How to use to-go desserts to boost restaurant sales
4 Min Read
At Chill-N Nitrogen Ice Cream, an extra freeze can extend product quality by up to 20 minutes, typically enough time for delivery or takeout orders. Courtesy of Chill-N Nitrogen Ice Cream
There is always room for dessert, unless there isn’t. Sometimes people don’t order dessert because they feel overly satiated, are in a hurry, or, in the case of online ordering, did not scroll down to view the dessert selection. Operators can remedy this by making it easier to order dessert to go, making consumers aware the item is available for off-premises, and packaging the food correctly.
While ordering treats is common in drive-thru and other quick service concepts, one untapped opportunity is with dine-in establishments. Consumers who decline to order dessert could be encouraged to order desserts to go, to enjoy later. It’s a logical step for diners who increasingly want customization and the ability to eat their favorite restaurant foods at home.
“People ask for desserts to go pretty frequently,” said Leigh Omilinsky, pastry chef for Chicago restaurant Daisies and its sibling cocktail bar The Radicle. “I don’t love the idea of to go desserts, but I love the idea of being able to take a treat home for your partner/babysitter/kid/whatever.”
The challenge is when the customer wants to take ice cream home, or the dish is one with a sauce or temperature that is crucial to the enjoyment. The solution is to make available pints of ice cream, as well as a “secret menu” of brown butter chocolate chip cookies and oatmeal cream pies, which, Omilinsky said, happen to be vegan.
“Desserts that are well suited for takeout are ones that can be room temperature and do not have an ice cream,” she said. “If it’s set in a bowl, has ice cream, or requires a pour-over sauce, just spend the time in the restaurant to enjoy it. We work hard so people can enjoy it in a certain way.”
Stay cool
Ice cream can be a great to-go dessert, and refrigeration is an obvious challenge. Chill-N Nitrogen Ice Cream, which makes customizable, flash-frozen ice cream, developed a way to ensure the ice cream stays frozen longer, to make the product as enjoyable off-premises as in the shops. The process involves giving the ice cream an extra freeze with liquid nitrogen to prepare it for the trip home. That solid freeze can extend product quality by up to 20 minutes, typically enough time for delivery or takeout orders.
“Consumers expect convenience, but they won’t trade quality or personalization for it,” said David Leonardo, CEO of the Miami-based brand. “Dessert has become an at-home occasion as much as a destination, and guests want it made for their needs, whether that’s non-dairy, sugar-free, gluten-free, or kosher, and delivered in great condition.”
Delivery at Chill-N has more than doubled, from about 9% of sales before the pandemic to over 20% of sales currently, with some stores seeing 30%.
Portability
Another dessert trend is jars, the portable, sustainably packaged, social media-ready desserts. Slim Chickens, which has offered jar desserts for years, recently added a Reese’s Peanut Butter Brownie Jar to the lineup.
“We make them by hand and serve them in a mason jar with a lid, so you don’t need to have room for dessert right then,” said Ben Turner, vice president of brand performance for the Fayetteville, Arkansas-based brand. “Finish your tenders and take it with you.”
Turner added that consumers want to indulge, and to do so on their own terms.
“They just want more say in when and how they enjoy it,” he says. “With a lid on the jar, you can eat it in the car, save it for after the kids are in bed, or split it with someone. It’s little treat culture with portability built in. The novelty helps too: a dessert in a mason jar stands out, and the jar is yours to keep and reuse.”
To generate online sales, Slim Chickens has a highlighted add-to-bag recommendation that pops up and shows desserts. That’s true for third-party delivery platforms too, as the brand offers desserts as add-ons within menu items, so customer see them while building their orders.
The online add-on works for Lazy Dog Restaurants too. The casual dining brand offers a few recommendations that appear at the end of the order, such as banana pudding.
“Banana pudding is our number one takeout item,” said Laura LaVigne, vice president of marketing for the Newport Beach, California-based brand. “We feature it as a suggested add-on during online checkout to encourage guests to include dessert with their to-go meal.”
