While the future feels uncertain, we found great inspiration from our friends, partners, and clients in our industry who have adjusted exceptionally well during this COVID-19 crisis. The CEO of Juice Press and the CEO of Azzip Pizza share their stories and strategies with you today in our free webinar recording below. In this video, you'll learn:

1. How to successfully pivot to digital ordering
2. Key success strategies used by successful restaurants
3. How to leverage technology to adapt during times of adversity

Below, we break down the stories of those successful chain restaurant owners who are making the best of the situation and using creative strategies to increase revenue and build loyal customer followings.

How JuicePress Responded to COVID-19 Overnight

CEO Michael Karsch knew .

">JuicePress had to pivot quickly to continue revenue flow in the wake of COVID-19. Grocery stores were performing extremely well, and since people didn’t want to leave their houses, pivoting to grocery delivery was the best move. JuicePress realized that they could turn their commissary, which used to serve 80+ locations, into a fully functioning organic supermarket.

They pivoted their kitchen, vendor relationships, and warehouse space, into JuicePress Grocery to offer their line of soups and salads, bulk snacks, and fresh produce, providing New Yorkers with the grocery options they need. JuicePress was able to transition overnight to grocery delivery by already having the technology infrastructure in place to do so.

“There was no way I could have responded from an implementation standpoint without GoParrot and MarketMan,” Karsch said.

Since GoParrot and MarketMan integrate seamlessly with each other, GoParrot was able to link up with Amazon Fresh and Fresh Direct to coordinate deliveries and quickly create online menus, while MarketMan kept track of back-of-house operations like inventory and supplier management.

By having to close down retail locations and going from 0 grocery deliveries pre-COVID to 350 per day, Karsch has learned a few things.

1. He realizes that JuicePress has a unique opportunity and competitive advantage in the delivery area, for these reasons: With the data and technology on hand, they were able to make informed decisions to quickly pivot and build a delivery service.
   
2. This provided them the flexibility to deliver within 24 hours logistically, while bigger grocery delivery services have week-long waiting lists.
   
3. They have the opportunity to create a permanent reputation for themselves within the next 4 weeks since they have the infrastructure to quickly provide the community with much-needed produce and fresh food. Having the ‘serve first’ mentality is a winning one.

Customers who come out of this difficult time will remember you going above and beyond to help them in a time of need.

How Azzip Pizza Used Digital Ordering To Keep Their Doors Open During COVID-19 And Sell Up to $20K Per Day

Azzip Pizza features unique, highly customized pizzas baked in a conveyor belt oven in front of customers. Despite their concept relying on face-to-face interaction, Azzip Pizza transitioned its business into one that could weather the COVID-19 storm, switching its focus to digital ordering. Azzip Pizza had done some experimenting with online ordering with GoParrot at one of its stores in the past.

When dine-in services were shut down, Azzip Pizza implemented GoParrot to all of its stores and was able to get everything up and running within 36 hours. They went from 3-4% online ordering from one store to 75% across all their locations.

While it was a huge adjustment for the Azzip Pizza team, Co-CEO Andy Niemeier was grateful that they had already been testing with online ordering and could use those learnings to influence their response to the COVID-19 situation.

Creating A Seamless Digital Ordering Experience

Niemeier believes that digital ordering will be crucial to the restaurant industry, both in the next several months and beyond He firmly believes that customers will come to expect digital ordering as the new standard, and will find conveniences in the system they will be unwilling to part with when this pandemic blows over.

The timeline on customer expectations for easy online ordering has certainly been pushed up quite a bit, and having a digital presence will help restaurants compete.

Niemeier’s biggest takeaway from this experience?

“As you think about what your digital presence looks like, try to make your online ordering experience mimic that in-person ordering experience.” - Andy Niemeier • Co-Founder and CEO of Azzip Pizza

He appreciates the capabilities of GoParrot’s platform to showcase menu items, including topping selections. Since Azzip Pizza has so many pizza customization options, they didn’t want to sacrifice showcasing that on a digital ordering platform. With GoParrot, they didn’t have to.

How GoParrot and MarketMan Can Help You Today!

We have seen the devastating impact of COVID-19 in our industry and we completely understand that this is an uncertain time. Here's how we'd like to help.

GoParrot is offering new customers free access for 30 days and set up costs at 50% off.

MarketMan is offering everyone free access for 60 days (or until you reopen) with a 6-month risk-free commitment. Existing customers can receive a reduced maintenance price of $25 per location (up to 3 months). Try MarketMan today!

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