting merchandise from the Paytm for Business app, such as sound-box, EDC, etc. There is no limit on the reward points that can be earned by a merchant and will directly depend upon the total number of transactions done through the Paytm all-in-One QR.
Cure.fit Begins Grocery Delivery Services Under Whole.fit
Cure.fit has announced the addition of a wide range of grocery essentials in its portfolio. Offering nearly 40 SKUs across various categories including Rice, Atta, Pulses, Oil, Spices, Sugar, Salt, Edible oil, Bread, Milk, Eggs and Heat and Eat ready meals. cure.fit aims to deliver these products to customers in a timely manner. Currently, the company is providing delivery slots within 24 hours of order placement and is working closely with the brand partners to mitigate the existing constraints.
Cure.fit has collaborated with some of the most popular brands in the listed categories such as Saffola (Marico), MTR, Britannia, Pillsbury (General Mills), Ashirwad (ITC), MDH, 24 Mantra to name a few. Since there are health concerns because of COVID-19, so the delivery crew members are being routinely screened and have been told to maintain social distance while picking up the orders from the warehouses. The company has also moved to contactless delivery to reduce contact with customers. Cure.fit is currently providing this service across Bangalore, Hyderabad, and Delhi, while also planning to bring some essential products to Mumbai soon.
Dineout’s White Paper on Guidelines for Restaurants Released
India’s largest dining out and restaurant tech platform, Dineout, has unveiled a whitepaper with guidelines and best practices for the food and beverage and restaurant industry in a post-Covid scenario. The whitepaper was released by Rupinder Brar, the Additional Director-General of the Ministry of Tourism, Government of India. The whitepaper lists down guidelines for the restaurant industry on staff management, staff health and safety, restaurant space sanitisation, food safety, social distancing, inventory management, and measures for takeaway and delivery business models after restoration of the industry. The merits of contactless dining, is being seen as a confidence-building measure to bring back diners. There is a need to encourage diners to opt for the ‘contactless delivery’ option. Diners must be notified via text message or phone call when their order is about to arrive. Following guidelines would ensure that restaurants are safe spaces for diners as well as staff members.
The recommended practices for staff in the restaurant industry included, hand washing with soap every hour and temperature checks on entering the restaurant premises. Staff members who are sick should be given paid leave and advised to stay at home. There are recommendations for space management as social distancing requires a two-meter gap between tables. Staff and material are to be sanitized before entering the kitchen area.
Restaurants need to build trust through behaviour that reassures anxious diners as they are wary of touching unsanitised surfaces or currency notes so contactless dining is recommended which is possible through use of technology, like booking a table, pre-ordering meals, takeaway, digital ordering, digital payment, etc.
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