Opening a food business during the pandemic surely presents its unique challenges, but equally, there are plenty of rewards to be reaped, as Ramanpreet Chind, owner of Dough Boys Pizza in bustling Uxbridge, West London, discovered. After years of running a successful business importing kitchen furniture in the United Kingdom, Ramanpreet was inspired to open a small takeaway restaurant with his family. Eventually, they opened Dough Boys Pizza serving up Detroit-style pizza and American-inspired delicacies, that soon became the go-to options for local food aficionados.
The challenge
The new venture opened its doors to the local community in April 2020, right at the beginning of the pandemic. Hospitality businesses were arguably among the hardest hit by Covid-19 due to strict lockdown measures and plummeting high street footfall. At the same time, takeaway and food delivery saw staggering growth throughout the nation. Just Eat alone took 46.4 million takeaway orders last summer, while the national food delivery market reached a whopping £11.4bn.
Despite the unprecedented market difficulties, Dough Boys Pizza established strong connections with the local community by offering free meals to key workers when they most needed them. With their popularity growing constantly, as for any business setting up for success, managing their cash flow was a key priority.
Furthermore, with the pandemic in full swing, accepting contactless payments from their customers was imperative. As a small business with no previous card processing experience, it was essential to partner with a payment service provider that could provide the solutions and guidance to help Dough Boys Pizza grow sustainably – and at speed.
The solutions
Partnering with a payment service provider that offered an all-in-one solution, extensive support and quick turnaround was crucial for Dough Boys Pizza. This is why they selected emerchantpay as their payment service provider for their card, contactless, mobile and over-the-phone payments. Just four days after submitting their merchant application, they received their first card terminal and were able to accept in-store card transactions in no time.
The business quickly realised that one terminal wasn't enough to cover the increasing consumer demand. Local customers loved Dough Boys Pizza’s authentic food and commitment to the community, and soon they couldn’t get enough of their favourite treat. Within a few days, Dough Boys Pizza ordered two additional mobile terminals. Once activated, the additional terminals meant that their delivery drivers could start accepting payments from customers upon food delivery, which significantly improved the restaurant's day-to-day operations.
Moreover, for larger group orders, like parties or events, customers at Dough Boys Pizza can order their favourite food and pay over the phone. emerchantpay's Virtual Terminal enables them to accept MOTO (mail-order and telephone-order) payments through a simple integration with the restaurant's EPOS till system.
To further support Dough Boys Pizza's continuous growth, emerchantpay enabled the business to receive fast settlements for their card transactions, giving them flexibility to access their funds quickly and efficiently. With more readily available funds to the business’ bank account, Dough Boys Pizza can spend less time managing finances and devote more resources to what they do best – crafting delicious deep-dish pizzas for their customers.
The impact
Accepting payments is the bloodline of all businesses, and being able to adapt your payments offering as consumer payment preferences change is vital.
"Our customers always come first. We're aspiring to expand so we can cater to a larger customer base, and we think that emerchantpay is the right partner to grow alongside with", said Ramanpreet.
With demand growing at a stellar rate, Dough Boys Pizza are contemplating their expansion plans with more branches across London. “We’ve found the right payments partner that is able to support our growth with quick turnaround and fantastic support from their team. It’s given us the confidence to focus on serving our customers delicious food in our shop or to their door”.
“We know that for whatever we need, we can pick up the phone, and our Relationship Manager at emerchantpay will be on the other side of the line to help us achieve it. We're on a mission to build a beloved brand. Working with partners we can trust is the only sustainable way to scale," concluded Ramanpreet. And we couldn’t agree more.
Get in touch with us today to talk to one of our small business payment experts.