Doing the COVID-Hustle
Pivoting is one of the buzzwords we have been hearing lately as we navigate through lockdown. But what does it actually mean to pivot your business? To get the real answer, we asked one of the most exciting street food caterers in Glasgow a few questions on the topic. Kim and Liam, from Yu-Ca-Taco Real Mexican Street Food, offer some insight and inspiration in this month’s #strEATtalk interview.
#strEATtalk: Like most street food and event caterers, you must have unique and entrepreneurial qualities. Was this a key factor behind you reacting so quickly and positively to the challenges presented by COVID-19?
YCT: Neither of us actually come from a foodie background, and we only set up the food truck business about a year and a half ago so we had already gone through a process of working things out as we went along.
Not just with the business itself but also designing and building the food truck ourselves.. So, I suppose you could say we were well practised at problem-solving by the time The Dreaded C Virus came around and lay so many similar businesses to waste all across the world. It is not just about us though - we've been very lucky to have such a supportive local community who appreciate what we do, and many of whom come back week-on-week.
#strEATtalk: Running a food truck is a completely different business to delivering food to people in their homes. What have been the biggest challenges and how have you dealt with the pace of change?
YCT: Oh yes - totally different! We quickly ruled out hot food as an option quite early. It would have been so much harder to organise individual deliveries on the fly and keeping food hot is much harder than keeping it cold during delivery. People seem to love the chance to have a hand in putting together the meal- it adds a real sense of achievement to the whole process, and so it builds their confidence in using the kitchen. We both believe that if our customers end up cooking more for themselves as a result of this, we are quite happy to lose them as customers - there's nothing more rewarding than learning to cook for yourself with fresh produce!
The weekly shop - fresh, seasonal and local produce.
#strEATtalk: What has been the biggest disruption in your supply chain? How have you overcome this?
YCT: We tend to buy locally, and we know most of the people we deal with, so they are actually able to help us find most of the produce we need. It also helps that we create the menu from thin air each week, and talk to our suppliers first, so we can use seasonal veg when it's available. There have been more issues with unusual products like Jarritos, for example, the Mexican fizzy drinks we like to sell, and much of the compostable packaging we need has also been hard to come by. Mostly it's been okay though, but It's worth mentioning that we started these home deliveries on the 26th of April, so many of the supply chain issues were ironed out in the preceding month or so - I feel like we missed the worst of it.
#strEATtalk: With large restaurants and pub chains due to open for delivery in the coming weeks, what are you doing to ensure Yu-Ca-Taco remains front of mind for food deliveries in the South Side of Glasgow?
YCT: Very good point, and one that we should all watch carefully. We are certainly expecting a falloff but are waiting to see how it goes. Our week-to-week sales vary quite a lot as it is, based on many factors and one of those is certainly restaurants reopening. When restaurants truly reopen and people feel safe enough to go back out), will we know the real numbers. We do have a couple of things in our favour: Mainly the fact that you can't get most of the things we sell anywhere else in Glasgow, but we also have the ability to extend our delivery radius if necessary, promote in more Facebook groups, etc. One concern, as things reopen, is that deliveries will take longer, as roads fill up again.
#strEATtalk: Finally, working in small teams is often difficult in the best of times. What advice can you give to other partner operators or small businesses with fewer than 5 staff to help them stay effective until normal service resumes?
YCT: This is a tough one to answer. We are a couple who spends all our time together in and outside work, and I don't know that I'd necessarily recommend it. Don't tell Kim I said that though, okay? . We really do operate as a bare-bones operation, doing everything ourselves, except for deliveries.. The best thing we have done is... Expand Slowly. Close orders at a number you can handle - don't feel bad to turn people away. Expand step-by-step as you get to know the various facets of the new business model. We have done well mainly because we made sure we didn't take orders we couldn't handle. If there is one good thing that has come from this situation, I think it's that people have come together to support local businesses. We now have so many loyal customers, that I think, and hope, that will stick by us. Only time will tell...
We hope this interview gives you inspiration & positive food for thought. A massive thank you to Kim and Liam for giving up their valuable time to answer in such an insightful and honest manner.
Stay safe and remember strEAT Events is here to support the street food industry in Scotland. If you have any stories about how you have pivoted your business, please get in touch and we will happily share across our platforms.
Real Mexican Street Food from Yu-Ca-Taco, Glasgow.
