Restaurants are home to birthday parties, romantic dinner, family reunions, weddings, and numerous night-outs, among other events. Besides offering the tastiest dishes and beverages, it is a great space to develop social relationships, peacefully work, and build lasting networks. 2019 has seen unique trends in the restaurant industry. However, 2020 promises even more exciting news for restaurant chains, especially with the advent of technology that generates more profit and is cost-effective.
Restaurateurs have quickly adapted to the rising market trends by keeping abreast of the latest innovations in marketing and services. Keeping in mind the Covid 19 scenario, given below are some trends in the global restaurant industry that are surely going to modernize it in 2020.
1. Clarity and Health
With COVID-19’s abrupt spread and awareness, customers are sure to demand detailed information about the food they buy, from inventory information to pricing trends, steps taken by restaurants to tackle the situation, as well as the health effects of specific cuisine offered by restaurants.
For example, growth in environmental consciousness has led more people to order dishes that are made using sustainable methods. In turn, customers have gradually boycotted plastic products and encouraged zero-waste kitchens.
Moreover, people are increasingly choosing health over taste, particularly young adults. Food is consumed as a cure for diseases and disorders. Experts say that customers are much more careful about the items they purchase vis a vis their impact on health.
2. Rise of fast-casual restaurants
People frequenting fast-casual restaurants have found that their food items are healthier, more convenient to consume, and cost-effective. Therefore, the value of these restaurant chains has skyrocketed, keeping in mind the strict COVID-19 rules!
Further, fast-casual chains lead the food industry towards higher usage of technology. As a result, they have rapidly grown in recent years.
3. Delivery 2.0
Independent third parties are contributing to food delivery, taking food to your doorstep from a large number of restaurants. In addition, Covid has enabled us to get used to ordering online and getting delivery outside of restaurant premises. Thus, software developers are developing online apps and POS ordering systems to reach out to a maximum number of customers and keep them engaged.
Maverick entrepreneurs claim that in the foreseeable future, food orders will be delivered via autonomous vehicles and even programmed drones. This will ensure faster delivery with reduced spending on delivery logistics and higher safety for staff as well as customers. Dialexa and Uber Eats are one of the first companies which have banked on such state-of-the-art technology to deliver food.
4. Enter robochefs and self-service kiosks
AI-based robochefs have been deployed since the last decade, but 2020 and the coming years promise commercial growth of these robots. They have several advantages over human cooks in the aspects of precision, improved taste, hygiene, speed, safety, and consistency. Finally, the money that would be otherwise spent on recruiting skilled personnel can be reinvested in expansion or counted as cost-shaving.
Self-service kiosks expedite the ordering process, along with enabling each customer to customize orders according to her/his own interests. Also, they store the order-related data of individual customers so that everyone gets personalized food options that are curated according to their order histories and past preferences. The tool? Facial recognition technology!
In all, 2020 seems geared up for some technologically backed restaurant trends, at a fast pace and affordable prices. Restaurant owners and managers are expected to keep abreast of the upcoming trends to propel their chances of success at local levels and also in the worldwide food industry.
