Washington: Consumers are willing to pay monthly subscription fees for streaming services, pet food and even toilet paper. And now some restaurants are betting they’ll do the same for their favourite meals.
Large American restaurant chains like Italian-themed Panera and or Asian-fusion specialty P.F. Chang’s as well as neighbourhood hangouts are increasingly experimenting with the subscription model as a way to ensure steady revenue and customer visits.
Some offer unlimited drinks or free delivery for a monthly fee; others will bring out your favourite appetiser each time you visit.
Matt Baker, chef and owner of Gravitas, in Washington, DC.CREDIT:AP
They’re following a trend: The average American juggled 6.7 subscriptions in 2022, up from 4.2 in 2019, according to Rocket Money, a personal finance app.
“This is just another way for customers to provide a level of support and joy and love for our offerings,” said Matt Baker, the chef at Gravitas, a Michelin-starred restaurant in Washington.
For $US130 per month, Gravitas Supper Club subscribers get a three-course takeout meal for two. Baker said Gravitas shifted to takeout during the pandemic but saw demand fizzle once its dining room reopened. The Supper Club — which serves about 60 diners per month — keeps that revenue flowing.
This Taco Bell is tinkering with a Taco Lover’s pass.
The upscale Chinese chain P.F. Chang’s also saw an opportunity to increase to-go orders with its subscription plan, which launched in September. For $US6.99 per month, members get free delivery, among other perks.
Other restaurants are experimenting with memberships, which let diners pre-pay toward their visits.
El Lopo, a San Francisco bar, has 26 members in its Take-Care-Of-Me Club. They pay either $US89 per month for $US100 in dining credits or $US175 per month for $US200 in credits. When members come in, El Lopo starts bringing out their favourite dishes. Each visit, they can gift a free drink to anyone in the bar.
El Lopo owner Daniel Azarkman started the club in March 2021 to encourage patrons to return as the pandemic eased. Now, he’s hearing from restaurants all over the country who are interested in starting similar programs.
“What it really achieves is getting them in more often,” he said.
Rick Camac, executive director of Industry Relations at the Institute of Culinary Education, said he expects many more restaurants to offer subscriptions in the coming years. Consumers are accustomed to them, he said, and the regular monthly income helps restaurants manage their cash flow.
But not all subscription programs have had success. In 2021, On the Border Mexican Grill introduced its Queso Club, which offered free cheese dip for a year for $US1. The program stopped taking new subscribers a year later.
Edithann Ramey, On the Border’s chief marketing officer, said more than 150,000 people signed up for the Queso Club, and members visited seven times more often than the average guest. But the Dallas-based chain wasn’t making enough to cover the cost of the dip.
On the Border is now retooling the program and expects to reintroduce it later this year. It may charge more or move to a monthly model, Ramey said, but the subscription element will remain.
“It’s becoming kind of a hot trend and we want to stay as a leading brand,” Ramey said.
Taco Bell is also tinkering with its $US10 Taco Lover’s Pass, which lets subscribers get a taco every day for a month. The pass was introduced in January 2022 and again in October; it generated buzz, but the chain is trying to think of ways to make it more valuable to consumers, said Dane Mathews, Taco Bell’s chief digital officer. A subscription could promise faster service, for example, or unlock unique menu items.
Other restaurants have dropped subscriptions, saying they have their hands full just running the kitchen.
In late 2020, SheWolf, an upscale Italian restaurant in Detroit, started sending subscribers a box of pasta, sauces and other treats for $US80 per month. But when its dining room fully reopened six months later, it was too much work to put together hundreds of boxes.
Still, SheWolf is keeping one foot in the subscription space. Dan Reinisch, the restaurant’s beverage director, sends Italian wines to about 80 subscribers who pay $US60 or more each month.
In pre-pandemic times, the discussion among restaurateurs was whether or not to adopt an online ordering system. The coronavirus pandemic provided a definitive answer to this debate – a loud and resounding yes. The uptake of online ordering has been so widespread over the last three years that it is now difficult to find a restaurant that does not offer online ordering especially as online ordering helps boost a restaurants profit.
There has been plenty of research published on how online ordering drives greater revenue. Yet not every restaurant has experienced the much-discussed monetary growth. As with every sales tool, online ordering too needs to be optimized if it is to reap the desired fiscal results.
5 effective tips to increase profits with a restaurant online ordering system
Have a website and a mobile appRestaurant online ordering systems have two main channels – a website and a food ordering app. Your restaurant should offer both options to customers. When you have both a website and a mobile app, you will reach even more customers because you will cover the two primary consumer ordering preferences.
Offer both delivery and order aheadToo often restaurants limit their online ordering facility to delivery. However, statistics have shown that restaurants that allow customers to order ahead for takeout have seen a surge in up to 80% more orders per month. Customers who are in a position to pick up their food don’t necessarily like to wait too long for it. They would much rather order in advance so that their parcels are ready when they arrive. When you open up the order ahead option to your customers, you are bound to have more orders.
