Lab-Grown Meat To Be Served in US Restaurants for the First Time

Restaurant Tech Editors
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0
Lab-Grown Meat To Be Served in US Restaurants for the First Time

Almost all of the chicken ever eaten was once part of a real bird, but that’s slowly changing. Two firms have successfully convinced US regulators to let them start selling lab-grown chicken. That doesn’t mean another meatless substitute, though. Meat is still on the menu, except this bit of bird was conjured up from a few cells extracted from a live chicken. The laboratory meat won’t be available widely yet, but this is a big step for the future of food.

The US Department of Agriculture has granted Upside Foods and Good Meat authorization to begin selling their lab-grown meat in restaurants. The approval does not come out of left field—the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) determined last year that laboratory-produced chicken meat was safe for human consumption. That makes sense, considering it’s made of all the same constituents as “real” chicken. It’s simply composed of cells cultured inside a steel tank instead of cultured inside a chicken.

Good Meat already sells lab-grown cutlets, nuggets, shredded meat, and satays in Singapore, the first nation to allow sales. Upside Foods has a similar product line (those are its chicken nuggets above), but it is focused on the US market and has relied on big investments to get there. It took in $400 million in funding just last year

The cost to produce meat in the lab is still very high, but investors are betting that production costs will come down as the price of real meat continues to go up. According to Upside, cultured meat is much more efficient when you consider the environmental impacts of farming. Producing a calorie of energy from meat uses about 100 times as much water as a calorie of grain, it claims. Its production facility can currently make about 50,000 pounds of cultured meat in a year, but it hopes to expand capacity to 400,000 pounds per year soon.

The high price and low supply mean you won’t be able to get these products at the grocery store yet. Instead, the companies will partner with upscale restaurants for now. Upside will supply a San Francisco restaurant called Bar Crenn, and Good Meat will work with a Washington DC restaurant owned by celebrity chef Jose Andrés. But in a few years, you may begin to see cultured meat products in more places. There are more than 150 companies around the world working to make these foods tasty and cheap enough to replace meat in your diet, and eventually, someone will figure it out.

Restaurants with Strong Brand Identities Captivate Gen Z

Restaurant Tech Editors
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Restaurants with Strong Brand Identities Captivate Gen Z

Born between 1997 and 2012, Generation Z is a demographic known for being tech-savvy and socially conscious. As one of the largest generations of consumers, they continually influence the ways restaurants innovate, and there are identifiable characteristics that differentiate Gen Z consumers from their older counterparts. Here are the biggest takeaways for how restaurants can engage with Gen Z in ways that create a competitive advantage. 

Create a Strong Online Presence 

While platforms like Instagram and TikTok can generate buzz for a restaurant, many Gen Z customers are still looking to traditional platforms like Yelp and Google Maps when choosing a restaurant to visit; therefore, marketing strategies should focus on creating a strong online presence for the overall brand. Restaurants should keep menus, hours, and branding consistent across multiple platforms to increase visibility amongst a wider range of customers while avoiding confusion. Then, utilizing social media to differentiate your brand and showcase your identity to customers can help your brand stand out.

Be Authentic

As you play into trends, ensure that content is created in a way that amplifies brand values while maintaining authenticity. Avoid simply churning out content for the sake of building presence on an app. Instead, showcase genuine behind-the-scenes footage, staff interactions, or even customer reactions. Interactive content such as polls or competitions can also increase engagement and create a sense of community. By creating authentic content that resonates with your target audience, you’ll increase your chance of establishing a loyal customer base and attracting new customers. 

Optimize Mobile Ordering

Creating and executing a convenient mobile ordering experience for your customers is extremely important, and it will keep them coming back for ease of use and accessibility. Gen Z in particular, as a tech-savvy group, are experts when it comes to navigating mobile ordering experiences. If you’re not quite ready to provide a first-party mobile ordering experience, embracing the third-party options is another route. According to the National Restaurant Industry’s 2022 State of the Restaurant Industry, 85 percent of Gen Zers use third-party platforms like DoorDash, Grubhub, or UberEats. These platforms allow restaurants to reach a wider audience and offer delivery services without having to invest in their own costly delivery infrastructure. Dynamic pricing on these platforms might be necessary to combat some of the lost revenue due to fees.

While it’s important to consider expanding to third-party platforms, there are other motivating factors that Gen Zers might consider over the convenience of mobile ordering. If a restaurant already has their own delivery system, one way to incentivize customers away from third-party options is to offer lower fees to customers who order directly on your restaurant’s website. Another is to add convenience like saved orders, saved payment methods or Apple Pay, loyalty programs, and personalized offers or perks.

Implement a Loyalty Program

Offering rewards like free food or a special perk for signing onto a loyalty program can motivate customers to try out a new restaurant and create a positive first experience. Loyalty rewards don’t have to include discounts and coupons anymore. Non-discount or experiential rewards are more impactful to the customer’s impression of your brand and they help the bottom line without decreasing margins.

Ongoing rewards or loyalty programs can additionally encourage repeat business and build loyalty. These programs usually involve the customer earning points or rewards for every purchase made from the restaurant, and the accumulation of these points can lead to free meals, special perks, or exclusive guest experiences. Reward systems can also be integrated into an app, which can make it easier for customers to earn and redeem rewards while also allowing restaurants to collect valuable data on customer behavior. Overall, loyalty programs are a win-win for both the Gen Zers and restaurants, fostering a sense of community and helping to drive sales.

