For his new blog Scandinavian chef and Chef & Yöung co-owner, Oystein Mojord, takes a look at the top future restaurant industry technology trends and how to benefit from them.

Technology is pushing the restaurant industry further than ever before to new advances and it is increasingly important to stay abreast of new tech, consider how to make use of it to benefit your business and customers, embracing change that will affect us all. With Brexit looming ahead and the likelihood of price (and cost) increases in coming years, working smarter will only be more important.

Therefore we have gathered our top intriguing developments in new technology to look out for:

Food delivery platforms

Many restaurants are already on food delivery sites such as Just EAT, UberEATS, and Deliveroo but there are still huge opportunities to capitalise on as the growth in takeaway food outstrips that of traditional (eat in) restaurant covers each year since the financial crisis. The key now is not only to be on a platform but also to adapt your business model and operations to suit this convenience focused shopping occasion better with improved quality, value and delivery service. Questions to consider are: is your kitchen equipped to handle the increased volume? Should you offer the same menu online and offline – what about pricing? Do your dishes need to be adjusted to the demands of being in transit before consumed?

Robotic Waiters

It has been said that the next big technological change in the service industry will be robotic waiters, and big players such as Pizza Hut are investing heavily in a new fleet of 'artificially intelligent' robots that can both read and respond to human gestures, expressions and tone of voice. It can even take payments! While this may not be for everyone it does give a glimpse into the future. Can your operation benefit from more automation? Are there margin gains to be made from automating using your POS system, back offer, product ordering and more?

>>> Read more from Oystein Mojord here

Dine with Virtual Reality

Virtual reality is taking huge strides within a range of industries from Gaming to Education and is now also reaching the world of food. Project Nourished reinvents new methods of dietary consumption by allowing people to experience fine dining without concern for calorie intake or other health related issues. They do this is by using virtual reality to simulate any food experience possible. They basically merge the physicality of molecular gastronomy with virtual reality and have created a new way of dining using all our senses. Are there ways to use virtual reality to enhance the guest experience? What other marketing opportunities are unlocked with this new technology for your business?

Instant messaging

We have written about this trend before and it is worth mentioning again. Instant messaging is taking over customer service in many industries. In fact it is quickly becoming a standard expectation from (millennial and Gen z) customers that businesses are available immediately on social media and on instant messaging platforms. Is there a new segment of customers you can tap into by making yourself available on these platforms? Does this have a (positive) impact on your guests’ experience?

>>> Related: Smartphones can create huge opportunities for the hospitality industry. Blog by Oystein Mojord from Chef & Yöung

Oystein Mojord

Chef & Yöung is a Scandinavian brand working to grow the talent and passion of yöung chefs and foodies, promoting cooking as a lifestyle. Everything started when the Norwegian chef, Oystein, travelled around the world and noticed that there was a high demand for quality chefs in the kitchens; meanwhile his colleagues were constantly switching jobs. He decided something had to be done and Chef & Yöung was born to bring in a new attitude among yöung chefs and promote cooking as a lifestyle. Oystein co-owns Chef & Yöung with Mattias Nordlander who focuses on the sales, marketing and finance side of the business.

Twitter: @chefandyoung

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