Activate upsell and cross-sellPairings, add-ons and combos are all effective ways to increase ticket value. A noticeable purchasing trend is that customers are more likely to opt-in for these when ordering online than in person. You must activate the upsell and cross-sell options on your online ordering system, using data analytics to help you find the best match for upsell and cross-sell recommendations. With upsell and cross-sell you will see the value of each order shoot up by an average of 20%.Must Read: The Rise of Self-Ordering Technology in US Culture
Promote your online ordering system through discounts and offersSometimes customers need a gentle nudge to try out your online ordering system. Almost all of us find it hard to resist discounts and freebies. So, offers that are exclusive to your online ordering system will definitely push sales and rev-up your revenue.
Increase visibility through social mediaSocial media is now the channel of choice to market and promote a brand. A majority of diners, especially millennials and Gen Z, check social media when deciding on where to eat. Use your social media accounts to push your online ordering system. Post content that will tempt and tantalize – like photos of specials or videos of dishes being prepared. Make sure you direct viewers to your restaurant online system in each post to prompt them to place an order immediately.
Partnering with the Right Service Provider
Many restaurateurs just starting out on their online ordering journey find third-party delivery platforms the most convenient channel. However, this is not the most economically viable in the long-run. Third-party delivery services charge huge commissions that cut deep into your revenue, leaving you with little to no profits. They are an impediment to customer loyalty, thus presenting a gigantic road-block in your path to profits. The list of disadvantages goes on, but these two are enough to prove that third-party livery apps will reduce rather than increase your profits.
In order to reap the financial rewards of an online ordering system, you need your own website and custom-branded app. Find a service provider who will create both these. It is always a more economically prudent decision to go with someone who does not charge commission or whose fees are relatively lower. Twenty-four hour customer support is also essential, while a dedicated customer success team will aid you to swiftly boost your earnings.
Applova’s customized websites and mobile ordering apps are economical and have proven to provide an ROI in a matter of months. Easy to set-up and use, they require no specialized technical know-how on the part of restaurant staff. The customer care team is available 24/7, while the customer success officers go out of their way to improve a restaurant’s performance.
What are third-party apps? In the restaurant industry, they are companies that partner with restaurants to offer food delivery. Customers use the company’s app or website to place their orders and make payments.
And with good reason. As consumers have found out, online ordering is easy and convenient, allowing them to peruse the menu at their leisure and get their favorite restaurant food delivered to their door.
Of course, everything has drawbacks, and online ordering is no exception. While data breaches, cold food, and long delivery times during peak hours are a few negatives of online ordering, the biggest drawback is the hefty commission fees third-party apps charge restaurants—anywhere from 15 to 40%!
But online ordering has another valuable benefit that restaurants may not realize . . . and that third-party apps are taking advantage of—data!
Restaurant Data – The Hidden Benefit of Online Ordering Apps
Restaurant data may be the most important tool a restaurant has in its marketing toolbox. Why? Because collecting your customers’ data such as their name, email address, and order history—including the types of food they usually eat, the times they’re most likely to order, and whether they use coupons and loyalty points—provides valuable insight to help you retain and market to your customers. Given that most of your revenue comes from the most loyal minority of your customers, it pays to focus your marketing on them.
By using data collected from an online ordering app, you can build a restaurant database list and leverage it to do the following:
Understanding your customers and their habits and tailoring marketing messages to them for better results.
Create personalized, targeted email marketing campaigns to drive business to your restaurant by highlighting promo codes, new menu items, special discounts and events, and more.
See what menu items are the most and least popular and tailor your menu accordingly to maximize revenue and reduce spending on dishes that don’t sell.
Who Has Your Data (and What Are They Doing With It)?
Unfortunately, using third-party online ordering apps usually means you aren’t getting—or benefitting from—your customers’ data. Instead, third-party delivery apps like Uber Eats and Grubhub withhold this data, blocking you from gaining valuable information regarding your loyal patrons and preventing you from forming relationships with potential customers.
Instead, they often use the data for their own benefit, exploiting the information gleaned from online orders to your restaurant to advertise other restaurants in their database to your customers and increase their own revenue. For example, let’s say you own Hot Tamales, a Mexican restaurant, and you pay a commission of 20% to a third-party ordering app for every order they deliver. Many of your customers love to order tacos on Tuesday nights, which the third-party app knows from the data they’ve collected for your restaurant. They might use that knowledge to advertise to their customers that Manny’s Tacos, your competitor, who pays the app 30%, is running a special on tacos on Tuesdays.
Not only are you losing out on the benefits of leveraging your data to increase your restaurant’s business and sales through marketing, but you’re also potentially losing sales to another restaurant that pays the third-party app a higher commission.
How Big Restaurants Are Leveraging Data to Stay Ahead
Restaurant industry giants like McDonald’s, Starbucks, and KFC often stay ahead of the game in gaining market share by harnessing the power of technology. Such is the case with using data analytics. Businesses that use analytics to inform their business decisions see huge boosts to their profitability—an average of an 8-10 percent increase in profits across all industries. That’s why many larger restaurants are increasingly becoming data-centric to cater to their customer’s specific needs and drive business. And you won’t believe the results!