Engage in Corporate Social Responsibility

According to Fuse Marketing, 84 percent of Gen Z would be more likely to purchase from a brand that gives back. Restaurants can showcase their values by participating in charitable events, sourcing sustainable ingredients, or reducing their carbon footprint. It’s important to not just talk about corporate responsibility but to show it in action. Examples include programs like Too Good to Go, to decrease food waste, CORE, to help children of restaurant employees, and GiftAMeal, to support local food banks in a free and interactive way for customers. Another often overlooked aspect of social responsibility is employee satisfaction. Gen Z values businesses that treat employees well and is thus more likely to support restaurants where employees are happy and engaged. Restaurants can create an enjoyable work environment by offering benefits such as flexible schedules, employee discounts, and career advancement and volunteer opportunities. 

Engaging Gen Z customers requires a strategic approach that factors in their distinctive values, tastes, and behaviors. Restaurants that develop engaging social media content and offer easily accessible and attractive reward systems will create deep relationships with Gen Z customers. It is also essential to prioritize corporate social responsibility to establish a positive brand image that resonates with Gen Z’s preference for purpose-driven business practices. By recognizing and adapting to Gen Z’s unique needs, restaurants will set themselves up to succeed with this increasingly important generation of customers.

Published By: Modern Restaurant Tech

Forget Getting Carded. Amazon Wants to Scan Your Palm To Make Sure You’re Of Age

Restaurant Tech Editors
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0
Forget Getting Carded. Amazon Wants to Scan Your Palm To Make Sure You’re Of Age

Attention all baby-faced twenty-somethings who regularly get carded buying drinks: You may soon face a new high-tech twist on the age-old right of passage in the form of palm-scanning.

At least, that’s if Amazon has its way. According to the company, they’ve just added age verification to their Amazon One palm bio-authentication platform. According to a blog post about the new capability, customers enrolled in Amazon One can use age verification by uploading a photo of the front and back of their government-issued ID, such as their driver’s license, and a selfie. Once signed up, customers will no longer have to show ID when buying drinks at participating outlets.

When in a store or drinking establishment, customers can show they are of age by hovering their palm over an Amazon One device. A “21+” message and the customer-uploaded selfie will appear on the screen. From there, the bartender confirms the photo on their screen is the same as the customer’s and proceeds with the sale.

Bars and their customers might see the benefit of using Amazon’s tech-forward solution, especially if it can mean shorter lines. Bars might also save employee resources otherwise dedicated to carding customers. That said, I’m not sure your local watering hole is ready to install a palm scanner just yet.

While some may also be leery of putting too much of their personal data into the hands of big corporate tech, my guess is digital natives who are ok with sharing info online might prefer the convenience of using bio-authentication methods like palm print authentication. Amazon is also quick to point out that they don’t store users’ driver’s licenses in their system, and the IDs are verified by an ISO 27001–certified identity verification provider (ISO 27001 is an international standard for information security). However, they do store a copy of your palm information, which may still be too much for privacy-concerned customers freaked out about bio-authentication.

For those who are interested in getting palmed, you can check it out next time you catch a Rockies game, as Amazon has installed the age verification-enabled Amazon One In Coors Field at the SandLot Brewery and the Silver Bullet Bar.

Published By: The Spoon

Top Five Considerations When Managing A Restaurant Website

Restaurant Tech Editors
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0
Top Five Considerations When Managing A Restaurant Website

As a restaurant owner, you know that competition is fierce and that every advantage counts when attracting and retaining customers. But have you stopped to consider the impact that a well-managed restaurant website can have on your business?

Sure, you’ve got a strong social media presence and plenty of positive online reviews, but are you really maximizing your online potential? Are you missing out on potential customers who are searching for your restaurant online?

If you want to strengthen your online game, it is important to create a restaurant website. This article aims to give you a better understanding of why a well-managed website is a key ingredient to your restaurant’s success and show you how you can make the most of your website to attract even more customers to your tables. So, let’s get started!

Take a look at the five factors you need to consider when managing your restaurant website

