If you work in foodservice and are wondering what the future of the industry will look like, here is what some experts are forecasting. In their crystal ball, a proliferation of new automated services are on the horizon for restaurants, paving the way for a new landscape in the short term and possibly a ‘new normal’ going forward.
Restaurants Use Automation
According to GlobalData (the leading data and analytics company), consumer concerns regarding how food products are handled and served will likely be sustained following the pandemic. As a result, restaurateurs would be wise to continue incorporating contactless strategies in their operations, including the use of automated services and even robots. In the words of Blake Morgan, author of “The Customer of the Future”: “Customers now care more about their safety and the safety and health of workers. Moves towards automation can keep them all healthier and customers will reward companies that do this.”
Like most automation, the tech innovations are designed to streamline operations, improve efficiencies, and cut costs. However, the digital newcomers currently expected these days aim to do several things: compensate for the shortages brought on by the shortage of employees in the foodservice business, improve food preparation safety, maintain high standards of hygiene and cleanliness and provide contactless food delivery.
Robots Put to Work in Foodservice
Already, McDonald’s and other fast-food chains have been experimenting with the use of robots as cooks and waiters. Robots are also appearing in supply warehouses where they are utilized for sorting and packing. In South Korea, robots measure temperatures at restaurant entrances and distribute hand sanitizers. And when it comes to disinfecting places of business, the demand for robot cleaners has never been higher.
Restaurant Robot Benefits
As early as 2017, global consultants McKinsey predicted that a third of workers in the US would be replaced by robots and automation by 2030, the pandemic jumpstarted that process.
Some of the proven benefits of restaurant robots include:
- Super-efficient systems that allow a single robot to do the work of multiple humans
- The elimination of human error
- More consistent food quality
- Accurate portion control and reduced food wastage
- No sick time or vacation pay
- An exciting addition that puts eateries on the map, attracting both customers and the media
- Increasingly reduced automation costs, to the sweet tune of over 50%, according to the Center for an Urban Future
Foodservice Robots
If you follow industry news, you may recall reading about Zume, the pizza-making robot from Mountain View, California (it rolls dough, adds toppings, bakes, and removes pizzas from the oven). Also making headlines were: Burger-flipping Flippy from California’s Caliburger fast food chain; the self-pouring cocktail machine Smartender (connecting directly to a bar’s POS system, it can serve 600 drink varieties at the touch of a screen); Tipsy, the bartending robot with human-looking arms; and Sally, the salad robot.
While these were considered largely futuristic and not practical for the average restaurateur, life-altering events such as the corona pandemic may have very well changed the timelines for these innovations. In the words of NYU Stern School of Business Professor Arun Sundararajan, who studies how digital technologies transform societies: “Crisis can be sort of a catalyst or can speed up changes that are on the way — it almost can serve as an accelerant.” He and other futurists believe that people will prefer to dine at venues with fewer workers and more machines, especially if the service is good!
Foodservice Robots Greet the Future
In recent years a growing number of global restaurants have been debuting advanced technologies such as:
- China: Alibaba’s Robot.He. Based in Shanghai, it provides robotic table service with a personal touch from robotic hosts that greet and seat customers
- China: The ‘Little Peanut’ robot made headlines serving quarantined individuals suspected of having the coronavirus at a hotel in Hangzhou, China. On TV, the robot was featured saying: “Hello everyone. Cute Little Peanut is serving food to you now. Enjoy your meal. If you need anything else, please message the staff on WeChat.”
- Australia: Hey Zeus, a 100% self-serving organic café and takeaway. In addition to streamlining efficiencies and reducing operational costs, the fully automated eatery is experiencing a significant boost in social media ratings
The Popularity of Food Delivery Robots
The number of takeout-and-delivery services has mushroomed of late, and with that, food delivery companies are thriving and more in demand than ever before. Taking “contactless food delivery” to the next level are the latest food delivery robots – aka self-driving robots in unoccupied vehicles. Increasingly being adopted by DoorDash, Postmates, and other industry frontrunners, the software companies responsible for the technology are hard at work.
Here is what software provider Elliot Katz, co-founder of Phantom Auto, said in a recent interview: “We provide software that enables delivery robot companies to remotely monitor and/or remotely assist and/or remotely drive their fleets of delivery robots from up to thousands of miles away.” The firm has now installed UV lights in its vehicles and has moved to no-touch. When a robot arrives, customers receive a text. When they reply to the message, the door of the vehicle opens without requiring the use of a keypad.
Finally, here is some advice from Bradley Bogolea, the founder of Simbe Robotics that produces Tally, the popular inventory-tracking robot: “As the dust starts to settle … I think more retailers will wake up to the need of having greater automation across their business. In this world of unprecedented demand in grocery, this type of technology can help to benefit the retailers.”
Are Robots Really in and are Humans Really Out?
The jury is still out on the future of automation and robots in the food-and-beverage industry. While GlobalData COVID-19 tracker consumer surveys indicate that 80% of Chinese consumers are open to and greatly influenced by digitally advanced services, the global response is much lower at 58%. Moreover, other than bearing a short gimmicky attraction for special occasions, only 31% of restaurant-goers worldwide find the concept of robotic waiters appealing. And, as for restaurant employees, those numbers dip even further since they know that once a company replaces workers with a robot, the chances that they will be rehired for the same position are slim.
Is Foodservice Automation Here to Stay?
In summation, there is no doubt that automated services in restaurants, automated checkouts at grocery stores, digitalized warehouse operations, cashless payments, and contactless food delivery via robots are highly attractive in the wake of the coronavirus. However, the absolute elimination of human interactions does not appear to be in the cards.
At the end of the day, people come to restaurants to socialize, to enjoy being waited upon like royalty, and to receive personalized attention. Robots may be a welcome means of enhancing restaurant efficiencies and cutting labor costs, but they do not reflect the heart-and-soul of the foodservice ‘biz and hence will probably not top restaurants’ menu lists any time soon.