With a little research, restaurants can find affordable ways to implement their own branded, restaurant-specific online and app ordering systems to gather valuable data that will enable them to grow their business.
One solution is Applova, a customer-centric company that helps food businesses change their game by making complex technology available—and affordable—to everyone. Applova’s web ordering and mobile order-ahead apps are commission-free with no hidden costs. Best of all, unlike third-party apps, they’ll ensure your restaurant’s data goes right where it belongs—in your hands.Must Read: 10 Reasons Your Restaurant Should Own a Food Ordering App
Applova’s online ordering solutions also include the following top features:
Custom branded to the restaurant’s business
Accessible through any device
Self-checkout through the mobile order-ahead app with debit/credit card
Incentivize customers with Applova’s loyalty schemes (Digital stamp cards)
Custom/seasonal discounts with special promo-codes
Customer success has to do with helping your customers achieve their desired goals. Each customer walks into your restaurant with certain objectives, and more often than not, these go beyond simply appeasing their hunger. As a restaurateur, you need to pay heed to what your patrons are looking for. The logic is pretty simple: when customers are successful in fulfilling their desires, they will come again. They will also recommend your restaurant to their family and friends. In other words, customer success creates loyal customers who will also be your brand ambassadors.
The marvelous thing about customer success is that it facilitates the success of your restaurant. Thus, it becomes a key business strategy. Here are five valuable tips for you to develop your customer success strategy:
Tip 1: Create a dedicated customer success teamCustomer success is its own unique aspect of business and, so, your restaurant needs a dedicated customer success team. It is the customer success officers who will forge solid relationships with your clients – relationships that will foster loyalty and long-term patronage. Ideally, your team should comprise individuals with vibrant personalities who can think outside the box. They must be team players and excellent collaborators.
Tip 2: Get to know your customer’s goalsIn order to engender customer success, you need a thorough understanding of what success looks like from the perspective of your customer. Helping a customer to achieve their goals is possible only when you know what those goals are. Therefore, you must uncover what customers want when they come to your restaurant. You will need to take a multi-pronged approach for this – read the reviews, look for social media tags, pay heed to customer complaints, and speak to your diners.
Tip 3: Plot the customer journeyFrom getting a customer to check out your menu and convincing them to place an order, to encouraging them to come back for more, there are many stages to a customer’s journey with your restaurant. You need to build a roadmap for this, identifying the pain points that could potentially occur and taking steps to preempt these. Think about all the different touchpoints – menu design, interior design, order processing, payment, quality of food, hygiene, nutrition and whatever else impinges on a customer’s experience of your restaurant. In your customer success strategy, you must give each of these proper consideration, always working to up the ante on every single one.Must Read: Why are QR Code Menus a hype these days
Tip 4: Stay in touch with your customersKeep in regular contact with your customers by utilizing the different communication channels at your disposal. Text and email are great for publicizing special offers and promotions. Social media updates should go beyond just tantalizing videos and pictures. Post about your staff, share health and nutrition tips, upload a tutorial on how to make certain dishes and share wishes on festive occasions. Keep your customers engaged through regular and consistent messaging that targets the customer success goals that you have already identified.
Tip 5: Evaluate customer successYou won’t know if your strategies are working, if you do not analyze the results. Some pertinent and important areas to measure are: customer retention rate, customer churn rate, customer lifetime value, average purchase value and average purchase frequency. The data analytics tool of the software you use in your restaurant will give you an in-depth understanding of how things are going, identifying areas of excellence and areas that need improvement. Channel these insights into reviewing and revising your customer success strategies.
You already know how competitive the restaurant business is. Thriving in this almost cut-throat environment is dependent upon how well you serve your customers. By ensuring that your patrons are completely satisfied with your restaurant, a good customer service strategy ensures you have the upper hand over your rivals.
It is redundant to say that restaurant life’s super busy. There is always so much going on and you often feel swept off your feet. When you are caught in the thick of the day-to-day functioning of your restaurant, certain tasks become secondary. Running customer surveys is one such activity that gets relegated to the periphery and as such often gets ignored.
Restaurant customer surveys may seem like an extra – a nice-to-do if and when you have some time. If you take this approach with your restaurant, then you are missing out on a fundamental tool to your restaurant’s success. Customer surveys are way more important than most restaurateurs realize. They can help facilitate growth and preempt collapse. Don’t believe us?
Here are five reasons why restaurant customer surveys are vital.
Customer surveys offer insights into how your restaurant can improveIf a member of staff asks a diner how their meal was, nine out of ten will make a generic positive comment. These brief phrases are not useful in any way as they are often too vague. Most customers are reluctant to elaborate when asked about their dining experience in person. Give them a survey and they are far more likely to go into detail. A carefully designed survey can elicit the feedback you need to find out how well you are doing and the specific areas you need to pay more attention to, thus helping you improve the quality of food and service.
