By Luke LaBree
CMO, Dennis Food Service

While browsing through various social media platforms recently, I couldn’t help but wonder: What if Melvil Dewey, the creator of the Dewey Decimal System, had been born in the age of hashtags? Would he approve of our #anythinggoes internet organization, or would he wonder how we ever found anything? It was here, somewhere between contemplating Victorian-era hashtag jokes and meme opportunities, that a comparison struck me: are hashtags the Dewey Decimal System of the internet?

The internet is expanding at an exponential rate; millions of posts are uploaded every day. Here, hashtags have emerged as a universal organization system for the world’s digital shares. In essence, hashtags are the Dewey Decimal System’s cooler, younger siblings. While Dewey meticulously categorizes and organizes books in libraries, assigning them specific numerical codes based on their subjects, hashtags effortlessly categorize content on the internet, especially on platforms like Instagram and TikTok. Just as you’d find Caribbean travel information in the 917.3 section thanks to Dewey, you’ll swipe through a world of dreamy destinations thanks to #TravelGoals.

Searching for knowledge in a library? Dewey is there to ensure you can find every last book on the evolution of popular dances. But in the digital realm, if you’re curious about dance trends, browsing #DanceChallenge on Instagram will have you busting out the latest moves in no time. The comparison is clear; library visitors use the Dewey Decimal System to discover related materials on a subject, internet users explore hashtags to find posts, discussions, and content related to that specific tag.

Providing an efficient path for new discoveries is where both systems shine. The Dewey Decimal System acts like a GPS for books, ensuring consistency across different libraries. Turn left at Fiction, and soon you’re nestled between Mystery and Romance. While hashtags work like signposts to outline the key topics in a given piece of content. A range of topics means multiple hashtags, opening up new routes of exploration. One moment you’re scrolling #HealthyRecipes, and the next, you’re indulging in #VeganDesserts. The Dewey Decimal System is universal across libraries, and hashtags perform a consistent function across the internet. Regardless of whether you’re on Twitter, Instagram, or TikTok, #Foodie always promises a visual feast.

The most interesting difference lies in their contrasting worlds. Dewey’s domain exists within the hushed aisles of a library, where interaction is limited to whispered questions and stifled coughs. Hashtags, however, buzz with life. They not only categorize content but also encourage engagement and participation. They invite conversation, spark debates, and connect people across continents through content.

While Dewey helps us navigate a world of books in stacks, hashtags help guide us through 70 trillion gigabytes of internet content with focus and flair. So, yes, in my opinion, hashtags are the Dewey Decimal System of the internet. And maybe the next time you use one, give a nod to good ol’ Melvil Dewey. He might just have been the original #organizethis #trendsetter.

By Beth Panitz
Foodservice Equipment Reports

What a ride 2021 has been. The year started with the country in the midst of a COVID surge, with widespread office and school closures, and many jurisdictions mandating dining restrictions. By spring and early summer, as vaccination levels soared and COVID cases plummeted, foodservice industry sales quickly accelerated. Driven by a pent-up desire to dine out and stimulus funds, diners returned in droves. “We saw a bigger surge than expected … a surge unlike anything in the past,” says David Henkes, senior principal at industry analytics firm Technomic.

Ann Golladay, associate director of food industry analytics firm Datassential, was pleasantly surprised at the industry’s quick growth. “We expected more of a slow ramp-up and that consumers would be reluctant to return to eating out, regardless of vaccination status,” Golladay says. “What we learned this summer is that consumers were quite eager to get back out.”

Sales softened in the third quarter in response to the delta variant. Some operators fear that the recovery may be moving in reverse and worry about the advent of future COVID variants and winter’s natural impact on outdoor dining.

After suffering a steep decline in 2020—a 23.8% drop in sales, according to the National Restaurant Association—the industry is expected to post an overall upswing in 2021. The association projects that the industry will close out the year with $789 billion in sales, up almost 20% from 2020, but still below 2019’s $864.3 billion in sales. That’s before factoring in menu price inflation, at its highest rate since 2008.

“The foodservice industry has rebounded remarkably from the depths of the pandemic,” says David Portalatin, an industry analyst with market research firm The NPD Group, “however, we are still well short of a pre-pandemic level of restaurant usage.” Industry traffic is 4% below pre-pandemic levels, according to NPD. “We’ve shifted about 11 billion eating occasions annually to at home,” Portalatin says.

According to the National Restaurant Association’s September survey, 44% of operators think it will be more than a year before business conditions return to normal and 19% believe they never will.

2022 Outlook

The industry’s overall upward trend is expected to continue in 2022. “Things are going to continue to improve, but gradually,” says NPD’s Portalatin, who projects that 2022 traffic will be 2% below 2019’s traffic.

Technomic forecasts that 2022 industry sales will slightly exceed pre-pandemic levels, dollar for dollar, but once inflation is factored in, it expects sales to be at 92.3%. The recovery also is uneven. “Certain segments are going to be slow to come back,” Henkes says. “Hotels are still going to be well below pre-pandemic levels … business feeders are barely starting to move again,” he notes. When on-premise sales halted in the spring of 2020, the industry leaned on off-premise models. Quick-service restaurants, especially those with drive-thrus and online digital ordering systems, were positioned well. Limited-service restaurants are projected to post 2022 sales at 113% of 2019 sales, while full-service restaurants are forecasted to be at 94.7%, Henkes says. “Casual dining—especially [at] chains—is clawing its way back.”

