Exciting New Takes on Takeaway Food Options
Concerned about the ready availability of less healthy foods, some councils have put a cap on the number that are allowed to open: in June 2015, Gateshead council announced that it wouldn’t be granting any further applications for new hot food takeaway premises.
But of course, takeaway food needn’t be the unhealthy option and not all venues that sell food to take away are ‘takeaways’, so we’re taking a look at new takes on takeaways and considering how you can fine-tune your own offering to appeal to the more health-conscious customer.
Healthier alternatives
While the word ‘takeaway’ might conjure up images of fish and chips, creamy kormas or perhaps a greasy kebab, an increasing number of takeaways are taking on a healthier focus.
Deli Delivered in Newcastle opens until 11pm and includes protein shakes, super salads and baked sweet potatoes, alongside more indulgent options. It’s a business that grew out of a daytime venture Deli Espresso, with a delivery service provided by the business. It’s one of a growing number of healthy takeaways that might be more appealing to cautious local councils.
It’s not just delis and cafes that are branching out into delivery too. In cities including London, Bristol, Manchester and Edinburgh, online platform Deliveroo goes one step further than predecessors JustEat and HungryHouse in that it is helping some businesses bridge the delivery gap. It gives customers the option to order meals from their favourite restaurants to be delivered to their home in an average of 32 minutes. Speaking in a recent interview with the BBC, Deliveroo’s founder Will Shu explained his aim to bring high quality food into the takeaway market: "In our platform, all restaurants have to do is cook the food, and we take it and bring it to people, which means we can work with a higher class of restaurant.”
As we explored in our recent Food on the Move blog post, customers are beginning to expect more from their fast food, but could you sustain the same quality of food and presentation if you ventured into the takeaway market - and would you want to? If you’re a café owner or restaurant that’s considering expanding there are certainly a lot of things to contemplate, not least the VAT implications.
The cold, the hot and ice cream: VAT explained
If you run a café or restaurant that serves food for consumption on the premises and you are VAT registered, you’ll be charging VAT on food and beverages at the standard rate. If you then decide to sell the same products for customers to eat elsewhere, things become a little complicated.
Aside from speaking to the council about altering your license if you plan to alter your opening hours and sell hot food at night, you’ll need to work out which rate of VAT applies to what food. Cold takeaway food such as sandwiches and salads are zero rated, though foods that are usually standard rated like crisps, cold drinks and bottled water remain the same, as do hot drinks and ice cream. Those who sell food onsite and to take away should allocate sales accordingly, and to do so accurately may mean working out innovative point-of-sale processes. If you’d like to build on your business by taking sandwiches and other items into nearby office buildings these would also be zero VAT rated, providing you are not fulfilling some sort of catering contract or pre-arrangement to do so.
When it comes to hot foods, things are a little different and businesses are now asked to apply the five-rule test to decide whether standard rate applies. If one of the following does apply, then so does the standard rate of VAT:
- If the food has been heated for the purpose of enabling it to be consumed hot
- It has been heated to order
- It has been kept hot after being heated
- It is provided to a customer in packaging that retains heat
- It is advertised or marketed in a way that indicates that it is supplied hot
In essence, the VAT rate you apply could depend on something as simple as whether you advertise a pie as hot or freshly baked. You can find more on the ins and outs of VAT for takeaways here.
Does your café or restaurant offer takeaway choices? Do the VAT differences put you off? Would you consider offering meals for delivery through a service such as Deliveroo, or do you think it demeans the quality of food? As always, we’d love to hear your views so leave us a comment below!"
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