While COVID-19 has promoted the rise of home-delivered meals, far greater has been the surge in home cooking and a return to the traditions of yesteryear – sitting down to eat a meal with your family.

It presents a problem to the QSR industry, though it is nothing that has not been faced before. Changing your behaviour to better reflect the needs and wants of the consumer is already part and parcel of the job.

Where there’s demand, there’s opportunity as well.

Many are taking this opportunity to expand their menu with more options for family bundles at various price points.

Studies have shown that this is proving successful, with more than 2 in 5 participating families indicating that they have ordered a family bundle meal to take away during the pandemic.

The biggest barrier to them ordering again, however, and indeed ordering these bundles in the future, is the lack of variety, and therein lies the greater opportunity for QSRs.

The same study suggested that almost 50 per cent chose not to order bundles due to an inability to customise as they desire, and around 3 in 5 make their decision based on packaging and the environment. Only 35 per cent said cost was a factor.

What this tells us is that convenience is king. Having the option to order exactly what you want, how you want it, takes priority over all else. And as more and more consumers turn to digital applications to order their food, there is greater potential to cater to this.

Ultimately, consumers just want to be easily pleased. If all that takes is a little flexibility, then it’s worth the trouble.