Sales in some segments were decimated in 2020, so even substantial growth leaves them in a hole. Technomic predicts that the travel and recreation segment will see a 42.1% jump in sales in 2022, following a 48.4% gain in 2021. That brings sales up to only 83.9% of 2019 levels. Once inflation is factored in, that’s merely 76.1% of 2019 sales. “We expect that business travel and conferences will never fully return to pre-pandemic levels,” says Datassential’s Golladay.

“[The year] 2022 will continue to be a year of transition for the restaurant industry,” says Hudson Riehle, the National Restaurant Association’s senior vice president of research and knowledge. “The industry is fortunate that it is an industry that consumers want to use in their daily lifestyles and that overall economic growth in 2022 will remain positive.” But challenges loom, and at a time when Americans are projected to have less disposable income as stimulus and relief funds dry up and inflation builds.

The industry faces several uphill challenges, Henkes points out. “Spring and summer have shown tremendous surges [in sales] that have given people more optimism than they’ve had in some time,” he says. But that optimism is tempered by three major concerns: labor shortages, supply chain problems, and soaring costs.

“Help wanted” signs cover the industry landscape, with 78% of operators reporting they lack enough employees to support existing customer demand, according to a National Restaurant Association September survey. In response, labor costs have risen steeply, with operators upping hourly rates, adding benefits, and offering hiring bonuses. Operators also struggle with supply chain challenges, making it difficult to procure everything from food to equipment. “Some operators are dipping their toes in the used equipment market for the first time,” Henkes notes. Meanwhile, wholesale food prices jumped 12.9% between September 2020 and September 2021, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics Producer Price Index. Expect foodservice operators to continue to innovate to drive sales and cut costs in 2022’s challenging environment.

Designed To-Go

Pre-pandemic, the foodservice industry was shifting toward a greater emphasis on off-premise dining, with to-go orders accounting for 61% of traffic, according to the National Restaurant Association. “In the depth of the pandemic, that approached 90%,” says the association’s Riehle. That’s since inched down to 80%, and will still scale back some, but “it is unlikely that it will drop back to where it was pre-pandemic.”

Given that trend, expect an emphasis on design and innovations that support off-premise dining. “We are seeing major shifts in how drive-thrus look with more digital and order-ahead lanes,” says Golladay. Taco Bell recently unveiled its Defy prototype, featuring four drive-thru lanes, including three dedicated to mobile orders, and a proprietary lift system that quickly delivers food from an elevated second-floor kitchen. Golladay also expects to see an investment in integrated POS systems that work seamlessly with third-party delivery systems.

Operators are tweaking their designs with takeout windows, to-go pickup shelving, and areas for curbside pickup fulfillment. Some restaurants, like fast-casual Rise Southern Biscuits & Righteous Chicken, are adding heated food lockers to keep to-go orders piping hot. Certain full-service operators are diversifying their offerings with smaller-footprint concepts specializing in off-premise dining—a shift already in place pre-pandemic that has intensified. For example, IHOP opened its first flip’d concept in September, focusing on takeout breakfast items.

“Full-service restaurants are trying to walk a balancing act,” says Henkes. “The delivery and takeout part of their business is going to remain elevated. But as people start to return [to on-premise dining], restaurants really need to create and enhance the dine-in experience, whether it’s menu enhancement, hospitality, or ambiance. … They need to double down on that because that’s their unique selling proposition.” —David Henkes, Technomic

Delivery Kitchens

Delivery kitchens, including ghost kitchens, became a popular way to scare up sales in the pandemic’s darkest days. These kitchens enjoy low overhead because they can operate within an efficient, small footprint. A growing segment pre-pandemic, delivery kitchens are expected to show high-volume sales in 2022, fueled by the consumer’s appetite for off-premise dining and the operator’s hunger for profitability, predicts NPD’s Portalatin.

Wendy’s is teaming up with REEF to open 700 delivery kitchens by 2025. “The demand for convenient delivery solutions means we must look for opportunities beyond our traditional restaurant formats, especially in dense urban areas,” says Abigail Pringle, Wendy’s president, international, and chief development officer, in a press release.

Meanwhile, other operators are launching virtual brands operated out of traditional restaurant locations, or out of their delivery kitchens. “Anyone who has excess kitchen capacity now has the opportunity to leverage that capacity with a virtual brand in the marketplace,” Portalatin says.

Chick-fil-A recently launched its Little Blue Menu concept, which lets consumers mix and match selections from its traditional menu and from three new virtual brands: Flock & Farm, Garden Day and Outfox Wings. The first location opened in October in a renovated Chick-fil-A location in Nashville, Tenn.

In Tune with Technology

The pandemic forced many operators to step up their digital engagement by introducing or enhancing mobile apps, electronic ordering, and digital payment options. Datassential reports that 75% of consumers currently use mobile apps for food-related purposes. Expect to see more loyalty programs and dining/beverage subscriptions powered through mobile apps, Riehle says.

