Research on the Food Service Industry in Central Taiwan

Abstract

This study examined the changes in business models in the food service industry of Taiwan in the postpandemic era. After staying at home for a more prolonged period during the pandemic. More consumers choose to cook at home to save costs, leading to a booming homemade food market. This trend greatly increases the popularity of convenient meal kits, semi-finished products, and do-it-yourself (DIY) meal sets. It not only caters to consumers’ interest in cooking but also provide convenient and quick solutions for food preparation. Food and beverage businesses have successfully expanded their market reach by developing high-quality homemade food products and utilizing social media and e-commerce platforms for sales. The immediacy and wide audience coverage of social media economy have enabled influencers and food bloggers to directly demonstrate the use and effects of meal kits and DIY dining through live streams and short videos. This approach attracts large numbers of followers to purchase these products, thereby quickly enhancing product awareness and sales. Collaborating with social media has become an effective marketing strategy for food and beverage businesses because it increases brand exposure and allows for product adjustments and improvements based on immediate consumer feedback. This study aims to analyze the post-pandemic restaurant industry through the lens of business models. By conducting interviews with restaurant owners across various sectors in central Taiwan, the research will explore how they confronted the challenges during the pandemic and how they have adjusted their business strategies in the aftermath. The objective is to identify future strategies suitable for the Taiwanese culinary market. This study employs business model theory and interview methodology to investigate six companies within Taiwan's restaurant industry. Through comprehensive analysis, the research aims to determine how the restaurant industry should adjust its strategic direction in the post-pandemic era. The interviewed restaurants implemented various adjustments during the postpandemic period, including arranging for industry–academia collaboration, enhancing employee training and incentives, strengthening restaurant recognition and sense of pride among employees, diversifying dish presentation, improving customer service systems, providing customized services, increasing investment in social media, reinforcing supplier relations, and expanding into new distribution channels. The study results indicate that food and beverage businesses can further explore the potential of social media economy, develop more products suitable for online promotion, and continually optimize marketing strategies by leveraging data analysis and market research to meet consumer demands.