Skip to content
MarketScale
‹ Back to IndustriesFood & Beverage

Rethinking Your Restaurant’s Digital Presence

Food is serious business. Now, on The Main Course, host Barbara Castiglia will invite insiders on the front lines of food to share their expertise, strategies, and forecasts for navigating the ever-changing restaurant industry.   The restaurant industry has been through a lot in the last year-plus. Some have pivoted and grown, while others faltered. So, what was…

This story was produced through MarketScale. See how Food & Beverage teams put it to work with Customer Stories & Case Studies.

Promoted content from The Main Course on MarketScale.

Share

Get featured

Want to get featured in MarketScale Food & Beverage?

Create a free MarketScale workspace and get your company's expertise featured across our Food & Beverage coverage. No credit card, no demo required.

Request an invite

Food is serious business. Now, on The Main Course, host Barbara Castiglia will invite insiders on the front lines of food to share their expertise, strategies, and forecasts for navigating the ever-changing restaurant industry.

The restaurant industry has been through a lot in the last year-plus. Some have pivoted and grown, while others faltered. So, what was the difference? Talking about building and protecting the brand, The Main Course host Barbara Castiglia chatted with Tom Riccio, President Promotional Solutions at Deluxe.

Deluxe, which started with the invention of the checkbook, has evolved to help enterprises, small businesses, and financial institutions deepen trust with customers through technology. “We offer payment, data, and marketing solutions,” Riccio explained.

The pandemic impacted their business but keeping facilities open, and running was necessary as they serve many essential businesses. “We learned a lot quickly, and we used that to help clients. We stood up a PPE business quickly for restaurants. That was one piece of it; the next was helping them create commerce strategies and enhance digital experiences.”

“Restaurants must have a digital presence and strategies to ensure success because we’re not going back, only enhancing from here.” – Tom Riccio

Riccio believes that customer perception of brands will depend a lot on their COVID-19 strategy. “Those very forward are showcasing the protection of the entire environment. It’s building and protecting a brand because people are noticing health and safety like never before.”

Marketing is different now for these restaurants. Riccio shared, “Most marketing dollars were spent at the top of the funnel with brand identity as a focus. Now, it’s more pay for performance. What can you do today that will result in a sell?”

The location experience is one element; the digital one another. “There’s been a massive transition to digital, a huge acceleration. A digital presence and strategy are necessary because we aren’t going back,” Riccio said.

Deluxe is also supporting local brands with its show Small Business Revolution—Main Street. “It’s a series where go into small business in main street USA to revitalize the community and bring the town together,” Riccio explained.

A New Episode is Served Up Every Tuesday and Thursday!

Follow us on social media for the latest updates in B2B!

Twitter – @MarketScale

Facebook – facebook.com/marketscale

LinkedIn – linkedin.com/company/marketscale

The Main Course

Part of this channel

The Main Course

Where restaurant and food industry insiders talk real business.

Visit the channel

Your experts belong here

Every story in MarketScale Food & Beverage starts with a company putting its plant managers, quality leads, and R&D teams on the record. Buyers are already reading this topic. The only question is whose experts they find.

Processors and grocery buyers vet suppliers hard, and your operations people are the ones who can satisfy them.

Get your team featuredSee how it works15 minutes, straight to a calendar.

Follow Food & Beverage Insights

Get new expert content in your inbox.

Food & Beverage: are you visible to AI?

Before they reach out, Food & Beverage buyers ask AI engines which vendors to trust. See how AI describes your company today, and where competitors show up instead.

Free plan

You just read one Food & Beverage expert. Your company is full of them.

This article was produced through MarketScale. The same platform turns your plant managers, quality leads, and R&D teams into the articles, video, and social content Food & Beverage buyers are searching for. Create a free workspace and see it with your own people. No credit card, no demo required.

NPS +73 · 1,000+ creators · 38+ countries

What you get, free

Your own MarketScale workspace, up to 10 people
One professional video edit a month for qualifying companies
Media requests to your crowd, remote recording, AI writing tools
$0, no credit card, nothing that expires

More Food & Beverage Insights

Alternative protein buyers are shifting specs from imitation to clean labels

Alternative protein buyers are shifting specs from imitation to clean labels

Science|Business, in a report supported by EIT Food, says alternative proteins are moving from novelty to procurement-ready categories judged on taste, price, and processing. Nature and ScienceDirect reviews point to unresolved safety, regulatory, and environmental assessments for microbial and cultured proteins. For food manufacturers, the near-term work is specification discipline, not hype.

  • 01If a brand requires a ‘clean label’ claim, formulation teams may need to swap mimicry-driven ingredients for fermentation or hybrid approaches earlier in R&D.
  • 02Nature flags that environmental impacts for microbe-derived proteins and cultured meat are still not fully assessed, which can complicate sustainability reporting and supplier scorecards.
  • 03ScienceDirect notes plant-based products can rely on ultra-processed inputs and have amino-acid limitations, making protein quality metrics a better spec than ‘plant-based’ alone.

Sep 14, 2026

44% of higher-income shoppers are buying more private label

44% of higher-income shoppers are buying more private label

Simon-Kucher found 44% of higher-income U.S. shoppers are increasing private label purchases, according to Food Business News. Circana put U.S. private-label sales at $330 billion in 2025, according to Food Business News. Retailers are offering tiered private label lines, including premium options, according to Food Business News.

  • 01Premium private label is no longer a niche: Simon-Kucher found 56% of higher-income consumers intentionally buy premium store brands, a useful benchmark for assortment planning.
  • 02Before budgeting, align definitions: Circana’s $330B figure spans broader private label, while Mintel’s $141.2B estimate is food-and-drink only, according to IFT.org.

Sep 13, 2026

Food Plant Awards Weigh Layout and Utility Performance

Food Plant Awards Weigh Layout and Utility Performance

Food Engineering named Carolina Foods' Pineville, N.C. facility its 2025 Plant of the Year, citing linear layout, automation and fryer-room zoning. Food Processing's Sept. 8, 2026 Green Plant of the Year feature highlighted Perdue Farms' Lewiston, N.C. plant for greenhouse gas and water reductions.

  • 01Carolina Foods' award-winning 425,000-square-foot expansion in Pineville, North Carolina was cited for a linear setup, high automation and updated equipment that raised throughput while maintaining safety and quality, with fryer room separation credited as a novel design choice.
  • 02Food Engineering judges prioritize automation strategy, processing and packaging line design, and supply chain management as plant evaluation criteria.
  • 03MarketScale analysis suggests operators may find it useful to document material flow paths, separate high-heat or high-variability steps like frying from the rest of production, and set a metering and verification baseline for utility and emissions data to support later comparisons.

Sep 13, 2026

Explore More Food & Beverage Insights

Read more expert perspectives from across Food & Beverage.

Browse Food & Beverage Hub

For B2B teams

Your experts could be publishing here

Stories like this one run on content MarketScale captures from real practitioners. See how your team's expertise becomes coverage in Food & Beverage and beyond.

Book a 15-minute demo

Or call us. No forms required. We pick up. 214-945-2512