FOODSERVICE UPDATES
  • Home
  • Trends
    • Commodities
  • Recipes
    • Featured Recipe
    • Appetizers
    • Beef
    • Breakfast
    • Burgers
    • Desserts & Snacks
    • Handhelds
    • Pasta & Rice
    • Pizza
    • Plant Based
    • Pork
    • Poultry
    • Salads
    • Seafood
    • Sides
    • Soups & Sauces
  • Digital Media
  • Technology
  • Safety
  • Management Tips
  • Human Resources
  • Healthcare
  • Marketplace
  • Free Newsletter
  • Contact Us

Respond to reviews on the spot with help from AI

5/9/2025

 
review
Your guests live so much of their lives online – so being able to manage your foodservice brand on the internet is critical. It helps guests appreciate the quality of your business or even find your business altogether. Your prompt response to online comments about your business plays an important role in that effort. Increasingly, foodservice businesses are delegating this task to AI-powered tools that can provide personalized responses to comments in real time across multiple platforms. These tools can analyze keywords to assess the general sentiment of the comment and then provide a reply – some tools also offer guidance on improving service. A response to a positive comment might look like this: “Thank you for your feedback, Sarah! We’re so happy you enjoyed your meal and the fast service. We hope to see you again soon!” But there may be even more value in AI-powered responses to negative comments: “We’re so sorry your dinner didn’t arrive as expected, John. That’s not our standard of service. We shared your comments with our kitchen and want to make this right with you – please contact us directly.” In addition to neutralizing an unhappy guest and reinforcing your brand values with empathetic and personal feedback, providing an in-the-moment response strengthens your search engine optimization (SEO) as well. Over time, your consistent, real-time interaction with guest feedback will boost your position in online search listings, helping you build visibility and trust with consumers.

Tech helps small brands compete against the big guys

3/28/2025

 
tech
Technology is making it hard to tell how big a foodservice brand really is. Small, independent restaurants are increasingly adopting technology to enhance efficiency and customer experience. In the process, they are gaining advantages of scale that allow them to compete with much larger chains. Affordable solutions like self-service kiosks and AI-powered analytics are streamlining operations without massive investments. Small restaurants can use kiosks to reduce wait times and free up staff – all while they collect data that helps them optimize their menu for guests in ways that used to be only available to major brands. For example, Tony Roma’s, a smaller fast-casual chain, launched its “Tony Roma’s 2.0” initiative, which (in part) integrates AI and robotics to boost order accuracy, automate tasks and enhance overall efficiency. It’s allowing the brand to streamline order management and operate on a larger scale than before.
A brand’s tech-supported scalability factor can often mean the difference between stagnation and rapid growth. As Modern Restaurant Management reported recently, a small restaurant could land a major corporate catering contract – but if they have outdated delivery and logistics systems, they will struggle with inefficiencies and delays when orders increase. However, if the restaurant adopts platforms that manage delivery and optimize logistics, it can scale seamlessly, expand service areas, and take on ever-larger opportunities without compromising quality.

Navigating price uncertainty

2/14/2025

 
Picture
Foodservice operators are managing a lot of uncertainty right now around food costs and how prices for imported menu items may fluctuate in the months ahead. Fortunately, this can be managed from several directions that may help insulate operators from volatility. For starters, have systems in place to monitor pricing frequently, particularly if you’re adapting recipes regularly. Work with vendors who can support that effort with forecasts, recommended ingredient substitutes, reliable traceability, and even revised agreements that provide group discounts or increased certainty around pricing.
Look for opportunities to optimize your menu and recipes. Where can you adjust portion size or ingredient use to make your business less susceptible to market swings? What items in your inventory can help you add heft to dishes if you need to omit others? If you understand what your most profitable menu items are, you can design your menu and promotions to steer guests in their direction, then weed out/modify items that aren’t pulling their weight (or would likely be impacted by anticipated high prices).
Manage your inventory with precision. Where can you bring in more ingredients that are less prone to market volatility? Where are there opportunities for profitable promotions? AI tools can help you forecast demand and plan accordingly. This is also a good time to review food safety, ensuring your staff is dating, storing and using ingredients in ways that promote safety – and that your kitchen is minimizing food waste wherever possible.

