Beverages menu tweakedas customers stay home

Business owners are happy that food is reaching customers sooner, thanks to no traffic

The food and beverage industry is staring at a very scary future, but business owners are doing whatever it takes to keep their companies afloat. From opting for home delivery to launching new menus, they are making sure their customers are happy during the lockdown.

Third Wave Coffee Roasters has a new beverage menu which includes iced lattes, matcha espresso, and frappes among others.

Sushant Goel, co-founder of the company, says, “We didn’t want our customers to miss their favourite brews during this lockdown period.”

The team took to creating videos that will help people make the drinks at home without any fancy equipment. “We know our customers are missing the cafe, so with every delivery, to rekindle good memories, we are sending across the Spotify playlist of our store,” Sushant adds.

Hatti Kaapi too has added a few new items to their menu, including golden latte, aka turmeric milk. “Since the weather has been hot, we’ve noticed that people are mostly ordering cold beverages. But our signature drink, filter coffee, is the most ordered item from the menu,” says Mahendar U S, owner of the brand.

There’s a combo pack that has ‘medhu vada’ and coffee that customers can order via food aggregators. In order to keep the coffee hot, the brand has a convenience flask that can keep the liquid hot for up to 45 minutes.

Mahendar adds, “Since there is no traffic now, the delivery boys are able to reach the customer in no time. So we haven’t had any problem with the coffee becoming cold.”

One can also order the brand’s coffee powder, jaggery, and tea powder through Swiggy and Amazon Daily. Not everyone had to come up with a new plan to suit the lockdown needs. Lakshmi Dasaka, co-founder of Slay Coffee, started the company with the motive of providing people with tamper-proof, leak-proof and cabin-proof beverages anytime they wanted.

“The temperature will be fine as it’s completely sealed,” says Lakshmi. She adds that the traffic-free roads are a blessing in disguise.

“We haven’t changed the menu; it’s the same. But customers are ordering more cold coffee as it’s summer now,” she adds.

‘Not the same’

While most coffee joints have multiple outlets across the city, only a few of them are operational at the moment. According to some customers, the quality of the beverages has deteriorated in the last month. Tina George, an IT professional, has been regularly ordering from the coffee joint for many months but she found that the quality is not the same anymore. She says, “I was highly recommended by my friends to order from this coffee joint and I loved it. It was rich, creamy and delicious. Soon after the lockdown was announced, the quality dropped very badly. After a few attempts, I have switched to another outlet of the same brand and found it to be much better.”