By Dustin Hassett Now more than ever, restaurateurs are operating in an experience economy. Customers are interacting with competitor brands over multiple channels every hour of every day, and they expect every digital experience to measure up to the Amazons and Ubers of this world. Just like the behemoth tech brands, foodservice businesses need to […]
Foodservice’s embrace of technological solutions was hastened by the COVID-19 pandemic and the economic, safety, and staffing challenges it brought on. But it isn’t just new innovations we’ve seen rise to prominence in the last few years. QR codes, a tool once sidelined, have rebounded in a big way. These days, in the second half […]
Uber has announced it is partnering with foodservice equipment distributor Parts Town to provide equipment delivery to operators and service technicians in the Chicago market. A press release calls the partnerships “the restaurant industry’s first” between a parts distributor and ride-sharing provider to offer replacement parts for delivery. If the program goes well, Uber says […]
By Adam Walker Whether a result of the global pandemic, supply chain shortages, inflation, or simply competitive pressures, restaurants are facing challenges never before seen in the industry. Many owners and operators have been forced to change how their businesses are run and to look for new efficiencies to stay afloat. One area that is […]
By Adrian Johansen To say that the last few years have been challenging for the restaurant industry would be a gross understatement. Restaurateurs have endured a global pandemic, protracted lockdowns, and now a seemingly intractable supply chain crisis. It has been a lot to endure, and far too many promising establishments have not survived. The […]
By Mo Chaar Customer loyalty is key for Canadian consumers, who are among the world’s most frequent users of a loyalty program. Over half of Canadians make reward-earning purchases several times a week, and a recent Givex survey found that 56 per cent of Canadians say loyalty programs make them more likely to dine out […]
Robotics have a prominent place in the present and the future of foodservice, whether it is automated data collection or a burger-flipping robot. Now, Compass Group Canada and SJW Robotics are introducing a 24-hour automated kitchen, which the latter company calls “the world’s first fully autonomous robotic restaurant that cooks made-to-order meals”. The two companies […]
The rapid evolution of technology has long been redefining restaurant consumers’ concept of “normal”. Think of the move from laminated print menus as a standard to QR codes or ordering kiosks. Now, the next step may well be the metaverse. A new Paytronix and PYMNTS Report, The Digital Divide: Technology, The Metaverse, and the Future […]
By Mo Chaar If COVID-19 has shown restaurants anything, it’s that we live in an unpredictable world. In large part, the industry was unprepared for the pandemic, which had ramifications for every aspect of running a restaurant, from the health and safety of guests to staffing challenges. After two years that saw the industry grappling […]
By Rene Van Acker, Evan Fraser, and Lenore Newman Globally, about one-third of all greenhouse gas emissions come from agriculture and the food system. The carbon footprint of food systems includes all the emissions from its growing, processing, transportation, and waste. Agriculture is also vulnerable to the effects of climate change and, as the conflict […]