While contactless transactions were popularized to slow the spread of COVID, they’re now crucial in fighting the industry’s endemic labor shortage. Many operators encourage on-premise guests to use QR codes to access online ordering and payment systems—sparing limited staff from taking orders and running credit cards. Others have invested in tableside tablets that help guests place an order or pay their bill, turning tables quicker and reducing staffing needs. At other establishments, mobile POS tablets increase the efficiency of a limited waitstaff, allowing servers to electronically place orders tableside.

Likewise, some operators are turning to back-of-house automation to reduce their labor needs. White Castle and CaliBurger are testing a robotic kitchen assistant that flips burgers, and Buffalo Wild Wings is testing a robotic chicken wing fryer.

3 Other Trends to Watch

Coming in 2022, experts anticipate the following shifts:

Streamlined menus. Some operators have reduced their inventories and slimmed down their menus in response to supply chain issues. With some items short in supply or outrageously expensive, operators are procuring alternatives. For example, Wingstop added chicken thighs to its menu in response to escalating wing prices.

Big data. As the industry relies more on mobile apps, operators will gain an increased ability to track consumer preferences—data that can help shape operations. With tracking software more accessible and less expensive, “it’s no longer just the big chains that can do that,” Henkes says.

Sustainability. “Energy efficiency and waste reduction are increasingly important to consumers,” Golladay says. “Consumers are more likely to be loyal to and frequent brands that align with their values.” Restaurant Brands Int’l., parent company to Burger King, Popeyes, and Tim Hortons, pledged to cut greenhouse gases by 50% by 2030 through a variety of avenues, including renewable energy, supply chain choices, and energy-efficient equipment.

Operator Perspectives

“I see the industry continuing to expand order-ahead and third-party pickup capabilities. The Inspire Brands shared services approach allows us to leverage our expertise and resources across brands to adapt to these trends quickly. As a result, our current projects aim to optimize kitchen design and equipment to reduce pressure points and maximize food quality, speed and yields. Furthermore, we’ve also opened a 15,000-sq.-ft. Innovation Center and our first ghost kitchen, Inspire Alliance Kitchen, to develop, test, and validate our restaurant solutions.” — PETER CRYAN, Vice President of Equipment Innovation, Inspire Brands, Atlanta

“Robotics, ghost kitchens, and high-end hot meal vending [are part of our] new normal. As our [post-pandemic] business grows, this will allow us to offer different styles of service in locations that lack space for full kitchens. Staffing limitations have required us to look at how we produce the same amount of food with fewer hands. When it comes to remodeling existing kitchens, we will be choosing equipment with more capacity-per-batch to help staff keep up [with demand] and to reduce our overall energy use.” — DANIELLE GALLAWAY, Executive Chef, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh

“As we are recouping from the past year-and-a-half, we are being more deliberate in our decisions about such things as menus, hours of operation, staffing patterns, and food and supply sourcing partnerships. Our struggles with recruiting and retaining employees at our mostly from-scratch food production operation have led us to reevaluate how we will operate going forward. Adding more and more amenities (such as robust menu options and service hours) to our dining program ‘because we could’ is probably a relic of the past that needs to be replaced with ‘because we should.’” — MARY MOLT, Associate Director, Housing and Dining Services, Kansas State University, Manhattan, Kan.

“At Chipotle, we are passionate about increasing access and convenience for our guests so they can enjoy real food when and where they want. I’m particularly excited about our Digital Kitchen format and believe there’s a large opportunity to capitalize on areas where we have a higher volume of sales through our digital business. Our Digital Kitchen prototype will allow us to enter urban areas that cannot support a full-size restaurant and will provide flexibility with future locations.” — TABASSUM ZALOTRAWALA, Chief Development Officer, Chipotle, Newport Beach, Calif.

“Pre-pandemic carryout orders comprised 5% of sales. This number has risen to 20% of sales in 2021. Over the past year, we’ve changed the layout at every restaurant to accommodate for the increase in takeout demand by separating in-store diners from takeout orders and third-party delivery vendors. These changes have made for smoother operations. As we continue to expand, new locations will feature similar layouts to account for increased takeout in addition to other enhancements to simplify operations.” — ANDY DIAMOND, President, Angry Crab Shack, Mesa, Ariz. 

“The last year-and-a-half has taught us to be creative, flexible, and resilient. Moving from dine-in to 100% takeout and delivery and back has caused Pokeworks to rethink restaurant design. One of the biggest challenges has been balancing the dine-in experience while introducing innovative ways to address the digital ordering environment. From equipment purchasing to our digital space, we have taken a deep dive to create aesthetically pleasant takeout areas within the restaurant that are easily accessible and do not disrupt our dine-in guests.” — STEVE HEELEY, CEO, Pokeworks, Irvine, Calif.

“In 2022, we anticipate receiving products to be our biggest challenge. We’re witnessing longer lead times with items simply sitting on ships while close to port. This issue is not exclusive to imported products. Even domestic companies are having trouble meeting demands with the ongoing labor shortages, in addition to not being able to receive inventory from overseas. In the meantime, we plan on continuing to offer solutions such as making existing streetside restaurants more guest-friendly for pickup, delivery, and dine-in while supply chain issues level out.” — AARON NOVESHEN, Founder & CEO, Starbird Chicken, San Francisco

“C3’s omnichannel approach to restaurant and ghost kitchen operations allows us to spread our brands across various platforms, including digital kitchens, a proprietary app, and digital [intellectual property] expansion via hotels and coworking spaces. In October, we debuted our first culinary center, a multi-concept culinary market, and digital kitchen hybrid. As consumers start to use dining experiences as social moments again, our operational focus has shifted accordingly.” — JOEY SIMONS, Senior Vice President of Operations, C3 (Creating Culinary Communities), Beverly Hills, Calif.