Customer surveys help you chart your restaurant’s progressCollated survey results give you a picture of your restaurant’s journey. By tracking customer feedback, you will know what areas have improved and which aspects still need working on. You can follow customer reactions to changes and see how well they have been received. You can make further changes depending on the effectiveness of previous decisions.
Customer surveys are a less damaging alternative to online reviewsCustomers want to share their experiences at a restaurant. This is particularly true of bad experiences. Customers who are dissatisfied or annoyed very often take to the internet, writing scathing comments. Given that 93% of diners check out reviews before deciding on where to eat, negative reviews can be very damaging to business. A customer survey gives a diner the channel they need to vent their feelings and express their thoughts. The formality of the survey suggests that the feedback will be taken seriously, thus assuring them of follow-up action. This preempts them from tapping out nasty sentiments on the keyboard, protecting your restaurant from any harmful publicity.
Customer surveys help you take timely and correct actionThe responses in customer surveys are actionable insights . If a customer has made a negative comment of a very serious nature, you could reach out to them, get more details and take suitable action. The steps you take should be two-pronged: directed towards the customer and the relevant aspect of your restaurant. Say, for instance, a customer complains about the bland taste of the food. You could offer them a discount voucher for their next visit and, at the same time, conduct a quality check in the kitchen. It is not just criticism that can lead to action. Positive feedback can point to areas that you can capitalize on so as to draw in more business.
Customer surveys provide valuable customer dataBeyond the questions you are seeking feedback on, a proper customer feedback survey also asks for the customer’s details. Depending on what kind of information you need, you can solicit personal as well as demographic particulars. The importance of customer data cannot be understated: you can profile your customers so as to serve them better, you can establish contact with them and carry out your marketing activities, and you can run targeted promotion campaigns aimed at the different customer segments.
Carefully constructed customer surveys reveal vital truths about different aspects of your restaurant. You can design your surveys based on your specific needs and what areas you want to learn about. Run customer surveys regularly and use your findings to keep your restaurant moving forward.
It is no secret that the last few years have been a tough time for many restaurateurs as COVID-19 forced many owners to shut down their establishments while losing an incredible amount of business. Now that we are starting to see a return to normalcy, there is a chance for restaurant owners to open their doors and prioritize the health and safety practices that are so important to patrons after a worldwide pandemic.
Luckily, improving health and safety in your establishment is easier than ever due to advancing technologies that not only prevent issues but can also predict what could become an issue later on. Today, we will talk about the tech that can help keep your restaurant clean, avoid contamination, and make your employees feel safer while at work.
Food Safety
If there is ever a time to focus your efforts on the cleanliness of your restaurant, it is after the COVID-19 pandemic. Patrons want to know that they are eating in a sanitary establishment where they can enjoy their meal with the guarantee that everything has been washed and sanitized. Although COVID-19 is fading away, we are still seeing the emergence of seasonal flus and respiratory illnesses that are the result of changes in the weather, so there is always a chance to get sick, and restaurants can do their part to keep the sickness from getting worse.
A major part of keeping your patrons healthy is ensuring that the food is kept at a proper temperature so it cannot become contaminated. We know this is a problem, as one in six Americans gets sick from food contamination every year. One issue at restaurants is that food is left out or is not left at a proper temperature. This is a good time to upgrade to a high-tech refrigerator that has an automated temperature monitoring system so you can be notified if the temp is dropping too low. You can get faster alerts by looking into a smart refrigerator that can send alerts directly to a manager’s cell phone, so they can jump into action when necessary.
Many restaurants still use a manual process of checking the food in the refrigerators and sorting out what is usable and what may be contaminated or nearing expiration. While this type of system can work a lot of the time, humans are capable of errors, and you only need to let one customer get sick in order to bring your restaurant down. You can avoid these issues by entering everything in your kitchen into a database so you can have real-time alerts for when food needs to be changed out.
Of course, the refrigerator is not the only place where foods need to be kept at proper temperatures. If you have a larger establishment with storage rooms and other areas, then you can also install sensors around your facility that can tell you when the temperature is at an unhealthy level.
Keep Employees From Making Patrons Sick
Another issue that many restaurant patrons may have is the belief that if a sick employee touches or is near their food, then they can also get sick, and that is a legitimate concern. Again, technology can come to the rescue, and it can start at the front of the house.
In addition to continuing to wear masks and socially distance, you can help to prevent customers from getting sick while ordering by installing self-ordering kiosks that allow people to order their food without coming in contact with another person. Some of the newer kiosks also allow customers to speak their order, so they don’t even need to touch a screen. Of course, all touch screens should be cleaned by restaurant staff multiple times per day.
With COVID-19, the flu, and other illnesses still making the rounds, it is essential that you do not let sick employees stay at work. As soon as an employee begins their shift, they should be tested for potential illness. Currently, there is great tech available to help, including the Squadle Sense Thermal Scanner, which is a device that attaches to the wall. The employee simply stands in front of it, and it will check their temperature and give the applicable feedback. You can also ask your team screening questions about their health over the last few days to make an educated decision about having them work or not.