Delivering personalization with AI

2/14/2025

 
personalization
It’s a time of high consumer expectations. The consultancy McKinsey found that 71 percent of consumers expect companies to deliver personalized content – and 67 percent of those customers say they are frustrated when they don’t get it. Personalization also drives loyalty: A survey conducted by Bounteous x Accolite found that 70 percent of respondents said menu recommendations based on past purchases make them feel like a restaurant “knows” them. In senior living facilities, where demographics are shifting and demand for the accommodation of personal preferences is increasing, being able to personalize a dish or menu can attract and retain residents, as well as help keep them safe.
Artificial intelligence is giving businesses a boost here – and the costs of implementation are coming down. Savor reports that IHOP’s use of AI-powered personalization technology is driving a 10-15 percent increase in check averages. The technology analyzes historical order data, then suggests complementary menu items – and 73 percent of guests have been adding those items to their orders.
Beyond helping foodservice operators make the most of their current menu, AI can steer future offerings – and identify how to drive guests to them. It uses guest data to predict future preferences and behavior, providing clues as to how to build a profitable future menu. On ordering interfaces like an app or website, AI tools can also recommend how to modify pages – or where to insert offer banners for specific segments of guests to drive the best results.

AI taking the stress out of compliance tasks

8/23/2024

 
AI
Restaurant operators have to manage an ever-shifting list of requirements to comply with the law. From food and beverage safety regulations to specialty licenses to labor compliance laws, there are many priorities (as well as changes) for operators to track. If they don’t, the legal or financial consequences can be steep. But as a recent report from Modern Restaurant Management explains, AI-supported tools are making compliance tasks easier (and simultaneously removing some tedious responsibilities from employees’ to-do lists). AI-powered workforce management is helping restaurants automate compliance tasks while bringing insights from them into clearer focus, so operators can know more readily what areas of the business need attention. For example, workforce management can provide a labor-management plan that includes predictive scheduling so you’re able to adequately staff your business to uphold safety regulations and minimize your food safety risks. In the process, staff gain greater flexibility to plan around shifts and operators can better avoid burning out staff. These tools can also keep accounting tasks current. This technology is becoming an industry standard, so if you’re in the majority of restaurants making technology investments in the near future, these capabilities are likely to be woven into them.

​AI helping restaurants deliver faster, friction-free service

7/26/2024

 
AI
Across restaurant categories, artificial intelligence is, oddly enough, making the restaurant experience feel a bit more human. As Danny Meyer, owner of Union Square Hospitality Group, recently said at an event hosted by IBM at one of his fine-dining restaurants, “By taking the guesswork out of the actual technical part of taking your order, [AI] allows us to put 100 percent of our hearts into making you feel welcome.” Specifically, the technology helps restaurants take better advantage of the data they have available, allowing them to better understand their guests and how they like to spend. As a result, they can boost their revenue because their inventory management and other back-office tasks are more efficient, and restaurant staff gain additional time back in their schedules – time they can pour into delivering better service. That translates into a more personal dining experience – or certainly the perception of one. At a time when consumers’ desire for meal personalization is so widespread and labor is an ongoing challenge, AI can be a game-changer for restaurants. Imagine you’re trying to manage a busy dinner rush and behind the scenes, your technology is making real-time menu adjustments to make sure you don’t sell out of key menu options. At the same time, it is upselling guests on other profitable items on your menu. 

Using AI to optimize your menu modeling

7/19/2024

 
AI
Thinking about how technology can optimize your business can be overwhelming when there are so many options and potential factors to track. But it can also be a huge opportunity – to manage costs and to understand (and serve) your guests so much better than before. Take AI and its applications with menu pricing. At a time when many reports say consumers are reaching their limit when it comes to restaurant prices, it’s critical to know where the line between price and demand exists for your guests. If you have quality data about your business, AI can analyze it and come up with pricing strategies that consider your guests’ preferences, as well as how your traffic shifts based on the weather or time of day. Restaurants are at a point where they can use dynamic pricing like airlines have been using it for years (when a person takes a flight, they don’t assume they have paid the same price as their seatmate, right?). We’re approaching this point for restaurants. You can harness AI to create personalized pricing options for guests, to make pricing adjustments in real time based on the factors that work for your restaurant, and to strike the right balance between your prices and the demand they accommodate. You can also use your pricing to make your regular guests feel special – with offers and special prices that you appear to have dreamed up with only them in mind. New doors are opening that can help you build stronger connections with your guests. Are you gathering quality data and ensuring you’re making the best marketing decisions you can from it?

