"On Demand" Hits Fast Casual
Food and beverage venues become closely connected to their patrons.
Surges in tech-driven, personalized food and beverage prospects are growing increasingly common, similarly to how dry retail has been making this shift. This swing comes as brands begin exploring non-traditional, digital-first eating and drinking operations.
Companies like Eatsa and Wow Bao have turned the food ordering and delivery system on its head. Each have developed in-store touch screen ordering systems where customers select their meal which is prepped behind the scenes and delivered thru one of many double-sided cubbies recessed into the wall. These made to order meals integrate tech, efficiency and creativity to decrease time and improve restaurants’ upsell rate. A comparable system has been developed at craft establishments, where wait times come at a premium. Pour My Beer designed an in-wall/table, touch screen beer tap that is 100% user operated. Bars such as The Craft Tap House and The Ruins have eliminated lines, sampling time, and overhead by putting the beer tap in the users’ hands.
“Technology is replacing the service elements that defined more traditional restaurants.” Said Stephen Dutton. Expect to continue to see an increased demand for new concepts that play on consumer’s desire for “on demand” everything.
This story is brought to you by guest writer Brandon Graska.
Sources: Forbes | (September 27, 2016) | Chat Bot Magazine (March 16, 2018) | The Washington Post (March 2, 2017) | Image: Laura Pittaccio