When you get the inevitable visit from the health department, it is important to be prepared. You can stay one step ahead by implementing predictive analytic software that will comb over millions of records of data about other restaurants in your area to determine potential risks that you could face as well. You can then investigate and take the proper precautions so you can pass the inspection and keep your customers safe.
Overall Employee Safety
In addition to food safety, avoiding contamination, and keeping sick employees out of the kitchen, there are other ways that you can use tech to help your staff stay safe wherever they may be. For instance, you should continue to use fire and carbon monoxide detectors throughout the restaurant and inspect them regularly to ensure that they are in proper working order.
You can bring that concept a bit further by installing panic buttons in the areas where your employees work and congregate the most. If an employee gets injured during food prep, spots a fire, or feels threatened in any way, then they can hit the panic button, and your team can spring into action. Combine that with a proper security system and cameras, and management can always be aware of potential risks.
While technology can do wonders to keep your team safe, it is important that you continually train your employees on how to use this tech and also how to react properly in the case of an emergency. Continue to have daily safety meetings at the beginning of the workday to go over all immediate risks and ask your team if they have any questions. Management must always keep an open-door policy and address customer concerns as soon as they come up.
As you can see, technology will continue to influence the restaurant industry and its impact on health and safety, both for your staff and the patrons. Continue to look for ways to evolve, and your eatery will make it through the bumpy times.
When it comes to customer-facing technology, the benefits of user-friendly loyalty software are undeniable.
More than ever, restaurants need to think outside the box when it comes to earning and keeping loyal customers. As marketing tools like apps and loyalty programs become table stakes, brands need other competitive advantages to earn effective engagement that drives revenue. Loyalty programs are nothing new, but according to a KPMG report, 61 percent of consumers globally agree that loyalty programs are too difficult to join—or that earning rewards is too difficult. It is clear that ease of use is where brands can differentiate to help grow customer lifetime value.
What are we asking of customers when we ask them to enroll in loyalty programs? We are, in essence, asking them to go out of their way to do something or to take an extra step. And the harder that thing is to do, the more you have to give away to incentivize a customer to follow through.
So, what’s the key to success with loyalty programs? Make it as simple as possible to join and even easier to stay engaged. As a result, your brand can ease dependencies on expensive discounts often required to get customers to take those burdensome extra steps, adding up to significant bottom line savings.
Make it easy to order direct and be a loyal customer
Both online ordering experiences and loyalty programs must be convenient for customers. In the plight against third party, making sure your customers order directly is key to retaining customers, the data that helps power more personalized marketing, and commission dollars. Third-party delivery channels invest huge amounts of time, money, and resources to make their interfaces easy to use so customers will order through them without a second thought. Brands must strive to make their own ordering experience effortless through partnerships with online ordering providers and CRM-integrated experiences.
The more difficult your app or online ordering experience, the more you’ll have to give away or discount to drive enrollment and first-party ordering. This can be very expensive for restaurants, and unnecessary for customers who were planning to make a purchase anyway.
Instead, if your loyalty program is effortless to enroll in or better yet, as simple as placing that first purchase online, and a breeze to use, there’s less need for an incentive. Customers will be more likely to return to purchase directly, either through an app or web ordering, when they know they will earn progress toward perks and the ordering and process will be simple.
Greg Creed, former CEO of Yum! Brands and board member at Thanx, coined the term “easy beats better” in his recently published book RED Marketing: Relevance, Ease and Distinctiveness. Ease of use and convenience will always win over many of the shiny objects often prioritized by brands which is why even the most sophisticated and bespoke apps still need to be easy for consumers to use.
So, how can restaurants make their loyalty program even easier? Here are some improvements to focus on for an improved user experience.
Use a passwordless login. One of the biggest headaches of a digital ordering experience is having to type in a password, or forgetting your password altogether.
Provide an easy sign-in link. Modern user experiences skip passwords altogether using more secure methods of authentication like two-factor authentication.
Offer one-click re-ordering. Many customers like to order the same things over and over. Make it easy for them to re-order with just one click or tap, and save their past orders.
Avoid administrative hurdles up front. Your customers are hungry. Put your menu front and center and only after they have completed their basket ask for information like name and location.
Ample modifiers. Personalization shouldn’t be limited to your marketing approach. Customers need to be able to personalize and customize their orders based on preferences, dietary restrictions, etc. Make it easy for guests to add modifiers to their order otherwise they may go to third party channels who already do.
Suggest one-tap add-ons. Createopportunities for incremental revenue, such as “add avocado for $1” with one click or tap, or “add on a dessert or milkshake” within the ordering window.
Don’t depend on an app
All that said, you shouldn’t put all your eggs in the app basket. Delivering ease of use to customers also means making it easy for them to engage on their preferred channels. Loyalty in particular should not depend on an app to enroll or engage on every purchase. With a reliance on only app engagement, loyalty penetration will almost always reach an asymptote. When you remove the dependency on apps, that’s how you can start seeing loyalty capture rates of 60 percent+.
