What’s your pick – Food Business or a Food-Tech Company?

Food-tech’s wide acceptance was bound to happen though the pandemic has made the whole process swifter and widely accepted. Food businesses, quick service restaurant (QSR) companies, eateries, cloud kitchens etc., now prefer to be called food-tech companies as this is the way ahead for the complete world of food and beverage business.

restaurateur’s journey starts with his or her passion for food, serving these food & beverage delicacies to people warmly with a smile and gather loads of compliments and praises from this act.

Any restaurateur would agree with the above statement, and truly, making profit from a restaurant business comes last on the list – it is the applauses that count the most for any budding restaurateur.

In current days, the above statement has an added paramount dimension and that element is Technology. The process of widely using technology and automation in food business has been immensely accelerated – because of the ongoing pandemic.

Food-tech’s wide acceptance was bound to happen though the pandemic has made the whole process swifter and widely accepted. Food businesses, quick service restaurant (QSR) companies, eateries, cloud kitchens etc., now prefer to be called food-tech companies as this is the way ahead for the complete world of food and beverage business.

We would look at the key areas where technology and automation has abetted food and beverage business the most, turning simple restaurant/ QSR/ cloud kitchen establishments into food-tech companies and some are even turning into popular Unicorns.

Technology enhancing guest experience: creating amazing experiences for guests and customers has always been at the forefront of food and hospitality businesses and teams serving their clients. Usage of new tech platforms has been instrumental in enhancing this experience for the guests. Ordering favorite eatery’s food through online platforms and enjoying these delicacies in comfort of one’s home has been all facilitated by technology.

Food on our fingertips is a reality in today’s world. Restaurants and chain outlets have introduced their own apps or web portals to lure in customers to order directly with them. QR codes being used for ordering of food or payment of the bill has become the most usual sites at eateries. Loyalty cards are a thing of the past and all reward plus loyalty benefits for customers have moved online making it quicker and easier to redeem loyalty points.

Technology facilitating food and beverage team’s efforts at outlets, as well as, at the head office governing numerous outlets spread over several geographical locations: few years ago, a customer could order with their preferred restaurant either by calling in or by visiting it. Now there are several ways to achieve this via numerous delivery platforms, apps, weblinks and aggregators. For the restaurant team to manage so many orders pouring in from various platforms could be very difficult but once again automation and integration of various ordering platforms helps solve this problem too.

Various delivery partners, apps, billing software, loyalty features and payment options all converge into a single platform allowing the F&B teams to focus on customer experience leaving all the tasks on tech.

Manual order taking books (KOT pads) used by servers at eateries have been replaced by tablets or mobile phones on which the order-taking app makes the order-taking process and getting it to kitchens flawless and instant.

Through cloud-based software used for billing, inventory recording, ordering raw materials, team’s attendance recording, biometric attendance and so many other tech-enabled qualities make it so seamless for the team at head-office to keep a real-time tab and record of what is happening at each outlet level.

Technology helping keep food and beverage products fresher, consistent and readily available at all locations: customers ordering or visiting the diners assume to be offered the same quality of food served to them in regard to taste and consistency. Food tech has the clout to offer the consistency aspect to food being offered to the guests. Tandoori masalas, makhini gravy, dal makhini etc., from a suitable retort food factory can guarantee the same food is served to the regulars at all restaurant locations or across all cloud kitchens.

Reduced dependency on skilled labor is another value many restaurants are discovering through using food-tech options of frozen parathas, momos, yummy kebabs etc. Even a college going student can cook and finish a hot and crisp paratha which is kept frozen at correct consistency by usage of food technology.

For the food and beverage industry throughout all formats of operations like take-away joints, diners, cafes, hotels, cloud kitchens and restaurants, technology is a need of the hour and the faster one embraces this the better one could shape up their passion for F&B and see it grow boundlessly, tantalizing the taste buds of existing and new patrons. We are in exciting times wherein gourmet experiences could be enriched impressively through use of technology & automation delivering a digitally enabled food-tech business.