  • Ensuring the necessary capital to create a restaurant website: When it comes to creating a restaurant website, your budget is the first and most important factor to consider. If you haven’t allocated any funds to develop and manage a website , or if hiring a digital marketing agency is financially impractical for your business, then you’ll need to take matters into your own hands and become your own restaurant website creator.
  • Knowledge in web development: There are two ways to create a website: develop it yourself or hire an experienced freelancer or agency to do it for you. If you’re a beginner in web development, you can simply search YouTube for tips on “How to build a restaurant website” to learn the necessary skills. Alternatively, you can use website builders such as WordPress, Wix, and Squarespace. Through these website builders, restaurant owners can choose from various restaurant website templates that suit their business needs.While using website builders may be easy, restaurant owners may require the help of experienced web developers to integrate additional features, such as online ordering into their websites,. Therefore, it’s best to hire experienced professionals to build and maintain the advanced features of your website.
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  • Regular updating of content on your restaurant website: As a restaurant owner, it’s important to manage your website with relevant changes to your menu, opening hours, upcoming events, and promotions. This is crucial for ensuring that customers are always able to find accurate information about your business online. If you don’t have the time or skills necessary to keep your website updated, it’s better to outsource website management to a professional digital marketing agency to help your restaurant website stay relevant with your current offerings.
    Alternatively, if you want to keep website management in-house, there are many resources to help you create and update specific types of content on your site. Graphic design sites like Canva and content writing platforms such as Grammerly will help your restaurant website stay updated with new content.As important as it is to regularly update your website content, it is equally important to monitor the behavior of your website visitors, particularly how long they stay on the website. According to reports, a bounce rate of 75% from the home page is acceptable since visitors may have come to the website solely to find an address or phone number. However, the bounce rate for menu pages should ideally be lower, at least around 40%.
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  • Your restaurant website’s SEO ranking: If you’re not sure what SEO is, you’re not alone. It’s a complex and ever-changing field, and it can be hard to keep up with the latest trends. But if you want your website to be seen by more people, it’s important to understand the basics of SEO.SEO stands for search engine optimization. It’s the process of improving the visibility of your website in search engine results pages (SERPs). The higher your restaurant website ranks in SERPs, the more likely people are to find it when they search for keywords related to restaurants. For example, If you are a restaurant owner that runs a Mexican restaurant website, you will need to include relevant keywords and content related to Mexican cuisine in order to rank higher in search results for Mexican restaurants. There are a number of factors that contribute to your website’s ranking in SERPs, including:
    • The quality and relevance of your content
    • The use of relevant keywords. You can use tools like: Google Analytics, Ahrefs, Moz, and SEMrush to find out what keywords are applicable to your restaurant.
    • The structure of your website
    • The number and quality of links to your website: SEO can be a complex and time-consuming process, but the effort is worth it as it drives more traffic to your website. If you’re not sure where to start, there are a number of resources available to help you, including:
    • Online courses
    • SEO blogs and articles
    • SEO professionals: With a little effort, you can improve your website’s SEO and reach more potential customers.
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  • Selecting the right digital marketing agency: Running a restaurant can be demanding, and creating and managing a website can add to that burden. If you don’t have experience in website development and design, hiring a digital agency to manage your restaurant website can be a good idea. However, before making any decisions, it’s essential to do your research on the digital agency you choose. Two factors that you need to consider are:
    • What services does the agency offer, and what level of experience do they have? Make sure the agency provides services in website creation, SEO optimization, content creation, and website management to create relevant content and optimize your website.
    • Their portfolio and customer testimonials. Choose a digital marketing agency that has prior experience in working with restaurants and has positive customer testimonials . These organizations can come up with effective strategies and suggestions for your restaurant website and marketing

Must Read : 5 Great Digital Marketing Strategies You Need To Revamp Your Restaurant

It’s clear that there are several factors to consider when creating a restaurant website. As a restaurant owner, you may choose to try creating and managing the website yourself, and learn from any mistakes along the way. However, if you want to ensure your website is top-notch and optimized for success, hiring experts to create and manage it for you is also a great option. Ultimately, the decision depends on your goals, budget, and level of expertise. Whatever route you choose, be sure to consider all the possibilities available to you and make an informed decision that will benefit your restaurant’s online presence.

Published By: Applova Inc

How Restaurants Can Compete with Third-Party Delivery

Restaurant Tech Editors
-
0
How Restaurants Can Compete with Third-Party Delivery

A rise in food delivery apps means margin erosion for operators.

With rising interest rates, inflation, and softening consumer spending, restaurateurs are facing challenges like those experienced during peak pandemic levels, but food delivery apps are no longer the boon they once were. Third-party providers comprised a whopping ~52 percent of food and drink app downloads in 2022, signaling a tug-of-war with large, national franchises that is only going to heat up.

As delivery apps grow in popularity, they will remain a go-between for the customer and the brand, leading to margin erosion for restaurants. To combat this, brands must de-emphasize reliance on these providers and take back their customer relationships. This can be achieved in six steps:

1. Understand the experience your customers are hungry for.

Restaurant brands that invested early in proprietary customer engagement platforms are now stronger, including Starbucks with its highly personalized mobile app, Pizza Hut with its top-rated loyalty program, Panera with its brand-defining digital customer experience, and Chick-fil-A with its outstanding omnichannel platform. But the success of these programs has as much to do with insights as technology.

Achieving success with your digital transformation requires staying in touch with your consumer. Invest in knowing who you’re selling to because technology is a means, not an end.

2. Match your value proposition to consumer appetites.

Customers have more restaurant choices than ever. This puts pressure on restaurants with diluted or outdated value propositions, impersonal customer relationships, and stale rewards programs. A strong brand reputation can be an effective gateway for supporting value proposition elements—and many are highly competitive to third-party applications.

This process involves identifying the brand’s signature moments and equities, then connecting them to customer behavior. Think of the craze-worthy aroma of Auntie Anne’s pretzels or “my pleasure” mantra of Chick-fil-A associates. These moments make an otherwise generic interaction memorable and special. 

3. Plan ahead to anticipate consumers’ changing tastes.

Restaurants should focus resources on the customer to understand how hidden needs can be efficiently met through data, technology, experiences, service design, and team training. This means adopting a “prototypes over decks” mindset to create value in new ways.

