Grow sales and delight families with brand-tailored off-premises solutions
Take-away is here to stay.
As we know all too well, recent years have turned off-premises dining from an occasional convenience to a regular staple of people’s lives—not to mention an essential component of a restaurant brand’s success.
While QSR brands have always been built to support off-premises dining, casual dining and fast casual brands have raced to adapt to the influx of demand for delivery and take-out options. In fact, as of 2021, 39% of casual dining sales are off premises1—more than double what it was in 2019—and now that consumers have gotten a taste for at-home convenience, they’re unlikely to break the habit.
But there’s still room for improvement.
Let’s be honest … for most casual dining brands, the overall carry-out experience just can’t compare to in-restaurant dining, especially for families with children, who often look forward to going out to eat as a fun, family-bonding experience2. Unfortunately, just eating their favorite restaurant food at home, out of context—without the atmosphere, presentation, service and kids’ entertainment they love—doesn’t evoke quite the same emotional connection to the brand for kids and families.
Keep families smiling, wherever your brand goes.
Ready to tap into your biggest opportunity to win with families off premises?
Offer a fun (and brand-building!) surprise in the to-go bag!
After all, why should fast food have a monopoly on building brand loyalty and affinity with kids by including a special surprise in their meal bags?
Plus, parents agree that this is a great idea: We surveyed over 500 parents of kids age 4–10, and 9 out of 103 parents told us they’d love it if casual-dining restaurants were to include kid-friendly items or family-friendly activities with their delivery or to-go meals.
“My kids would be so excited to get something special with our take-out meal,” said one mom in our survey, “… It would definitely encourage them to [choose] restaurants over traditional fast food places.”
Delighting families = growing your bottom line.
Most importantly, a family-friendly surprise in the to-go bag makes good business sense: Over 50%4 of parents surveyed said they would be more likely to order from restaurants that included a special item or activity for their kids (or the whole family!).
If you offer kids a surprisingly awesome at-home dining experience, they’re more likely to remember your name when parents are deciding what to get for dinner. Show families that they’re a valued part of your business, no matter where they dine, by giving them what they want: a chance to connect with one another through your brand.
- To read more about why parents love this idea, see our article: What’s Your Off-Premises Strategy for Kids?
- And to read some of our ideas and tactics for adding fun to the off-premises dining experience, see our article: 6 Ways to Deliver an Innovative Off-Premises Experience
Interested in hearing more about how C3 can help you grow sales by designing fully custom and brand-tailored solutions for your brand?
Contact C3 President Jennifer Loper
at 913-626-9669 or jloper@c3mail.com
or
Group Account Director Jonathan Bowyer
at 816-225-9860 or jbowyer@c3mail.com
ABOUT C3
C3 is a Kansas City-based marketing and design agency that brings brands to life for families with children through experiences and entertainment. C3 uses insights, strategy and expertise to produce award-winning programs and custom products to help major restaurant, hospitality and service industry partners connect with families wherever they are—in person, at home or in the community at large.
1 The NPD Group/CREST®, year ending Dec. 2021, data for Full Service Restaurants.
2 Youthbeat 2021, n=1283 Parents in grades 1 to 4. The Majority of parents agree that eating out is fun for the whole family and Eating out allows us more time to be together.
3 C3 Off-Premises Opportunity Study, n=513, June 2020
4 C3 Off-Premises Opportunity Study, n=513, June 2020
