Recently there has been a lot of analysis of what makes some casual dining outlets successful while others fail. Convenience store operators – especially those with food-to-go should pay attention. While these secrets may look simple, operationally simple things often turn out to be difficult to deliver. So don’t scoff.

• Tip 1: Put plenty of cheese on a takeaway pizza as it retains heat well.

• Tip 2: Chinese and Indian meals take time to prepare and are not well designed for takeaway.

• Tip 3: Pizzas and burgers have ingredients that can be bulk bought and the average school leaver can be trained to make them.

• Tip 4: You need to reinvent the value of meals in the minds of consumers if you want to be successful.

• Tip 5: Sometimes you are not in the food business. For example, coffee shops may sell expensive coffee but they rent cheap meeting space.