KFC and Pizza Hut operator Yum China Holdings Inc. is trying out new business lines like catering and delivering raw food for home cooking to boost revenue as Chinese customers shun eating out amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Last month, China’s biggest fast food chain operator began customizing menus for its corporate clients which allow employees to order food through KFC’s mobile app tailored to their budget. Pizza Hut is now delivering raw steaks — complete with a recipe that details the exact minutes of frying time — to home cooks. Delivery is “contactless”: riders drop the food off and stand two meters away to watch people pick up their items.

“The traffic is recovering but it still takes some time,” chief executive officer Joey Wat said. “Given the challenge and also the opportunity, we were able to give these a big push.”

About 60 percent of listed restaurant operators in China are at risk of running out of cash within six months, according to data compiled by Bloomberg and company reports. Many medium and small-sized operators have already shut down. Food delivery, which contributed about a third of Yum China’s revenue pre-outbreak, has boomed.

Yum China, which operates 9,200 outlets nationwide according to its annual report, has more cash than most to survive even as dine-in demand fell to almost zero and 30 percent of stores were closed during the peak of the epidemic. The group said last month that it expects an operating loss in the March quarter.

“For the recovery of the business, we would have to be a little patient. The second quarter will still be a little challenging,” said Wat. The crisis “also gives us opportunities to become more open-minded for innovation,” she said.(SD-Agencies)