Note that value isn’t just about price. Value can be found in the convenience of Fazoli’s complete family meal deals or McDonald’s experimental AI-powered menus. The goal is to know what your target customers value faster than the competition and have the agile systems in place to accelerate deployment.

4. Design holistic experiences that consumers crave.

Service design is more effective later in the process, because the more deeply a brand understands customer needs and motivations, the better its opportunity to deliver differentiated, integrated in-store and digital experiences.

Starbucks’ Connect program does this exceptionally well. The program allows licensed stores to link up with Rewards and mobile ordering, benefiting operators and customers alike. The Rewards app itself offers a simplified and highly personalized experience for every customer, incentivizing everything from trying different menu items to playing in-app games. The result is a seamless experience that’s resulted in Rewards members contributing over 53 percent of the company’s US revenue in 2022.

5. Sample new channels to reach new customers.

As direct customer engagement begins to yield real customer data, restaurant brands have an opportunity to refine insights and optimize channel planning, media investments, creative, and content. Pizza Hut developed a “Game Day” promotion to reach NFL fans by integrating their loyalty program to leverage the NFL scheduling API, resulting in targeted offers delivered via mobile notifications at optimal send times (based on preferred teams and time zones). By connecting the brand meaningfully to an important dining occasion, Pizza Hut was able to ensure pizzas arrive to customers in time for kickoff and tap an entirely new audience.

6. Don’t take your best customers for granted.

Owning the customer relationship enables brands to clearly identify the segments most in tune with what a restaurant concept offers. When brands own the direct customer relationship and ensuing insights, they can strategically drive high-value customers to locations with reduced costs over time.

As loyalty programs have become the norm, it’s increasingly important for brands to differentiate beyond points-based product rewards. Offering experiential rewards for brand engagement (think Starbucks’ Odyssey experience) is one way to create connections with your best consumers and leave a stronger impression than a free drink.

Party of Two

For restaurants to right size their relationship with third-party apps, identifying opportunities to implement these six value-added approaches is necessary. These strategies can help brands achieve a balanced reliance on third-party services, take back valuable data, reverse margin erosion, and inspire enduring customer relationships.

US restaurants finally get labor relief with more workers seeking jobs

Restaurant Tech Editors
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0
US restaurants finally get labor relief with more workers seeking jobs

NEW YORK, May 5 (Reuters) – More job seekers are filling out applications to sling Big Macs at McDonald’s (MCD.N), and Starbucks (SBUX.O) baristas are staying in their jobs longer, as a cooling economy sends workers back to low-wage restaurant gigs and keeps them there.

“We’re seeing the labor situations improving,” McDonald’s Chief Executive Chris Kempczinski said during a quarterly earnings call last week. “In the U.S., they’ve made a lot of progress on staffing in the restaurants.”Advertisement · Scroll to continue

The broader labor market remains strong overall. The household unemployment rate dipped to 3.4% in April, the U.S. Labor Department said on Friday, and nonfarm payrolls grew by 253,000.

Leisure and hospitality hiring for the month grew by 31,000 jobs, which is slower than the six-month average of 73,000 jobs per month. Employment in the industry is still 2.4% below pre-pandemic levels, however, part of the effects of restaurants shutting during the pandemic.

“We’re seeing application rates increase, retention rates continue to increase, and our staffing levels are back to, at or near 2019 levels,” Yum Brands (YUM.N) Chief Financial Officer Chris Turner said during the company’s quarterly earnings call on Wednesday. Yum owns Taco Bell, Pizza Hut and KFC brands.

Once the economy rebounded, many fast-food workers quit grueling, low-wage jobs to work in booming sectors that paid more and were desperate for workers, including in transportation and warehousing.Advertisement · Scroll to continue

The restaurant industry shed millions of jobs. Chains from IHOP (DIN.N) to Burger King (QSR.TO), (TAST.O) expected to remain perpetually understaffed for the foreseeable future – especially amid a post-pandemic boom in demand for dining out.

But now, inflation-wary consumers are buying fewer motor vehicles and other expensive purchases, pressuring manufacturers and retailers.

As retail demand softens, “a lot of unskilled labor that went there is now making its way back to our industry in general,” Scott Boatwright, chief restaurant officer at Chipotle Mexican Grill, said in an interview last week. “We’re getting more than our fair share of that labor pool.”

As of April, there were 12.25 million people working in the food services industry, the U.S. Labor Department said, just a shade under the 12.34 million peak in February 2020, just before the pandemic broke out in the United States.Advertisement · Scroll to continue

Chipotle’s staffing level is at an all-time high – far above pre-pandemic levels – and retention is at its best in the last five years, Boatwright said, though he declined to disclose the company’s turnover rate.

Starbucks Chief Executive Laxman Narasimhan said during the coffee chain’s quarterly earnings call on Tuesday that barista turnover fell by 9% compared to a high in March 2022.

He attributed the easing to higher salaries, benefits and training, as well as investments in technology that has led to productivity gains and employee satisfaction.

Most restaurants boosted wages and benefits during their frenzy to find workers over the last couple years, which may now also be paying off.

The pay gap between the leisure and hospitality industry – historically, the lowest-paying sector – and other industries is at its narrowest since 2006, when the government began collecting the data, said Wells Fargo Senior Economist Sarah House.

