The lockdown scenario

The Coronavirus has become quite uncontrollable and is spreading like wildfire across various nations. People are staying indoors as a step to stay safe and break the virus transmission chain. Malls and shopping complexes are closed. Except for essential services, all business sectors are shut down. Schools and colleges are closed for an indefinite time. 

The economy of several nations has collapsed. Major sports tournaments have canceled games for this year and are not sure about the following year too. All transportation services are frozen until the end of the dreadful situation. The COVID-19 spread has sure changed the lives of everyone across the world, leaving us stranded.

How the food industry is coping with the lockdown?

The nationwide lockdown inflicted in several countries has changed the functioning of all businesses to a great extent. While corporates are running by taking the support of their employees who work from home, many other niche businesses categorized under non-essential services are struggling to find a way to reach their end customers.

For instance, people are restricted from dining in restaurants until the current situation returns to normal. It has forced food establishments to offer only takeaways and online orders to cater to their customers. Some small food establishments like cafes, pubs, and more are crowdfunding to pay their employees, as they can not run their business anytime soon. 

While large restaurants can afford to collaborate with online food delivery platforms to continue their services, small cafes and restaurants are finding it challenging to manage the circumstances. Though they remain shut down, they are looking for alternative ways to generate revenue to support their employees, along with retaining their customer base. 

The lookout for the need to reach the customers has pushed these businesses to turn to virtual platforms where they can connect with their customers. It helps them to ensure that they still can run their business after the lockdown.

Zoom like venture for cooking classes and virtual sessions

The need for change in business operations has made some food spots to try their hands in virtual cooking classes and workshops. Sydney-based cocktail spot, the Golden Gully, has collected over $1,000 by offering online wine deliveries and offering wine tasting sessions virtually through the Zoom platform. Also, a bakery in London is live-streaming cake baking lessons on Instagram to remain in touch with its customers. People who undertake cooking classes are offering their classes to their students online, as they can not conduct the physical classes in the present times. 

This led to the rise in demand for online platforms to help food businesses reach their customers through virtual platforms like Zoom, Google Meet, etc. Companies and individuals are working on business models around virtual interactive sessions to match the emerging trend.

Some market leaders predict that the virtual classes and sessions will stay in vogue even when the lockdown ends and businesses come under operation, leaving a total shift in the way businesses serve. Zoom like app for cooking classes will be a safe bet for entrepreneurs in this coronavirus lockdown situation but it will turn out be a better business idea even after the lockdown.

Cooking classes online: Ways to interact with users

Webinars

Webinars are a great way to offer online cooking classes or conduct workshops to the end-users. These platforms allow two-way communication with a lively and interactive session. People providing virtual classes can also record the session and use it for a later date as an on-demand video or pre-recorded training. They can also combine several sessions to provide an online cooking course.

Online classes

Live classes are face to face video sessions where the instructor can interact with one or more users seamlessly. They organize the classes similar to physical class sessions to train users on cooking.

They can record the sessions and upload them in the virtual platform, allowing users to access it when needed.

Pre-recorded sessions

The instructor can record all the cooking videos priorly and offer them to users via an online platform for a fixed price. Users can access these videos and connect with the instructor in case of queries.

If you are interested in conducting your cooking class sessions, you can either sign up with a popular video conferencing platform to connect with your users or build your own virtual platform to establish a seamless connection.

Also have a look at the guide to Launching Zoom like app for fitness classes

Steps to offer cooking classes online

Some think that conducting cooking classes online is a tricky job and needs a lot of expertise. It is not the exact scenario. With prior planning and the use of the right platform, you can reach several users in a short period, hitting a home run.

Step 1: Work on the topic

First and foremost, decide on the topic of discussion and work around the main idea to come up with the content for the class. It can be about a specific topic or a multitude of topics. In both cases, you should be able to convey your knowledge in an organized way.

Step 2: Plan the format of the virtual session

There are various ways to conduct an online class. So, it is important to decide on the way you plan to approach the class. 

Some well-known formats for conducting online sessions are:

• Q&A sessions
• Series of online classes
• Online discussions
• Workshops

Step 3: Curate the content for the cooking sessions

Based on the topic of the session, work on the content. That way, you can lead the session without any interruptions.

Step 4: Pick the date and time

The time during which you offer your cooking classes is vital for gaining more audience participation. Hence, choose a time and date that you find ideal for conducting your sessions.

Research shows that conducting online classes around 11 am is known to attain a higher attendance rate.

Step 5: Promote the sessions

Once you are done with planning your online cooking class, it is time to promote it among your target audience. You can take the help of your existing social media platforms for the same. You can create events and get users to register with your classes. You can use online forums for the same.

Building your own Zoom like venture for cooking classes

As mentioned before, you can either register with an existing virtual platform or build a platform of your own to connect with your users. Several development companies offer white-label Zoom clone solutions that have all features integrated similar to the giant Zoom.

If you are all set to go online with your cooking classes, you can connect with us to get the virtual platform built in a jiffy. We offer exclusive Zoom clones for cooking classes that are readily available for customization. 

Reach us through call/mail/chat. Our support team will help you get the best solutions at affordable prices.