Asking your customer to add yet another app to their smartphone is a big ask, especially for new or first-time customers who have not yet built a strong enough connection to the brand to warrant an app download. In fact, it is those customers who are most important to move into your marketing funnel, so you can capture their data through loyalty and guide them to subsequent purchases.
Personalization is key
Take convenience one step further by making your experience not just easy but easy for the specific individual.The same KPMG report shows that 60 percent of consumers say they are loyal because they feel a personal connection to a company. When you use the data to make messaging and offers more aligned with the customer’s habits and needs, then you’re giving them a deeper and more meaningful experience.
Easy to use digital experiences help create a flywheel. The easier it is for customers to order directly and engage in loyalty, the more data you can collect. And with more data, brands can more effectively personalize marketing to drive repeat purchases. An easy to engage, effortless loyalty program makes all the difference when it comes to driving more profitable behaviors from your customers. By eliminating friction from traditionally burdensome asks, brands can rely less and less on expensive discounts and see better ROI from marketing efforts.
So you heard all about how self-ordering kiosks can work wonders for your restaurant and you decided to invest in them. Of course you want to start reaping rewards immediately, but acumen tells you that simply having a few kiosks scattered around your restaurant is not going to miraculously start giving you all those marvelous benefits that everyone is talking about. Then, how exactly can you maximize the potential of these devices? What steps should you take?
Thankfully, the answers to these questions are fairly straightforward. With these six dos and don’ts you can easily unleash the power of self-ordering kiosks:
Do’s of Self-Ordering Kiosks
Do keep kiosks where they are easily accessible: For kiosks to have an impact, they must be used. This means that they must be placed where customers can easily find them. While it may seem logical to place self-ordering kiosks at the entrance – after all, this means that the kiosks will be the first thing customers see when they walk in – this may not always be the best option. Think carefully about the layout of your restaurant and the flow of human traffic. Choose an area that is noticeable, convenient and relatively spacious. Remember that customers need some room to be able to use the kiosk comfortably.
Do use clear signage to direct your customers to the kiosks: No matter how prominent you may think your self-ordering kiosks are, you still need to use signs to alert your customers to their presence. Signage serves two main purposes. First, it informs your customers of the existence of self-ordering kiosks at your restaurant (this is extremely valuable when you launch the kiosks and for first-time guests). Secondly, it directs your customers to the kiosks, encouraging them to use the devices.
Do keep your software up-to-date: Providing a seamless customer experience is vital for the success of self-ordering kiosks and, in order to achieve this, you must ensure your software is updated regularly. Glitchy software could cause your restaurant to lose credibility, with the customers questioning the quality of not just the machines, but your products in general. Old technology can also annoy the more tech-savvy patrons creating the risk of losing their patronage.
Don’t of Self-ordering Kiosks
Don’t forget about your differently abled customers: Self-ordering kiosks must be inclusive so that customers with limited mobility can utilize them. Adjust the placement of at least some of the kiosks so that customers in wheelchairs can access them independently. Try to demarcate the space around so that there is minimal risk of other patrons getting in their way.
Don’t leave kiosks unattended: While this may seem to run contrary to the ‘self’ part of ‘ self-ordering kiosks ’ you must have a member of staff around to oversee kiosk usage. There will be occasions when some customers will need assistance – think about the elderly or the less IT-savvy. If someone is having difficulty placing an order or making payment and cannot get help, they may give up and walk out. Having a staff member on hand is not only helpful to customers, it also ensures that you do not lose any business.
Don’t overlook customer purchase statistics: Self-ordering kiosks are a goldmine of customer data. These statistics will give you an in-depth understanding of your restaurant’s performance, revealing vital information on highest selling dishes, time-based demand, customer requests, and popular pairings. With these details you can better organize your restaurant and create a more profitable menu. You will also be able to plan lucrative promotions and offers, bringing in more revenue.
How well your restaurant’s self-ordering kiosks will perform, is dependent on how you implement them. Stick to these dos and don’ts and you will soon begin to see why self-ordering kiosks are the marvels of a modern restaurant.
Wrapping up
It can be seen that to get the most out of your self-ordering kiosks, the placement of the device, signage used to draw the customers attention and having software that is up-to-date are just a few of the vital aspects that you need to look into. So what are you waiting for book a free demo and stay ahead of the competition
When chef Mike Lanham was building out his new tasting menu restaurant Anomaly SF, which opens in San Francisco’s Pacific Heights this week, one thing in particular was weighing on him—his gas stove.
“[I was concerned] not just [about] my health, but also the health of those that work with me,” he said.
Gas stoves, the cooktop of choice for restaurant kitchens and 40 percent of homes in the US, have recently been shown to emit harmful air pollutants that lead to respiratory problems, cardiovascular diseases, and even cancer. New reports from groups including the American Chemical Society and publications such as the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health blame the cooktop’s emissions—nitrogen dioxide, carbon monoxide, formaldehyde, and fine particulate matter—which are at unsafe levels outdoors, let alone indoors, according to standards set by the EPA and World Health Organization.