In April, leisure and hospitality workers earned 63% of what workers in other industries made overall, compared to about 57% in December 2020.

Wage inflation is expected to slow in the second half of the year, said Credit Suisse Chief Economist Ray Farris.

“Companies are going to be able to be a little more selective,” he said, “and potential employees are going to have to be a little more flexible.”

Published By: Reuters

71% of Asian restaurants in the U.S. serve Chinese, Japanese or Thai food

Restaurant Tech Editors
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0
71% of Asian restaurants in the U.S. serve Chinese, Japanese or Thai food

Some 12% of all restaurants in the United States serve Asian food, according to a new Pew Research Center analysis. That share is slightly higher than the 7% of the U.S. population that is Asian American.

Around seven-in-ten of all Asian restaurants in the U.S. serve the food of just three Asian origin groups: Chinese, Japanese and Thai. These groups together comprise 33% of the U.S. Asian population.

Here are some other key takeaways from the analysis, which is based on data from SafeGraph, a data company that curates high-precision data on millions of places around the globe.

Chinese establishments are by far the most common type of Asian restaurant in the U.S. Nearly four-in-ten Asian restaurants (39%) serve Chinese food, which has a long history in the U.S. By comparison, Chinese Americans account for about a quarter of Asians living in the U.S. (24%).

Japanese and Thai food has spread widely, despite these groups’ relatively small shares of the U.S. population. The first sushi restaurant in the U.S. opened just over 50 years ago, but today sushi is widely available from coast to coast. Restaurants that serve Japanese food account for 28% of Asian restaurants in the U.S., making it the second-most common Asian cuisine. Japanese Americans, by comparison, are the sixth-largest Asian origin group in the country, comprising 7% of the U.S. Asian population.

Similarly, Thai establishments make up 11% of all Asian restaurants – the third-most common cuisine behind Chinese and Japanese food – while just 2% of Asian Americans are Thai. The Thai government has historically supported efforts to increase the number of Thai restaurants around the world as a form of diplomacy.

Indian and Filipino establishments account for a relatively small share of Asian restaurants. Indian and Filipino restaurants account for 7% and 1% of all Asian restaurants in the U.S., respectively – even though Indian and Filipino Americans account for nearly 40% of Asians in the U.S. combined.

Like the Asian American population, Asian restaurants in the U.S. are heavily concentrated in a few states. More than half of U.S. Asians (55%) live in five states: California, New York, Texas, New Jersey and Washington. And just under half of all Asian restaurants – 45% – are located in those five states.

More than 15% of all restaurants in Hawaii, California, Washington, Nevada and New York serve Asian food, and each state has a significant Asian American population. Meanwhile, Asian restaurants account for 6% of all restaurants in Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota and West Virginia.

Around three-quarters of all counties in the U.S. (73%) have at least one Asian restaurant of any kind. And in eight counties with at least 15 restaurants of any type, Asian restaurants make up at least a quarter of all food establishments. Half of those counties are in California.

A map of the U.S. that shows in eight counties, at least one-in-four restaurants serve Asian food.

Chinese restaurants are found in every state and in 70% of all U.S. counties. Every state and a third or more of all counties also have at least one Japanese (45%) or Thai (33%) restaurant.

However, restaurants serving other types of Asian food are less widely distributed. Around one-in-five U.S. counties have Vietnamese and Indian restaurants, and fewer than 10% of counties have Filipino, Pakistani, Mongolian or Burmese restaurants.

Multiple maps of the U.S. that show restaurants serving Asian cuisines are found across the United States.

Some 9% of Asian restaurants in the U.S. offer cuisines from multiple Asian origin groups. Nearly seven in every 10 of these establishments are combinations of Chinese or Japanese food, either with each other (36%) or with some other cuisine: 18% serve Chinese and Thai food, 15% serve Japanese and Thai food and 10% serve Japanese and Korean food.

However, these relationships are not always symmetrical. For instance, 78% of Pakistani restaurants in the U.S. also serve Indian food, but just 10% of Indian restaurants serve Pakistani food.

Published By: Pew Research Center

How Restaurants Can Compete with Third-Party Delivery

Restaurant Tech Editors
-
0
How Restaurants Can Compete with Third-Party Delivery

A rise in food delivery apps means margin erosion for operators.

With rising interest rates, inflation, and softening consumer spending, restaurateurs are facing challenges like those experienced during peak pandemic levels, but food delivery apps are no longer the boon they once were. Third-party providers comprised a whopping ~52 percent of food and drink app downloads in 2022, signaling a tug-of-war with large, national franchises that is only going to heat up.

As delivery apps grow in popularity, they will remain a go-between for the customer and the brand, leading to margin erosion for restaurants. To combat this, brands must de-emphasize reliance on these providers and take back their customer relationships. This can be achieved in six steps:

1. Understand the experience your customers are hungry for.

Restaurant brands that invested early in proprietary customer engagement platforms are now stronger, including Starbucks with its highly personalized mobile app, Pizza Hut with its top-rated loyalty program, Panera with its brand-defining digital customer experience, and Chick-fil-A with its outstanding omnichannel platform. But the success of these programs has as much to do with insights as technology.

Achieving success with your digital transformation requires staying in touch with your consumer. Invest in knowing who you’re selling to because technology is a means, not an end.