Source: Beth Panitz, Foodservice Equipment Reports

Find more great foodservice industry articles on Operators-Edge.com!

“It’s all over the board, just like everything else,” Shindelar says. “But that is one part of the grocery experience that is going to totally remake itself.”

Much depends on where a retailer is located and the impact of COVID-19 in a particular state or region of the country. While a few stores never closed down, others will likely never reopen, Shindelar (right) explains.

“Foodservice and grocery are really different operational activities,” she says. “Not every grocer makes a good foodservice person and not every foodservice person makes a good grocer.”

Foodservice is typically a low-margin, high-labor, difficult-to-make-profitable part of a retail operation unless that retailer does a huge volume of it. Some grocers aren’t going to reopen their foodservice because it was a losing proposition to begin with, while others will reopen to decide if it’s viable or not, Shindelar says.

Volume control is key

Look for grocers to control the amount of prepared food they can offer at any given time to adhere to social distancing standards for a least a couple of years, Shindelar says. That may mean operating at 50% capacity.

It’s tough, she says, because it was already hard work to make ends meet when operating at full capacity.

It remains to be seen what retailers who were building their business on bulk foodservice things like olive bars and charcuterie boards, which were all were really big pre-pandemic, will do now.

“Foodservice was a $700 billion industry in the U.S. for restaurants and service,” Shindelar says. “That disappeared in two to three weeks.”

Retailers are going to continue to be cautious, she says, unless there’s a level of flexibility or fluidity in the supply chain system to ensure that if another shutdown happens to foodservice again it can be moved into the grocery aisle.

Say good-bye to self-serve

Shindelar predicts most retailers with significant foodservice departments won’t reopen self-serves.

“Most people have an adversity right now,” Shindelar says. “They are uncomfortable with foods that other people have touched.”

On the flip side, people want “life as normal.” Pre-pandemic, the fastest growing sector in the food business was foodservice because shoppers want convenience. In 2019, the foodservice industry was nearly equal in size to food retailing according to the USDA, with $969.4 billion of $1.77 trillion worth of food supplied to foodservice facilities.

Look for more retailers to shift toward full-service foodservice operations because the back of the house already had high sanitary measures for taking care of food preparation, Shindelar says.

That will require retailers to restructure their stores, which many haven’t had time to do yet, says Casey Emmett (right), a sales strategy leader at JPG Resources.

In the future more customers will simply point to the food they want and someone else will bag it up, Emmett predicts.

More pop-ups, restaurant partnerships are on the horizon

Grocery stores will continue to look more like restaurants, and vice versa, with family-style takeaway prepared meals available alongside grocery staples.

Many retailers are rotating through their hot bar, deli counter and salad bar offerings more frequently, on a daily or weekly basis, in addition to incorporating pop-ups in the hopes of growing their reoccurring customer base, Shindelar says.

The most successful retailers are ones who are partnering with local restaurants who can prepare their grab-and-go offerings, Shindelar says.

That’s helped retailers like Native Sun Natural Foods Market in Jacksonville Beach, Florida, which serves foods prepared by local restaurants including Noura Cafe, known for its Middle Eastern and Mediterranean food, The House of Leaf and Bean, an organic restaurant and cafe, Prati Italia, a locally-owned Italian restaurant, Shakti Life Kitchen for raw foods, Community Loaves, known for its organic sourdough bread, among others.

Another is Jackson Whole Grocer and Cafe in Jackson, Wyoming, Shindelar says, which partnered with local and regional restaurants like Utah-based Freshie’s Lobster Co.

Also look for heat-and-serve programs to convert, repacking into grab-and-go with their own branded products on shelves, Shindelar says.

Keep foodservice simple and convenient

Don’t be afraid to go back to the basics and keep things simple, Emmett says.

“I think the 2019 customers probably would have been bored by the relative plainness of options that we are going to have,” Emmett says.

That’s not true for 2020 customers who have spent months cooking during the pandemic and now crave the convenience of having someone else, even the back-of-the-house at a grocery store, consistently do meal prep.

The rise of market consolidation

Emmett points to Starbucks which is closing 400 U.S. stores in the next 18 months to focus more on mobile order and pick-up only locations. Look for others to pivot towards walk-up windows and curbside service.

“I think you’re going to be seeing a lot of that,” Emmett says.

There will also be a growing network of ghost kitchens. Known as dark or virtual kitchens, many in the foodservice industry will add shared-space ghost kitchens to create to-go meals in the hopes of lowering overhead costs.

Digital, local integration through apps

Look for more foodservice establishments to utilize apps like OpenTable to increase customer reservations for shopping times and takeout, Emmett says.

This will help operators plan ahead for their inventories, making it easier to restock shelves.

And to prevent supply chain problems down the road, more local partnerships are also a given.

Team huddles and personal hygiene discussions

Darrell Newell (left), director of retail food safety and quality assurance at Comprehensive Food Safety, says many store managers and directors are hosting daily huddles to discuss how COVID-19 has affected their store, guests and employees, and to communicate the ever-evolving game plan.

