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From point-of-service technology to safety apps and even new ways of interacting with clients both loyal and new, here’s a taste of the latest tech dished out for the food service industry.

The food and restaurant industries bounce back from public health restrictions after the global pandemic with help from hi-tech innovations. These innovations were designed to elevate customers’ dining experience, improve operations, ensure safer working and customer environments and enhance business profitability. Here’s a taste of some of these hi-tech applications souped up for the food industry. 

Restos in Metaverse

No, we still won’t be able to actually eat anything while in the Metaverse, but many popular restaurants are getting into VR spaces. 

Brands such as Chipotle have been banking on big virtual real estate to introduce their brand to new customers through engagement. The Southwestern fast-food giant has come up with a game allowing Roblox users to make virtual burritos in exchange for real ones. 

Chipotle’s “Burrito Builder” is just one of the new ways the food industry has now begun to capitalize on the Metaverse. This way, food brands engage loyal customers while enticing a new generation to check them out. 

Speaking of the Metaverse, NFTs have also found their way in. Food industry executives view NFTs as a way to digitally capture the real-life experience of dining at one’s favorite restaurant. The NFTs function as loyalty perks at some restaurant outlets, allowing customers to “skip the lines” when ordering, or allowing them special perks such as special sales and access to exclusive and yet-to-be-released items. 

High-end restaurants offer NFT memberships priced at hundreds, and even thousands of dollars, while some mid-range restaurants and fast-food chains offer gimmicks such as the aforementioned line-skipping perks.

Many brands are following suit in the NFT trend. Restaurant and hospitality business owners see this as a new revenue stream that capitalizes on their brand and goes well beyond what their menus have to offer. 

As customers look for new ways to engage and interact with their favorite food brands, especially after the pandemic, NFTs and the Metaverse are quickly proving to be a playground for many.

Cleaner, safer, and more digital

According to Elaine Black, Ph.D., Director of Food Safety and Public Health At Ecolab, “Digital tools are successful when they save time by simplifying or automating tasks at a restaurant. As seen on Restaurant Business Online, Dr. Black has identified four key types of technology that help ensure food safety in restaurants. 

Dr. Black cites food safety software first. Data entry and inventory apps that track various checklists for food safety are a must-have for restaurant operations. Time stamps and log-ins are important in keeping track of highly perishable pantry items, and make alerting managers of possible issues before they become a problem much more efficient. 

Related to this first item is the IoT or Internet of Things of connected devices and gadgets that help keep a restaurant running. Safety software goes hand-in-hand with gadgets, devices, and equipment for kitchen staff, ensuring a safe dining experience for customers. 

Analytics programs and digital training complete the four technologies. Analytics helps identify choke points or areas for improvement, while digital training serves restaurant staff from worker to manager level. 

Digitalization has helped step up the training game by creating more accessible training modules for restaurant staff members, ultimately improving the quality of their service for their customers and ensuring loyalty and more brand engagement.

Making payment easier

When it comes to getting our money, technology will always find a way to make it easier and less painful for us to part with our cash. The less painful the process, the happier we are to shell money out. Point-of-service (POS) terminals have gotten way smarter at getting us to reach into our wallets, especially when it comes to some of our favorite restaurants. 

The digital payments company Block Inc. Has come up with several new technologies to help restaurants manage orders and assist them in running the business through a suite of POS applications and devices. 

Some of these are hand-held, and are meant to speed up the ordering process at busy restaurants. With these technologies, gone are the days when servers would sign up order tickets on paper to hand to the kitchen staff. Many an order has been lost or delayed because of this type of inefficient system. Digitalization has all but eliminated problems like this, seamlessly connecting every order directly into the kitchen with the help of some of these apps.

Apps like these help with shortages in manpower and allow restaurants to address customers’ needs more efficiently, thereby making their experience of dining out more easeful and fun. 

Now serving: digitalization

The benefits of digitalization in the food service, restaurant, and hospitality industry are bountiful. From more efficient, safer, and cleaner operations to enhanced marketing and improved customer experiences, technology has allowed many restaurants to remain relevant in real and virtual spaces. 

There’s a lot more to explore as the Metaverse gets bigger and more recognized, and new digital tools are being developed to further improve how restaurants are run. Now, if only someone can figure out a way to actually serve a real burrito in the Metaverse! That will tickle our tech taste buds for sure.

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