Precision forecasting through AI

7/11/2024

 
tech
Several years into managing ingredient inflation, supply chain snags and other strains on your bottom line, you may feel like you have raised menu prices to their limit – or that you’re running out of ways to cut costs. But AI automation is helping operators identify new ways to optimize operations at the front and back of the house, saving resources in the process. In a recent webinar from QSRweb, “When Raising Prices Isn’t Cutting It...How AI Automation Cuts Costs & Customer Complaints,” panelists discussed how AI can accomplish this through precision forecasting on multiple levels at once. For example, it can forecast how the weather next week is likely to impact your guests’ food preferences, guest traffic, and therefore your inventory and labor needs. It can ensure you have the right ingredients on hand at the right time, so your team isn’t scrambling to refill a key ingredient on the line just as people are lining up out your door during the lunch rush. It can help operators manage around particular scenarios – like if Joe doesn’t make it to work today, how will we manage his tasks effectively and safely? It can prevent the unfortunate ripple effect that can lead to mistakes, safety problems, and inconsistency – all issues that can impact guest experience, as well as staff morale and turnover. This frees managers up to deliver better guest experiences, which AI can also enhance by delivering personalized information about the people coming through your doors. Looking at your current operation, where are the bottlenecks, or areas where you feel you could use staff more effectively or deliver a better experience for guests? Could precision forecasting help?

Maximize the value of AI-assisted recruitment efforts

6/21/2024

 
staffing
AI can be a useful tool when you’re looking to recruit new staff to your team. It can help you craft a compelling and factual job description quickly and automatically based on the information you provide. What it can’t do so well is communicate the less tangible nuances of your culture: what your team is like, what energizes them, and how people experience working at your restaurant, for example. That requires some human input and oversight. As a recent report from Modern Restaurant Management puts it, the people applying for a job with you should be able to feel “the bustling energy of a fast-paced kitchen, the warmth of a family-owned establishment, or the innovation of a cutting-edge culinary concept.” These are also the kinds of qualities that inspire connection and loyalty among your staff. So what is it about your restaurant’s culture, standards and values that sets your business apart from the restaurant across the street? How can you make sure people feel that when they read your job description – and that this feeling carries over seamlessly when they come through your front door?

Sustainability tech takes spotlight at National Restaurant Association Show

6/14/2024

 
tech
Foodservice sustainability was a key theme to the recent National Restaurant Association Show – and the tools and systems on display promoted benefits well beyond the environment. According to a Nation’s Restaurant News report, highlights of the show supported restaurants’ efforts around waste management, operational efficiency and food safety. Think eco-friendly fryers that reduce frying time, use less oil and may reduce oil vapors; AI-supported tech that helps operators track their food consumption and waste in real time; and sensors connected to the Internet of Things that can inform staff with greater precision when food that has been sitting out needs to be discarded, or if it’s still safe to serve.

<<Previous

    Subscribe to our newsletter

    Picture
    Picture
    Picture

    Archives

    June 2025
    May 2025
    March 2025
    February 2025
    January 2025
    December 2024
    November 2024
    October 2024
    September 2024
    August 2024
    July 2024
    June 2024
    May 2024
    April 2024
    March 2024
    February 2024
    January 2024
    December 2023
    November 2023
    October 2023
    September 2023
    August 2023
    July 2023
    June 2023
    May 2023
    April 2023
    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019

