Retailers and restaurateurs have stepped up during the pandemic with ingenious solutions to the recurring problem of isolation at home. Here are five of our favourite examples
No people, no problem
Brooklyn Dumpling Soho in New York City is fully automated, with a dumpling making machine in the front window, touchless ordering kiosks or phone ordering and food lockers to serve customers without any human interaction from start to finish.
What’s in the box
This isn’t an event in a box, it’s an experience at home. In July we all enjoyed a ‘from home’ CADA summer party complete with all manner of Prosecco themed treats, from Prosecco popcorn to prosecco-infused salted caramel sauce.
All change
Discount retailer B&M is the very definition of nimble, changing up to 100 lines every week. In recent months the business has pivoted niftily to gardening, DIY, houseware and textiles, attracting a new cohort of middle-income shoppers in the process.
Case by case
Faced with a huge surge in demand in mid-March and disruptions to supply lines, online wine merchant Naked Wines kept its ‘Angels’ in stocks by temporarily switching to easy-to-ship mixed cases. There were even fully vegan options.
Comfort food
Wagamama’s student support society Noodle Union has ‘wok from halls’ cookery classes designed to make the most of store cupboard staples, supplemented by food drops organised by the brand to locked down young people.