It is not unusual for a highly successful entrepreneur to talk about how many times they failed before they succeeded. If you look at the business life of Steve Jobs, Walt Disney, Henry Ford, Thomas Edison, etc. Sometimes they use the phrase a “fast fail” concept. That is the idea that you test new concepts, continue to tweak them, but when it is clear the idea will not succeed you quickly drop the concept. The important part is that you learn from your mistakes and apply those lessons to the next concept. Eventually, you should have a winner.
With upfront investment being relatively low for ghost kitchens, the “fast fail” method can work really well. Restaurants and grocery store deli’s can simultaneously launch multiple ghost kitchens, testing various brand concepts with different marketing initiatives (a lunch-focused sandwich brand, a pizza concept, wings, movie-night packages, gluten-free menu’s, etc.). This approach also allows you to test different marketing avenues (social media, radio, etc.), always working to find the right combinations…and dropping the concepts that don’t work and investing in those that show potential!
As hard as the pandemic has been on the industry, it has also forced some real innovations and creativity. Ultimately this should benefit the consumer and those restaurants and grocery stores who focus on providing the solution which the consumer needs.