    RSS Feed

    Categories

    All
    5G
    Accounting
    Accuracy
    Agriculture
    Agtech
    AI
    Alert
    Analytics
    App
    Association
    Audit
    Automate
    Automation
    Backlog
    Blockchain
    Bottleneck
    Budget
    Camera
    Carry-out
    Carryout
    Cashless
    Change
    Changes
    Chatbot
    Chatgpt
    Cleaning
    Cloud
    Communication
    Composting
    Connected
    Consistent
    Contactless
    Contingency
    Costs
    Credit-card
    Crops
    Cross-sell
    Cross Training
    Customer-satisfaction
    Customization
    Cyber Security
    Cyber-threats
    Dashboard
    Data
    Debit
    Delivery
    Digital
    Digitally Native
    Dining Experience
    Display
    Drive-thru
    Drone
    Edge-computing
    Efficiencies
    Efficiency
    Email
    Employee
    Encryption
    Engage
    Equipment
    Errors
    Evaluation
    Experience
    Face-recognition
    Falls
    Fine Dining
    Food Safety
    Food-supply
    Foo-locker
    Forecast
    Forecasting
    Fraud
    Functionality
    Gamification
    Geofence
    Ghost-kitchen
    Ghostkitchen
    Gift-cards
    Gmofoods
    Google
    Gps
    Green
    Growth
    Highefficiency
    Hiring
    Host-kitchen
    Improvements
    Information
    Ingredients
    Injury
    Inperson
    Insurance
    Integration
    Interactive
    Interests
    Internet
    Internet Of Things
    Internetofthings
    Intuitive
    Inventory
    Investment
    Irs
    It
    Kiosk
    Kiosks
    Kitchen
    Kitchen Display System
    Kitchendisplaysystem
    Labels
    Labor
    Laws
    Legacy System
    Link
    Loophole
    Loyalty
    Maintenance
    Makeline
    Manage
    Marketing
    Menu
    Mobile Ordering
    Mobileordering
    Mobileorderingb02c87f4a0
    Monitoring
    Morale
    Network
    New-tech
    Newtech
    Office
    On-demand
    Online
    Onmichannel
    Ordering
    Outage
    Outdoor
    Outsource
    Packaging
    Partnership
    Passwords
    Payables
    Payday
    Payment
    Personalization
    Photos
    Planning
    Policy
    Portion
    Pos
    Predictions
    Pricing
    Processes
    Profit
    Profits
    Promotions
    Purchases
    Qr Codes
    Qrcodes
    Rebate
    Recipes
    Recruiting
    Regulations
    Renegotiate
    Repairs
    Reports
    Reservations
    Resist
    Retention
    Reusable
    Reviews
    Rewards
    Rfid
    Robots
    Roi
    Safety
    Saftware
    Scheduling
    Security
    Service
    Signage
    Simplicity
    Smart
    Smartphone
    Socialdistance
    Software
    Special-offers
    Spend
    Staff
    Streamline
    Supper-app
    Supply
    Supply-chain
    Supplychain
    Sustainability
    Synchronizing
    Systems
    Take-out
    Takeout
    Takeoutfed487ce46
    Tasks
    Technology
    Tech-stack
    Tech-support
    Temperature-control
    Tension
    Testing
    Text
    Theft
    Third-party
    Thirdparty
    Tickets
    Tipping
    Tools
    Touchless
    Traceability
    Tracking
    Training
    Transparent
    Turnover
    Upgrade
    Uses
    Uv-light
    Vending
    Video
    Virtual
    Voice
    Vra
    Wait-times
    Waittimes
    Waste
    Website
    Wi-fi
    Wifi

Get our Free Newsletter
Team Four Foodservice
​Recipes
Quarterly Outlook
Palette Foodservice Partners®
​
© 2025 Team Four Foodservice
  • Home
  • Trends
    • Commodities
  • Recipes
    • Featured Recipe
    • Appetizers
    • Beef
    • Breakfast
    • Burgers
    • Desserts & Snacks
    • Handhelds
    • Pasta & Rice
    • Pizza
    • Plant Based
    • Pork
    • Poultry
    • Salads
    • Seafood
    • Sides
    • Soups & Sauces
  • Digital Media
  • Technology
  • Safety
  • Management Tips
  • Human Resources
  • Healthcare
  • Marketplace
  • Free Newsletter
  • Contact Us