In response to the studies, federal lawmakers have asked the US Consumer Product Safety Commission to look into the issue. Later this year, the commission could set emission standards on the appliances, require them to be used with exhaust vents or warning labels, or ban the manufacture and import of gas stoves altogether. On the local level, communities such as Berkeley, California, have been concerned for years. The city voted in 2019 to ban natural gas hookups in new buildings, citing a desire to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Of course, after New York Governor Kathy Hochul backed a potential gas ban last week, the gears of the Republican backlash machine began turning, calling the suggestion “totalitarian” and more. We wanted to cut through all of that culture war noise and speak with chefs who have put both gas and electric cooktops to the test to see how they felt about cooking with either technology.
Curtis Stone uses a mix of gas, induction and live fire across his restaurants.
For restaurant kitchens, the alternative to gas stoves is induction cooktops, which run on electricity. Michelin three-star restaurants The French Laundry in Napa Valley and Alinea in Chicago have vowed to switch to energy-efficient electric. Chef Curtis Stone has used induction “exclusively” over the last few years at his LA restaurant Gwen, which also has a Michelin star.
“I love induction because of how precise it is as a cooking method,” Stone told Robb Report. “The cleanup is effortless and it keeps your kitchen cooler than a gas cooktop, while also being better for the environment.” Of course, there are open flames at Gwen, but that’s from the wood-fired grill you can see from the dining room.
Lanham, too, said he “badly” wanted to adopt induction stoves. A former competitive cyclist, he tries to nourish a healthy environment in his kitchen. But in the end, gas was the more “practical” option in his 34-seat space.
“[Induction stoves] look cool, they’re quiet, and they get hot incredibly fast,” he said. “Unfortunately, they also break easily and without warning, they’re hard to repair, they struggle with modulation in many, but not all, cases, and they tend to draw a great deal of power, so they blow fuses like it’s a design feature.”
Induction cooktops can offer more precision than gas ranges.
Other chefs polled by Robb Report said the same thing: Induction is fragile. In the fast-paced environment of a restaurant kitchen, pots and pans aren’t handled delicately. Induction cooktops, for the time being, may be best suited for the pastry line, where precise recipes and a light touch are expected.
At Stone’s Michelin one-star restaurant Maude in Beverly Hills, he uses a combination of induction and gas. The same is true of chef James Syhabout of Michelin two-star Commis in Oakland, California, where electric is primarily employed to make desserts.
Without federal regulations changing, it may be hard for chefs to unhook their gas stoves and invest in new electric ones. Some, who have cooked on live fire their entire careers, feel that using induction is almost too easy, too sterile. Working on traditional gas feels like more of an art, “like playing the drums on a French top,” in the words of one Michelin-starred Chicago chef.
But Lanham, who named his restaurant Anomaly SF for a reason, is game for deviating from the norm—at some point in the future.
“I care nothing for tradition or what anyone else thinks is cool, but electric stoves have a long way to go,” he said. “However, if the tech catches up, I would love to give electric stoves another try.”
What trends will take the food and beverage industry by storm in 2023? Have some been brewing for a while? Find out New Food’s predictions here…
2022 has been and gone and we have now entered another year. With a new year comes resolutions, a different number to remember when writing the date, and, of course, new food trends. But what will they be?
Last January, New Food’s Editor Joshua Minchin predicted various food trends for 2022. These included: indulgence continuing, home cooking remaining popular after the pandemic, few changes being made to CBD regulations, functional foods and personalised nutrition being in demand and, finally, that the low and no alcohol upwards trend would continue.
With overwhelmingly accurate predictions, our Editor must have looked into a crystal ball and foreseen home-cooking companies such as HelloFresh expanding globally and functional beverages appealing to consumers looking for sports enhancement and beauty remedies.
However, turning to the next 12 months, here are five predictions for the upcoming food and beverage trends that are so close you can almost taste them.
1. Sustainable food supremacy
Sustainably sourced foods are a hot topic for consumers. In fact, research by Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) claimed that there was a 71 percent rise in popularity of searches for sustainable goods over the five years leading up to 2021.
Since then, research and technology company Glow carried out a study during 2022, revealing that one in four consumers in the UK have changed their food purchases, now opting for sustainable brands, thus suggesting consumer awareness surrounding sustainability is more acute.
Sustainable products now come in all shapes and sizes, tastes and textures. But there isn’t just a surplus of sustainable options to choose in the supermarket, there are also many eco-friendly packaging types.
The Freedonia Group found that nowadays, “food packaging sustainability is increasingly important to consumers”. In a study, it discovered that consumers considered jars, bottles, snack bags, and pouches made from bioplastics to be the most eco-friendly packaging options, while conventional plastics were ranked lowest in perceived eco-friendliness. Thus, with the mindset that plastic is “bad” and reusable is “good” for the environment, shoppers might be taking packaging into account when stood in the supermarket aisles.