2. Match your value proposition to consumer appetites.

Customers have more restaurant choices than ever. This puts pressure on restaurants with diluted or outdated value propositions, impersonal customer relationships, and stale rewards programs. A strong brand reputation can be an effective gateway for supporting value proposition elements—and many are highly competitive to third-party applications.

This process involves identifying the brand’s signature moments and equities, then connecting them to customer behavior. Think of the craze-worthy aroma of Auntie Anne’s pretzels or “my pleasure” mantra of Chick-fil-A associates. These moments make an otherwise generic interaction memorable and special. 

3. Plan ahead to anticipate consumers’ changing tastes.

Restaurants should focus resources on the customer to understand how hidden needs can be efficiently met through data, technology, experiences, service design, and team training. This means adopting a “prototypes over decks” mindset to create value in new ways.

Note that value isn’t just about price. Value can be found in the convenience of Fazoli’s complete family meal deals or McDonald’s experimental AI-powered menus. The goal is to know what your target customers value faster than the competition and have the agile systems in place to accelerate deployment.

4. Design holistic experiences that consumers crave.

Service design is more effective later in the process, because the more deeply a brand understands customer needs and motivations, the better its opportunity to deliver differentiated, integrated in-store and digital experiences.

Starbucks’ Connect program does this exceptionally well. The program allows licensed stores to link up with Rewards and mobile ordering, benefiting operators and customers alike. The Rewards app itself offers a simplified and highly personalized experience for every customer, incentivizing everything from trying different menu items to playing in-app games. The result is a seamless experience that’s resulted in Rewards members contributing over 53 percent of the company’s US revenue in 2022.

5. Sample new channels to reach new customers.

As direct customer engagement begins to yield real customer data, restaurant brands have an opportunity to refine insights and optimize channel planning, media investments, creative, and content. Pizza Hut developed a “Game Day” promotion to reach NFL fans by integrating their loyalty program to leverage the NFL scheduling API, resulting in targeted offers delivered via mobile notifications at optimal send times (based on preferred teams and time zones). By connecting the brand meaningfully to an important dining occasion, Pizza Hut was able to ensure pizzas arrive to customers in time for kickoff and tap an entirely new audience.

6. Don’t take your best customers for granted.

Owning the customer relationship enables brands to clearly identify the segments most in tune with what a restaurant concept offers. When brands own the direct customer relationship and ensuing insights, they can strategically drive high-value customers to locations with reduced costs over time.

As loyalty programs have become the norm, it’s increasingly important for brands to differentiate beyond points-based product rewards. Offering experiential rewards for brand engagement (think Starbucks’ Odyssey experience) is one way to create connections with your best consumers and leave a stronger impression than a free drink.

Party of Two

For restaurants to right size their relationship with third-party apps, identifying opportunities to implement these six value-added approaches is necessary. These strategies can help brands achieve a balanced reliance on third-party services, take back valuable data, reverse margin erosion, and inspire enduring customer relationships.

Published By: QSR

State of the Industry and More Restaurant Research

Restaurant Tech Editors
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0
State of the Industry and More Restaurant Research

In a State of the Restaurant industry report, the National Restaurant Association sees a return to normal with predicted sales growth in 2023. Other top research lists how impactful the Super Bowl was for restaurants, the state of gift cards and top pizza cities.

A Return to Normal

The National Restaurant Association released its 2023 State of the Restaurant Industry report, which examines key factors impacting the industry including the current state of the economy, operations, workforce, and food and menu trends to forecast sales and market trends for the year ahead. The report is an authoritative look at the industry and its opportunities based on a range of national surveys of restaurant owners, operators, chefs, and consumers.

Key findings illustrating the industry’s economic conditions include:

Growth will continue: The foodservice industry is forecast to reach $997 billion in sales in 2023, driven in part by higher menu prices.

Industry help wanted: The foodservice industry workforce is projected to grow by 500,000 jobs, for total industry employment of 15.5 million by the end of 2023.

Building on a Solid Foundation: For 70 percent of operators, business conditions have settled into or are on the path to their new version of normal. 

Consumers want restaurant experiences: 84 percent of consumers say going out to a restaurant with family and friends is a better use of their leisure time than cooking and cleaning up.

Rising costs create challenges: 92 percent of operators say the cost of food is a significant issue for their restaurant.

Competition is heating up: In 2023, 47 percent of operators expect competition to be more intense than last year.

“The restaurant and foodservice industry is fueling the American economy. Our hiring rate and wage increases are outpacing the overall private sector, and this year our industry will contribute nearly $1 trillion to the economy,” said Michelle Korsmo, president & CEO of the National Restaurant Association. “The 2023 State of the Restaurant Industry report offers an in-depth analysis of what’s driving this growth and the tremendous opportunities for restaurant owners, operators, and team members who want to grow their businesses and expand their careers.”

Pandemic Pivots Become Permanent

The temporary “pivots” developed during the pandemic — expanded delivery services, outdoor dining options, to-go alcohol offerings, and investments in technology — are the foundation of the industry’s “new normal.” At least 4 in 10 operators in each of the three limited-service segments — quickservice, fast casual, and coffee and snack — believe the addition of drive-thru lanes will become more common in 2023. For others, outdoor dining and alcohol-to-go are becoming table stakes. Across all six major segments, more than 9 in 10 operators plan to continue offering outdoor seating and the same number of operators are also likely to continue offering alcohol-to-go, if their jurisdiction allows it.