“Do a morning wraparound check to make sure you’re protecting your first line of protection,” Newell says.

Keep the talk to less than 30 minutes. Make sure the topic changes. “No one wants to hear about handwashing every Monday,” Newell says.

Talk about how COVID-19 spreads. Review basic safety food practices. Remind employees why they need to wear masks, the importance of social distancing and encourage good personal hygiene habits. Remind employees, bringing a cellphone or a cup of coffee into a food environment can spread diseases.

Operators should offer a clear understanding about the direction the retailer is going and everyone’s social responsibility for food safety, Newell says. “Help employees understand they are responsible for their day-to-day interactions because they are in front of the public,” Newell says.

Approximately 50% of the five to six departments Newell inspects, per retailer, are usually not properly equipped with the right items to properly wash their hands. That could mean soap or paper towels aren’t available or the sink is blocked, can’t be used or is physically broken.

Finding creative employee protections

Family-owned PSK Supermarkets, which operates 13 Foodtown, Freshtown and Pathmark stores in the New York metro area, hired an on-call doctor to help protect its staff, Newell says.

“Co-president Noah Katz took it upon himself and gave everyone in his company his personal cell number,” Newell says. “And said, “If you have any form of illness, I want you to call immediately, no questions asked. Stay home and we’ll have the doctor check in on you.”

PSK also created a YouTube video and a free Coronavirus Preparedness Action Plan.

“Their incidents of illness and absentee rate was less than 4% over this stretch of COVID-19,” Newell says, because employees felt safe coming to work.

“Every business is there to make money,” Newell says. “But their number one greatest resource is people. Without the people you have no service.”

Foodservice delivery services will continue to be built upon, expanded

Expect more retailers, especially independents, to create alternative foodservice delivery methods.

Many, like Dan’s Supreme Supermarket, a regional chain in New York, are looking to make the move to build their own delivery infrastructure in the next six to eight months to offer better customer service, Newell says.

“There’s going to be a lot more options,” he says. “Other than GrubHub, Instacart and Postmates.”

Source: Dawn Reiss for New Hope Network

How does the virus spread? Who is most susceptible? These initial inquiries were met with a reasonable concern that led to quarantines around the globe. With reopenings on the horizon, restaurant food safety has never been on diners’ minds more. Research currently indicates no direct correlation between food and/or food packaging and transmitting CV-19. Likewise, there isn’t clear evidence that it is transmitted through surface-to-surface contact. Still, restaurants taking early steps to reopen are tasked with enhancing their sanitation beyond the already-rigorous standards, and technology can play a critical role in those efforts.

Inventory Management

In terms of the safety and security of your food, restaurant inventory management tech is there to help. With this technology, you can track the freshness of your food, and work to ensure only the freshest ingredients. So far, all of the available evidence supports that the food supply chain remains resilient during the pandemic. With that in mind, tracking tools can help you determine not only the freshness of your food but how long the journey from agriculture to front-of-house. Through restaurant inventory management systems, you can monitor the origins of your ingredients, and avoid food fraud. As you survey the news, if you determine any risk from any particular suppliers, you can use the data from your inventory management protocols to choose a new vendor, possibly something locally sourced, and farm-to-table.

Back of House

The heart of any restaurant is your kitchen, which supplies the rest of your restaurant with what it needs to survive, whether that’s on or off-premise. The back-of-house (BOH) operation is often hectic, with staff hustling to satisfy incoming and outgoing orders alike. The most common BOH technology is a kitchen display system (KDS), which replaces the clutter of paper tickets while increasing efficiency in order accuracy. While the focus of BOH tech is to streamline food preparation, several crucial functions will improve sanitation efforts.

Bin Management

The premise behind a KDS system is to indicate to your BOH staff what orders are needed and how far along those orders are in progress. That means that your staff has to make short and effective decisions to focus on the task at hand, the quick preparation of food. But there is plenty of other work that needs to be done in your kitchen, including preparation and cleaning tasks that can sometimes fall to the wayside. Enter bin management, which is a system designed to remind your staff to drop food items at the right time. You can configure bin management features to remind you to drop fresh ingredients periodically to ensure the best products available, and to minimize any potential vectors for illness, CV-19 related or otherwise.

Data Analytics

Like your bin management, data analytics are a function of many KDS platforms and afford you the opportunity to measure your outcomes. With data analytics, you can determine what items are selling to establish what works and what does. In the context of restaurant food safety, you can also establish peak times of service, which is ever-evolving as we endure the pandemic. Knowing the ebbs and flows of your business, you can determine strategies to effectively clean and sanitize around the general flow of your operations.

Recipe Viewers

Another possibility within your KDS is to utilize recipe viewer technology as a training guide. The pandemic recently caused about two-thirds of all restaurant and hospitality staff to lose their jobs. While many may be recalled after reopenings begin, it’s likely that new staff members will be needed. A recipe viewer can provide a critical guide for both the quality of your food and ensuring that each item is prepared properly to avoid contamination. Some recipe viewer technologies allow operators to include tips and notes for staff. Like bin management protocols, you can program recipe viewers to populate messages that remind staff when and how to clean or sanitize properly. Rules about reopening may vary from place to place, so you can utilize a recipe viewer to submit reminder schedules for sanitation, trash takeout, station wipedowns, and more based on the specific terms of reopening.