What’s more, with apps now allowing consumers and food companies alike to track their sustainable footprint and brands such as Walkers making the switch to cardboard packaging to cutdown on plastic use, 2023 could be the year more people start making sustainable food choices.
However, New Food recently reported that the cost-of-living crisis is driving consumer purchasing rather than sustainability, suggesting that, for many shoppers, price is of greater concern than impact on the planet during a challenging economic time. In fact, for 71 percent of consumers, value for money was the influential factor impacting product or brand choice.
Thus, with various concerns to consider, it may not be full steam ahead for sustainable purchases as consumers could be forced to pick and choose when they are able to purchase sustainably according to whether can afford it.
2. American chains changing the fast-food game
New Food recently reported on the rise of American fast-food chains in the UK and this trend seems to be showing no signs of stopping, in fact, looking at DUNKIN’ Donuts alone, Alan O’Brien, International Field Marketing Manager at Inspire Brands, told New Food: “The plan over the next three to five years is to expand the DUNKIN’ footprint extensively.”
Wendy’s now has 13 restaurants in the UK and 5,901 in the US
Looking at the other fast-food brands that America has to offer, Restaurant Engine states that all eleven of the top chain restaurants worldwide are of American origin. Citing the leader as McDonalds, with a total of 40,031 restaurants worldwide, the report also notes the success of other quick-service outlets and coffee shops that are globally available including Subway, Burger King, Starbucks and KFC.
With such a variety of American fast-food chains now available all over the world will this year’s consumer favourite takeaway be all American, or could it be chain established a little closer to home?
3. Goodbye best-before dates
It almost feels like muscle memory: picking up a product and checking the label for the best-before date. But with numerous supermarkets in 2022 ditching best-before dates in order to allow consumers to make their own decisions and cut down on food waste, will all best-before dates be scrapped for good?
While its unlikely that you will never see a best-before date again, it is possible that more food and beverage companies will remove them from their product labels in a bid to limit food waste.
According to the United Nations (UN), around 14 percent of food produced globally is lost between harvest and retail. What’s more an estimated 17 percent of total global food production is wasted (which is comprised of separated into 11 percent in households, five percent in the food service and two percent in retail).
With more people on the planet to feed than ever, fruit and vegetables seemed to be the first food types subject to label alterations, with the likes of Sainsbury’s, Waitrose and M&S making changes to hundreds of fruit and vegetable product labels in 2022 alone.
With best-before dates becoming a thing of the past for some food products, the drive to reduce food waste may spur on further label alterations in 2023. Watch this space (and food labels).
4. Less plant-based, more farm-bred
Though the BBC reports that “Veganuary” was originally a challenge established by a UK non-profit organisation in 2014, the word now seems very familiar and normal.
According to Google Trends, in the last five years the term “vegan” was most searched between 29 December 2019 and 4 January 2020. Since then, though interest has fluctuated somewhat, the number of people searching “vegan” has decreased from January 2022 to January 2023.
What’s more, according to The Independent, Pret a Manger will be “closing the majority” of its vegetarian stores due to low demand. After first being born in 2016, Veggie Pret set up shop in numerous locations across the UK, serving a variety of vegan and vegetarian options to customers. However, as we enter 2023, only two stores will reportedly stay open.
Furthermore, international food and restaurant consultant Baum + Whiteman has predicted that there will be a decrease in the popularity of plant based foods. Delving deeper, it has revealed that supermarket sales of “faux” meat dropped about 10 percent by volume during 2022, while sales of the real meat continued rising.
According to Statista, global meat sales are expected to increase by 7.47 percent between 2023 and 2027
And Statista agrees with there being an incoming surge in popularity for farmed meat, forecasting that the worldwide meat industry worldwide will grow by 7.47 percent between 2023-2027.
However, with the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) giving the green light to UPSIDE Foods’ cultured meat in November 2022 and research by GFI Europe showing that there is a growing awareness of cultivated meat in major markets, all hope may not be lost for alternative proteins.
So could it be out with the new and in with the old? Or perhaps the opposite? It’s up to consumers.
5. The rise of the own-label
Without sounding like a broken record, food inflation is on the rise. This means that consumers may be looking for cheaper alternatives in a bid to navigate the cost-of-living crisis.
Chris Elliott, Professor at Queens University Belfast, told New Food that he thinks “the movement from branded to own label purchasing is likely to continue” as, in his opinion, it is clear that “the economic crisis will go on for at least the first half of 2023”.
Research from Kantar shows that own-label range sales are at a record high, with sales reportedly rising by 7.3 percent in 2022, taking up 51.6 percent of the market compared with branded products.
However, Elliot explained that this food trend may not be a particularly good one, hoping instead that there will be “a growing interest in locally produced food that is minimally processed” and that “sales will pick up once again”.
With so many across the world struggling with food insecurity during a challenging economic time, own-label food, while not the only option available, does seem a tempting one. But, as mentioned earlier, with more consumers keen to make purchases with sustainability in mind, who knows what shelves might be empty due to increased demand in the coming year.