Despite widespread investment in technology in the last few years, the restaurant industry is still far from becoming a tech-centric sector. Most operators still consider their use of technology as mainstream rather than leading edge.

In 2023, many operators want to keep moving toward the edge, with more than four in ten planning investments in equipment or technology to increase front- and back-of-the-house productivity. These investments are anticipated mostly in the order and payment space, rather than automated systems or robots that prepare and serve food. Other operational takeaways include:

  • Among fine-dining restaurants that offered delivery during the pandemic, 79 percent added it for the first time; 8 in 10 of those plan to continue.
  • Two-thirds of adults say they’re more likely to order takeout food from a restaurant than they were before the pandemic.
  • Off-premises-only locations are expected to grow in popularity; more than 4 in 10 limited-service operators think they will be more common this year.
  • 69 percent of adults say they like the option to dine outside.
An Industry of Opportunity

The restaurant and foodservice industry added 2.8 million jobs over the past 24 months, bringing the industry total to 15 million at the end of 2022; however, the foodservice industry remains 400,000 jobs below pre-pandemic levels.

Most restaurant operators will be actively looking to boost staffing levels in 2023, while carefully balancing staffing needs with business conditions. Eighty-seven  percent of operators say they’ll likely hire additional employees during the next 6–12 months if qualified applicants are available. Key figures on the restaurant workforce include:

  • Between 2023 and 2030, the foodservice industry is projected to add an average of roughly 150,000 jobs a year, with total staffing levels projected to reach 16.5 million by 2030.
  • Only one in ten operators think recruiting and retaining employees will be easier in 2023 than it was in 2022.
  • The restaurant industry has long been the primary training ground for new entrants to the workforce and in 2022, nearly a quarter of jobs were filled by first-time employees.
  • 58 percent of operators say using tech and automation to alleviate labor shortages will become more common in their segment in 2023; however, technology is generally complementary to human labor and primarily intended to enhance rather than replace workers in the restaurant industry. 
Flexibility to Accommodate Rising Food Costs and All-Hours Dining

Demand for restaurant experiences remains strong among consumers who are hungry to connect over shared meals. Operators are taking creative cost-saving approaches to temper elevated expenses, including food, labor, occupancy, and utilities, by streamlining their menus. With the rise of remote work blurring traditional meal times, operators are focusing on new opportunities to entice customers at all hours with engaging offerings, including off-hours or slow-day value deals, flexible pricing, multi-course meal bundles, meal kits and subscriptions, apparel, and more. Meanwhile, many operators plan to add to their menus more healthier and nutritious meal options, eco-friendly items, and dishes tailored to takeout in 2023. Key data points on food and beverage trends include:

  • 93 percent of operators say their restaurant’s total food costs are higher than they were in 2019.
  • A majority of operators across all segments expect to keep their menus in 2023 similar in size to last year.
  • 69 percent of adults say they are likely to purchase a meal kit (measured ingredients with cooking instructions), including more than eight in ten
  • Gen Z adults and millennials.
  • Eco-friendly business practices continue to draw consumers, especially millennials.

“As the restaurant industry adapts to a new normal, operators’ ability to be flexible and diversify their operations is essential to thriving,” said Hudson Riehle, senior vice president of Research for the National Restaurant Association. “With profitability under pressure, operators are launching new business models within the industry, re-engineering current concepts, and allocating more space to off-premises business in order to satisfy customers in 2023.”

Click here to download the 2023 State of the Restaurant Industry Report, supported by SpotOn and Sage.

Toast’s Restaurant Trends

Toast’s quarterly Restaurant Trends Report  includes Q4 data from selected cohorts of restaurants on its platform, which serves approximately 79,000 restaurant locations in the U.S.

Among the results:

Tipping culture is here to stay, in fact 48  percent of card or digital payment transactions at QSR restaurants included a tip – up 11  percent since 2020. 

New York City dining is growing with transaction counts growing 10  percent YOY -Toast analyzed the average number of transactions per restaurant location in select metropolitan areas and NYC led the way with over 10  percent growth. Chicago, Seattle, and New Orleans were close behind at 9  percent growth. San Francisco only saw approximately 2  percent growth.

The average Valentine’s Day dinner with food, drinks, and tip cost diners $121  in 2023.  That’s up more than 75  percent since 2018, but down slightly since 2022.

Delivery transactions on Super Bowl Sunday were up in every metro area Toast analyzed except for Philadelphia.  The Salt Lake City metro area took the prize for food delivery though, increasing the  percentage of its delivery transactions by 13  percent YOY.

And the Eagles may have lost the Super Bowl, but the Philadelphia metropolitan areas crushed the Kansas City metro areas in beers ordered. At an average cost of $7.19 a pop, Philly metro area restaurants on average served 109  percent more beer during Super Sunday 2023 than in 2022, while Kansas City metro area was only up 67  percent.

How Do You Stack Up?

The hospitality industry is booming, and event professionals are driving its growth. To gain insight into the event and sales management role, Tripleseat surveyed 125 customers working at restaurants, hotels, and unique venues to learn about salaries, experience, benefits, the average number of event bookings, costs, and more.

