Restart Rethink Rebirth
Sitting at our desks on 23rd March 2020 little did we know the path that lay ahead.
Restart; The weeks ahead for the nuUnlimited team had all been mapped out, we were making stellar progress preparing to pilot for the Fitzimmons Hotel Group in North Ayrshire. Exciting times as we work towards our deadline saying our mantra “the time is now”. However, this wasn’t to be, slowly but surely we watched with despair as hotels, restaurants and suppliers closed their doors, the ripple effect compounding our fear and anxiety. Two fold, in that our test bed was whipped from under our feet, but also our favourite places to go were now temporarily gone. Once vibrant establishments, full of atmosphere, packed with families and friends and laughter now sit stagnant and lifeless. Suddenly the celebration song of Happy Birthday has a real sombre ring to it, as we repeatedly wash our hands. Covid-19, the day we hit the restart button.
Rethink; We emerge each day adapting how we work, technology overload as suddenly our social channels turn into a riot. However, we watch as each day unravels, the mighty and the brave seizing the day. We are a nation of foodies, and the hospitality sector begins to bring a glimmer of hope to the bored, the lazy and the hungry. From greasy spoons and cafes, to bistros and fine dining restaurants, no stone left unturned.
It is at this point nuUnlimited had our light bulb moment. The Take Away Hub was born. Within a few days we had a brand, website and the beginnings of a free portal for suppliers to come together as one with their offerings to the nation. We had to do something, sitting back and watching it unfurl wasn’t an option. Listening to the demands of the market place was easy, even with all the noise out there. People were screaming out for produce. “Who is open, who is delivering, are they any good?”
The Take Away Hub is growing daily, sitting at over 150 today as we spread the word and as suppliers organise the best way to sell their wares and reach the hoards of people seeking new ways to stock their fridges and entertain themselves and their significant others. We have decided it shall remain as a resource post Covid-19. We hope over the coming weeks and months it will grow into a powerful engine as more people hop onboard.
Rebirth; The hospitality landscape will certainly have a different shape to it on the flipside of this debacle. Suppliers who once supplied restaurants and hotels are seeing a spike in supply to households. We are in essence going back to the good old days of the baker, the butcher and fruit and vegetable boxes, finding that the produce is infinitely better and in fact possibly cheaper in some cases. We are embracing “go local” en mass now rather than just a small percentage of us. All of this contributing to what we call the “Conscious FoodprintTM”. Will this see a paradigm shift in our supermarkets? Time will tell. We have been given this opportunity to redress the balance, to look inwardly at our household operations and how we consume, how we live and how we work.
Our hotels, bars and restaurants will fling their doors open in the not too distant future. We certainly look forward to kickstarting our pilot with Fitzsimmons Hotel Group once lockdown in over, and coming out of this full of fresh insights to bring to the hospitality sector.
Covid-19, you will not defeat us. We say cheers to that!