Restaurant Management Tech

Restaurant management platforms are typically used to help organize incoming guests from their arrival in the system to settling up their check. An immediate benefit that restaurant management technology provides is in allowing you to stagger the total number of guests, as many places have restricted the overall capacity of restaurants and other communal spaces.

As with a recipe viewer, restaurant management platforms can be programmed to accommodate your front-of-house (FOH) cleaning needs. They can be programmed to remind FOH staff to sanitize or replenish cleaning supplies. You might change your system to notify staff to refill hand sanitizer stations or to wipe down or rotate tables to satisfy current sanitary requirements.

Conclusion

Technology can help you now, and the future is already bright for bigger and better to come. UV lights are already going up in restaurants, while researchers are looking at how to engineer safer and more readily available foods. In the short term, restaurateurs can work with the tools at hand, building on their existing tech stack with minimal effort to increase and enhance restaurant food safety.

Source: Syd Bishop for FSR

A menu is something that says a lot about your restaurant and its specialization, and also plays a significant role in your restaurant’s profitability. Hence, doing a comprehensive restaurant menu analysis is crucial for your restaurant’s success.

Restaurant menu analysis is defined as the steps taken to analyze the profitability and popularity of each menu item to increase the sales and success of a restaurant.

Menu analysis is not an easy task as it takes a lot of in-depth research, both internally and externally. Here are some things you should keep in mind when analyzing the restaurant menu the next time.

How to Do Restaurant Menu Analysis

The best time to analyze your restaurant’s menu is when there is a drop in sales, and the profit percentage is low. These are some clear indicators that you might be going wrong somewhere. Here are some tips that can help you to optimize your restaurant menu efficiently.

1. Understand Your Competition

It is imperative for you to understand your competition as this would help you determine the correct cost and the market trends for the same dishes. It would also help you set competitive prices because, if your food is overpriced people might prefer eating at your competitor’s restaurants, and if the rates are low you might face losses because of little return on investment.

Are your competitors focusing on providing good food at lower prices, but are cutting costs in terms of presentation and the service? Or are they selling the same dish at the same cost but are keeping the portions small?

These questions will help you not only analyze your competitors’ menu strategy but also give you an insight into what the customers’ are preferring.

All these factors help you revise your present rates and help you set more accurate price points for your dishes.

2. Check Your Menu Profitability

Profit is what keeps your restaurant moving; hence, it is essential to keep track of the sales of each menu item. An advanced POS system can give you the detailed insights on which items are selling the most and the least, which will help you check how the items are moving in your restaurant.

While analyzing the menu, identify the items that are doing good and are the most profitable. Your most popular item may not be a high-profit item. It is crucial to maintain a balance between what you spend on the preparation of a food item and how much you earn from it. Even if an item is high on profit, but is not popular among your customers, you need to reconsider its position in the menu. You can either place it in a way so that it draws the attention of the customers and makes them order more, or remove it completely from the menu.

Food cost reports will help you analyze the profitability of each menu item. Consider the money you are putting into buying the raw materials for preparing a dish and how much are you selling it for.

Here is how you can leverage technology to check your menu’s profitability and use it to make data-driven decisions for your restaurant.

3. Take Customer Feedback

Along with the internal insights you also need to consider the external sources. Customer feedback is an essential part of doing restaurant menu analysis. The easiest way to do this is by taking customer feedback through a POS integrated feedback app. The Feedback App generates custom questions for each customer based on the food they ordered. This way, guests can rate the menu items they ordered, and give you an insight into the performance of the item.

4. Stay Updated with the Trends

A good menu is sure to leave an excellent first impression; hence, it is required for you to change it with time. Look at the latest trends in the market, introduce innovations to attract more customers.

Changing the menu is not just about changing the food items and the price listed. Along with this, you need to change the appearance of the menu as well.

A restaurant menu should complement the theme of your restaurant. If you run a fine dining restaurant having a fancy looking menu is very important but, if you have a QSR, you can even switch to a digital menu as it would help your customers place an order much faster.

If you have changed the interiors of your restaurant recently, improve the appearance of the menu design as well. If the menu is in accordance with the place, people tend to relate more to it. These techniques help you play with the psychology of your customers which would ultimately mean more profit for your restaurant business.

5. It’s All About Teamwork

Menu analysis is not a single man’s task; you cannot change the menu based on the insights coming from one person. You need to consult your waiting staff, chef, manager, etc. to analyze the recent trends. Every person would have something unique to contribute to customer behavior, and that will help you add new food items or eliminate the unpopular ones.

Restaurant menu analysis is not a simple task, and you can go wrong with it hence, having different opinions would undoubtedly help you determine which food items could be more profitable for you in the future.

Restaurant menu analysis is a habit you should be practicing at least four times a year; it is a good practice that helps in keeping your menu updated.

After you have analyzed the menu, then comes the need to take the necessary steps. You need to determine from your analysis what all changes are to be applied to your current menu.

The hacks mentioned above, along with some research will help you make your restaurant menu analysis process more structured.

Source: The Restaurant Times

Never underestimate the power of cravings; Gen Z is most susceptible and won’t prioritize health for another five or more years. Even then, craveable foods will appeal.