Here are some of the highlights:

  • The average annual salary plus commissions for event professionals is $72,000
  • Employers are making the right moves, as 41  percent of event professionals always feel appreciated at work
  • 58  percent of event professionals reported having a team of 2-5 people, which often supports 2-5 locations
  • The average venue hosts more than 10 events per month at an average cost of $7,087
  • Dinner and happy hours rank as the most popular event types.”

Read the full findings and tips to navigate your hospitality career in our 2023 Career Guide for Event Professionals handbook, which you can download here.

Calmer Seas Ahead

The U.S. foodservice industry has had a perfect storm of challenges over the past few years, the lingering pandemic, labor shortage, inflation, higher operational costs, and an increasing number of meals eaten at home. Still, pockets of growth indicate calmer seas ahead. U.S. commercial foodservice customer traffic to restaurants and other foodservice outlets ended 2022 flat compared to a year ago. Consumer spending at foodservice outlets was up 4 percent due to higher prices, reports The NPD Group*. 

Retail foodservice, specifically convenience store foodservice traffic, was a growth area for the industry. Convenience store visits for prepared beverages and foods were up two percent last year versus the year before. Restaurant traffic, representing most of all foodservice visits, was down one percent in the 12 months ending December versus a year ago, with most of the visit losses from full service restaurants. Visits to quick service restaurants, representing 82 percent of total restaurant traffic, were flat last year versus the prior year. 

Morning meal has been a bright spot for foodservice over the past two years, and restaurants and retail foodservice have contributed to the growth. The breakfast and A.M. snack period traffic to restaurants and retail foodservice outlets increased by two percent in 2022, over a double-digit gain in 2021. Restaurant morning meal visits were up two percent in the 12 months ending December compared to the prior year’s double-digit increase. Traffic at the retail foodservice morning meal, most of which were to convenience stores, was up four percent last year, over a three percent gain in 2021.

The growth of technology-enabled ordering is evident in the popularity of digital ordering for carry-out. Digital ordering for carry-out has continued to grow since the height of the pandemic. Over the past three years, total restaurant digital orders for carry-out increased by 115 percent, and in the 12 months ending December, increased by 4 percent compared to the year before. Quick service digital orders for carry-out grew by nine percent in 2022 versus the prior year and have increased by 108 percent over the last three years. 

Broadline foodservice distributors increased case shipments to commercial and non-commercial foodservice outlets by three percent, and dollars shipped increased by 17 percent in the 12 months ending December compared to a year ago. Commercial case shipments to restaurants and convenience stores were flat, and dollars shipped were up 13 percent compared to the year prior. Non-commercial broadline case shipments increased by 11 percent last year compared to 2021, with business and industry, education, lodging and casinos, and recreation being growth areas. 

Published By: Modern Restaurant Management

The Major US City With The Fewest Chain Restaurants In The Country

Restaurant Tech Editors
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The Major US City With The Fewest Chain Restaurants In The Country

If you’re a true foodie, then you fully appreciate a local food scene and understand how it fosters an environment for culinary creativity and diversity. Local restaurants are dialed into what appeals to their community and will constantly be introducing new dishes to keep their customers engaged. We all have our favorite local spot, where we know the servers and maybe talk with the owner on occasion; this intimacy and charm is mostly lost on chain restaurants.

Despite Americans’ unwavering love of fast food, the data shows us that a growing majority prefer local restaurants. Not only do local establishments tend to be more gourmet, but most of us also prefer our money going to the local economy rather than some distant corporation. Of course, even a foodie can have a soft spot for a certain chain restaurant — we all do — but even the better ones focus primarily on consistency across their locations, which makes them static and stunts their culinary creations.

Some places have a buzzing local restaurant scene while others have been completely overrun by chains. This varies greatly across the nation. In general, we see U.S. chain restaurants dominating the south and the middle of the country, whereas cities in the Northeast and West lean more local.

One city, in particular, has gone the extra mile to ward off chain restaurants.

The Golden City
Darshan Revar/Shutterstock
The list is endless in terms of what makes San Francisco a special place, but what really makes it stand out is its great diversity and unique neighborhoods. This makes for a foodie’s dream destination, from Chinatown to the Marina District, each neighborhood expresses its own micro-culture and food scene within. To preserve this, the city government bans restaurant chains in parts of the city or makes it challenging to acquire an operating permit.

As a result of these protectionist measures, San Francisco has the least amount of chain restaurants of any large U.S. city; nearly 95% of San Francisco’s restaurants are local. (Not surprisingly, the city of sin, Las Vegas, claims the greatest number of chains.) To this day, you cannot find a Wendy’s, Dunkin Donuts, Chick-fil-A, Arby’s, or Dairy Queen within the San Francisco city limits. Heartbreaking for the die-hards who have to drive 20 miles to get their double stack and frosty! But glorious for food explorers who relish endless food options. Oakland and Berkley are only slightly behind San Francisco in terms of the least amount of chain restaurants, which makes the greater bay area a truly exceptional foodie destination.

The inspiring local vibes do come at a cost. Chain restaurants are often more affordable, and their lacking presence has turned some San Francisco neighborhoods into expensive dining hubs. Nonetheless, the city has an incredible local food scene because it has not caved into the chain takeover!

Published By: TastingTable

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