Burgers, fries, shakes, tacos, chips, pizzas, quesadillas and more, the foods we love to eat, but need to avoid from time to time. In the restaurant world we encounter old foods and delicacies that have been around for generations, but what about new food hacks? The search for new and modified ingredients changes the food services business supply chain and competitiveness in the industry. As the restaurant sector has been hit hard due to the Covid-19 pandemic as more and more people stayed home, cooked or ordered in, it led businesses, chef’s restaurant owners and landlords into a disruptive supply chain of constraints instead if profit. It became a rigorous and competitive environment to stay open and people found they must modify one’s business model to stay afloat given local, state and federal guidelines on social distancing, closures, and sanitation. Many businesses had a hard time making ends.

Given the initial effects of the pandemic and unknowns in new viral strains, food services, supply chain and restaurant profitability remain incognito on cash flow, foot traffic, profitability, expenditures and strategy. It became clear that food selection would get smaller, but competition could increase. Conventional favorites including burgers, pizzas, tacos, and fast food remained strong but confronted regulatory issues as mass consumption would affect the supply chain, sanitation and safety measures. To ensure supply chain efficiency, improve profitability and increase market share during difficult times, restaurants could investigate attributes to facility work arounds against exiting post pandemic outcomes. These may include:

1. Hacking ingredient quantities, mixtures, cooking times, storage and presentation to produce new, novel foods with improved tastes and experiences.

2. Bringing in chefs and cooks who understand the supply chain and new chemistries in cooking.

3. Supplementing better packaging, distribution and delivery methods.

4. Increasing prices because of quality rather than decreasing prices based on quantity by educating the buyer that experience is novel.

Given unexpected trends in food services, outlook still remains optimistic as long as entrepreneurs, restaurateurs and investors understand the evolving market and facilitate accordingly.