While indulgent food cravings currently appeal to this group, the gradual introduction of health cues and health-halo attributes will be a way to maintain relevance and keep their interest as they reach ages that may force them to address their health.

Click below to view the infographic for more insight into this influential demographic.

Source: Cargill Foodservice

Consumer tastes, automation and population trends will all have an impact on our sector. Those brands that will survive and thrive have one eye on the balance sheet and the other on the future. The year’s coming trends revolve around talent, technology and taste.

1. The war for the best people is raging, as tech-powered job search tools make job-hopping easier. In fact, short-cycle turnover (fewer than 90 days on the job) is now at 50%. Brands are looking more closely at retention data and exit interviews as guideposts in shaping their company cultures and onboarding, training and reward plans. The same way consumers influence brand tastes, employees will have more power than ever.

2. Minimum wage increases will continue to put pressure on the industry, and operators will look for alternatives to menu price increases to deal with the trend. (See #8)

3. Not only will boomers continue to represent a healthy percent of diners, but they can also be a significant part of the workforce, as active adults choose to work longer and look for jobs with flexibility.

4. Co-botting (people learning to work hand-in-hand with technology) will become commonplace, as foodservice establishments automate various functions.

5. More than 80% of people use smart phones to find places to eat. Your local sites need to be compelling and load quickly. Google’s profiles have become more comprehensive and play an important role in consumer decision-making. They have, in effect, become mini local websites. Multi-unit businesses need to constantly stay on top of specials, reviews, openings and closings.

6. “Alexa…where can I get pizza at 2 a.m. near me?” Voice devices will become commonplace. People will not only speak to their phones, watches and home-based devices, but eyeglasses and jewelry are also part of the Internet of Things ecosystem. Fast casual restaurants need to know the most common questions and ensure the answer is their locations as voice search becomes commonplace.

7. Social media will continue to play a huge role in brand image and new customer acquisition. Millennials and Gen Z are 99 percent more likely to rely on social media and online reviews than other groups when making restaurant choices.

8. Limited-time menu items, supported by effective advertising, PR, promotion and organic and viral social media buzz can create a tremendous short-term sales boost. This consumer-facing site tracks and reports hot deals, giving deal- and experience-hungry consumers an easy way to find what’s new and unique.

9. Plant-based alternatives and food delivery are here to stay for the foreseeable future. Sustainability is important to tomorrow’s diners, as are healthy kids’ menu options.

10. The “fast” in “fast casual” will accelerate. About 50% of consumers say that self-service kiosks improve their experience, and people who order online rank speed ahead of value and food quality.

One last trend…despite the digitizing and of the foodservice industry, professionals will continue to seek out and participate in live events and conferences so they can share best practices, celebrate successes and learn from others in their industry. In fact, attendance at industry events shows no sign of slowing and attendees seek out those events that are most relevant to their niche — rather than broad horizontal gatherings.

Those businesses that stay one step ahead and innovate — the foodservice establishments with 2020 vision — will be those that will be standing and booming in 2030.

Source: Nancy A. Shenker; Food Truck Operator [LINK]

To maximize profitability in a highly competitive marketplace patronized by highly diverse customers, operators should regularly evaluate their menus, item by item, to ensure every offering is still worthy of its place on the menu. Many are streamlining, while others are simply introducing more opportunities for diners to customize their selections.

The next time you evaluate your menu, consider these strategies: 

Scale Back

Gone are the days of offering countless menu options to prevent consumers from vetoing an establishment because someone in their group insists there’s nothing on the menu for him (the “veto factor”).

In the past year alone, fast food giants Taco Bell, McDonald’s, Jack in the Box and El Pollo Loco strategically eliminated menu items. The reason: Vast menu choices tend to overwhelm customers and slow kitchen operations, which in turn leads to more time spent ordering and longer in-store and drive-thru lines.¹

Casual dining restaurants (Chili’s among them) also are scaling back, in part to deal with labor shortages and to build operational efficiencies. In a menu-trend analysis from late 2018, Technomic found that cuts are most pronounced in the entree and appetizer sections of menus. Conversely, there has been significant growth in mentions of enhancements that customers can purchase for an additional charge, such as adding extra chicken or shrimp to a Caesar salad or topping a burger with guacamole.²

If your menu has become bloated, start by chopping less-profitable, less-popular items. Ease customers into the loss of their potentially favorite item by making it available off menu for a few months so they can gradually adjust to the change while simultaneously finding other menu options to favor.¹

Build and Promote Customization

If you cut menu choices for operational efficiencies, you can gain back the “veto factor” guests by making allowances for their dietary preferences. This could include adding menu items that appeal to followers of trending diets such as Paleo, Keto, Whole30, Mediterranean and flexitarian. Earlier this year, fast casual chain Chipotle launched Lifestyle Bowls to better serve these dietary needs; the product line includes the Paleo Salad Bowl, Keto Salad Bowl, Whole30 Salad Bowl and a Double Protein Bowl. If your operation pursues this approach, develop a menu icon to print next to the appropriate items to facilitate consumer recognition.³

Some consumers follow restrictive diets such as vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free and dairy-free for lifestyle or health reasons. A few operators have responded by leveraging ingredients such as cauliflower to create alternative versions of pizza crust and rice, for example. Noodles & Co. did just that for its gluten-sensitive, vegan and Keto customers by introducing spiraled zucchini noodles and cauliflower-infused noodles (dubbed Caulifloodles).

