Where F&B Meets Digital Expectations
In today’s fast-moving, convenience-driven world, grocery stores and restaurants can no longer afford to treat online presence as an afterthought. Whether you’re managing a neighbourhood grocery shop, a quick-service takeaway, or a full-service restaurant, your customers expect speed, clarity, and options—not just in person, but online too.
But here’s the issue: Many small and medium-sized F&B businesses still struggle with digital transformation. Their systems are outdated, disconnected, or missing entirely. Worse, this disconnect leads to lost orders, frustrated customers, and missed growth opportunities.
At Coremeta, we work with independent grocery stores and food businesses across the UK. We’ve identified three common mistakes that limit growth—and we’ve built a complete solution to fix them.
Let’s start with the most important (and most urgent) issue.
Table of Contents
Mistake 1: No Online Ordering or Booking Options
The Problem: You’re Invisible to Modern Shoppers
Today’s customers expect instant access to what you sell, whether that’s sourdough bread, sushi platters, or oat milk. If they can’t order online from their phone or see your product availability, they’ll likely go to a competitor who offers that convenience.
What used to be a “nice-to-have” is now an expectation:
Busy parents want to pre-order groceries for collection.
Office workers want to pre-book their lunch to avoid the queue.
Families want to order takeaway from a restaurant’s own website—not a delivery app that adds 30% markup.
If you’re only accepting walk-ins or phone calls, you’re already losing potential revenue.
Real-World Mistakes We See Often
- A local grocery shop relying only on foot traffic with no product visibility online.
- A popular restaurant only taking bookings via phone or Instagram DMs, missing dozens of potential reservations per week.
- A bakery with a beautiful menu... posted as a blurry photo on Facebook, with no way to order ahead.
- An artisan food shop with unique items—but no way for customers to browse stock online or check availability.
The Fix: Let Coremeta Power Your Online Storefront
We give you a fully connected online ordering or booking system that works hand-in-hand with your till. It’s designed specifically for grocery shops, takeaways, and restaurants—so it’s fast, mobile-friendly, and doesn’t require any tech skills to manage. You can:
- Offer click & collect or local delivery for groceries.
- Enable online table bookings synced with your calendar.
- Let customers pre-order meals or coffee from their phone.
- Accept online payments, loyalty redemptions, and discount codes.
- Manage everything from one place—no duplicate data entry.
Extra Perks:
- We’ll help you with product photography tips, pricing structure, and delivery options.
- Our marketing advice can help you promote your new ordering system through email, social, and QR flyers in-store.
- You keep 100% of your revenue—no delivery aggregator commissions.
Mistake 2: Poor Product Listings, Missing Info & No Menu Photos
The Problem: You Can’t Sell What They Can’t See
Imagine walking into a restaurant with no menus on the tables, or browsing a grocery shop where none of the items are labelled. You’d feel confused, uncertain, and probably walk out.
That’s exactly what many potential customers experience when they visit small business websites or online stores.
Your food may be amazing. Your stock may be unique. But if your digital presentation is sloppy or incomplete, customers won’t wait around to figure it out.
Common Digital Mistakes We See in the Real World
- Grocery Stores:
- No images for products—or worse, using pixelated, outdated stock photos.
- Missing product descriptions or key info like weight, quantity, and brand.
No filter or search function, making it hard to find what customers want.
- Restaurant & Takeaway
- No images of dishes—or menus shared as PDFs or social media screenshots.
- Missing pricing, ingredient info, or dietary tags (e.g. vegan, gluten-free).
- Menus not updated—items that are out of stock still appear online.
- No “add-ons” or customisation options (e.g. “Add extra cheese”).
These issues frustrate customers and directly lead to abandoned orders.
Why It Matters
Online shoppers make decisions fast. If the information isn’t clear, appealing, and accurate, they’ll bounce—often within seconds.
- Photos build trust and drive appetite
- Details reduce questions and confusion.
- Accurate stock avoids order cancellations.
For restaurants especially, food is visual. A well-lit photo of your signature dish is often more powerful than a long description. For grocers, knowing the brand, quantity, and freshness of a product gives customers the confidence to click “buy.”
The Fix: Coremeta’s Content-Smart System
With Coremeta’s EPOS + eCommerce solution, you don’t need to be a tech whiz or hire a web designer. We help you build a content-rich, image-driven product/menu interface that’s easy to update and maintain.
- Grocery Stores:
- Upload high-quality images (or we guide you with photo tips).
- Add clear titles, prices, descriptions, and units (e.g. 500g / 1L / 6-pack).
- Group by category (e.g. Fruit & Veg, Bakery, Household Essentials).
- Enable filtering (e.g. dairy-free, organic, by brand or price).
- For Restaurants:
- Display dish photos with visual consistency.
- List pricing, ingredients, and dietary indicators.
- Let customers customise orders (e.g. add-ons, remove toppings).
- Set availability so items automatically hide when sold out.
And because everything links back to your EPOS, your site stays in sync with your stock and till automatically—no need to update two systems.
Extra Help from Coremeta:
- We offer photo templates and tips so your listings look consistent—even if you’re using your phone.
- We help you categorise, tag, and price everything properly.
- We provide staff training so your team can manage menus and products without outside help.
Mistake 3: Disconnected Systems That Don’t “Talk” to Each Other
The Problem: You're Running 5 Systems When You Could Be Using 1
Many grocery stores and restaurants end up patching together different platforms over time—one for their till, another for online orders, a third for stock control, a fourth for loyalty, and maybe a fifth for promotions or email marketing.
The result? Nothing syncs. Staff waste time copying data between systems, stock becomes inaccurate, customer records are incomplete, and reporting is all over the place.
Real-Life Examples of Disconnected Chaos
- Grocery Stores:
- Stock sold in-store doesn’t update online—customers order things that are out of stock.
- Price changes made at the till don’t reflect on the website.
- Staff have to count inventory manually across multiple systems.
- Restaurant & Takeaway
- A dish that sells out during dinner service still shows as available online.
- Loyalty points collected in-store can’t be redeemed on web orders.
- Discounts or meal deals are handled manually, leading to inconsistency.
In both cases, owners and staff spend hours each week fixing problems that should be automated. Worse, these errors damage trust with customers—and hurt your bottom line.
Why This Is So Costly
Disconnected systems create:
- Double work for your team
- Inaccurate stock levels
- Order mistakes
- Missed marketing opportunities
- Limited business insights
Worse still, it’s impossible to make smart decisions when your data is spread across five dashboards that don’t match up.
The Fix: One Platform That Does It All — Coremeta
Coremeta was designed to solve this problem from day one. Our platform connects your in-store and online operations into one easy-to-manage system—with everything talking to each other automatically.
What You Get with Coremeta’s Unified EPOS + eCommerce
- Real-Time Sync:
- Sales at the till update your online stock instantly.
- Orders placed online flow directly to your in-store order queue or printer.
- Promotions, discounts, and loyalty are universal—one rule applies to all platforms.
- Centralised Management:
- Update your products, menus, and pricing once—it applies everywhere.
- Add seasonal discounts or time-based offers from one simple dashboard.
- Access all your sales, inventory, and customer data in one place.
- Smart Insights:
- See top-selling products across all channels.
- Track peak times, popular combos, and customer habits.
- Use this data to improve stock planning and marketing efforts.
Bonus: Setup & Support You Don’t Have to Struggle With
- Our team handles installation, onboarding, and training.
- We help import your stock, set up menus, and sync all channels.
- We’re here for long-term support—real people, not ticket bots.