Beyond dietary considerations, customization can be achieved by offering flavorful dipping sauces that deliver on several fronts—think craveable spice and global flavors achieved with the likes of currently popular Sriracha, harissa and gochujang, for example. Consider menuing a wide range of dipping sauces for chicken tenders, fries and even pizza as customization add-ons.⁴

Demonstrate Mindfulness

When you show guests you’re using your business platform to advance ideals they share, you win in their eyes, gaining their trust—and their business.

Mindfulness involves nourishing the body, soul, spirit and ecosystem. It’s about being fair, sustainable and transparent in everything you do—and involves a holistic vision of health and wellness on a personal and global level. Sustainability manifests itself in such areas as offering plant-based proteins for the health of the earth, treating employees fairly, mindful food sourcing and reducing waste. Research shows consumers want their favorite restaurants to agree with and stand for these ideals.⁵

Evaluate your operation to see if you need to update your focus, not only to build profitability but to resonate with your guests who want assurance that you’re operating deliciously—and responsibly—in their world.

Sources:
Content courtesy of Perdue Foodservice
1Lucas, Amelia, “These Fast-food Chains Have Dropped Menu Items This Year—Here’s Why,” CNBC.com, Sept. 14, 2019
2Cobe, Patricia, “Does Menu Size Matter?”, Restaurant Business, Nov. 21, 2018
3Weaver, Scott, “Four Menu Trends Fast Casual Operators Should Master,” Fast Casual, July 23, 2019
4“The Rise of the Dip: Sauces Offer Convenient Meal Customization,” Restaurant Hospitality, May 4, 2018
5Demeritt, Laurie, “Mindful Sourcing: Consumers Are Becoming More Mindful About Their Food Choices,” SmartBrief, April 4, 2019

Winning the labor war

Second to food costs, labor is the second largest cost for restauranteurs. Depending on a restaurant’s concept, labor costs can run as low as 25 percent or as high as 40 percent. As a benchmark, 30 percent is considered a healthy average to aim for your food cost. The good news is that labor is a variable cost and there are steps you can take to improve it.

Scheduling is normally a dreaded task on the to-do list, and whether it’s one person’s job or a shared responsibility of the management team, it is important to use a consistent form of scheduling. Here are eight smart scheduling strategies that will not only save you money and time but eliminate the stress that comes with the task.

1. Look at Historical Sales Trends to Create a Forecast – Using your historical sales trends alleviates the guess work of what you can expect to sell. Sure, a large party might walk in right at closing and you will need someone to stay late, but typically, your historical trends will be a good indicator of your labor needs. Pay attention to peak hours per day to see where you can scale labor back. Perhaps there is a slow sales period mid-afternoon between the lunch and dinner rush when you can cut a few servers or kitchen staff. Also notice seasonal trends such as conventions, sporting events, and patio weather in which you may need to augment your staff.

2. Stagger Shifts to Mitigate Labor – Staggering clock-in times allows you to increase labor as sales increase throughout the day. If each shift starts out slow and builds sales, overlap labor to have employees on the clock only when you need them. This can also be used to rotate opportunity amongst your staff.

3. Enforce clock in and out times – Another unnoticed cost is employees who clock in early. For example, if you have 25 employees who clock in 10 minutes early and make $8/ hour, that’s $33.33 in additional wages per day, or $12,166.67 per year. Locking down your POS so that employees can only clock in within 3–5 minutes prior to their shift starting will save you money.

4. Pay Attention to Part-Time versus Full-Time Employees – If you are tracking full-time and part-time employees for benefits or ACA compliance, you will need to be mindful of who should be scheduled as full-time and who should be scheduled as part-time. Looking at historical labor trends will help you determine who has part-time and who has full-time status.

5. Consider Total Labor Cost – The cost is not attributed just to regular hours worked but also over time, double time, shift or employee meals and if you live in an applicable area, special pay. If any of these may apply to your business, consider the outcome when creating your schedule as a preventative measure.

6. Schedule to Strengths – Know your employees’ strengths and weaknesses and use them to your advantage when scheduling. Take a good look at which day parts are busiest for you. It may be more important to have someone who is quick and efficient for a busy lunch shift to avoid unnecessary comps and someone who is a master at upselling to increase revenue during a slower dinner shift.

7. Cross Train Employees – Cross training ensures that you have enough flexibility to react to any situation that may arise, without having to call in additional help. Having a busser who can run food or a server who can help behind the bar can help you avoid disappointing customers if an unexpected crowd came in or if an employee no shows. It can also lead to a more cohesive team as employees are given the chance to see and respect one another’s tasks and roles first-hand.

8. Automate Employee Scheduling – Automating your schedule makes it more accessible, gives employees empowerment and reduces the burden on managers. Often, someone needs to swap, drop or pickup shifts. To tackle this, you might consider using a shift trade book or posting, where employees can self-manage these activities. This has the knock-on effect of allowing the manager to approve all changes in one place. This will save you employee labor hours and dissatisfaction, as well as your manager’s time building a schedule.

Source: Kristi Turner for FSR magazine