As summer draws to a close, fall conference season is just around the corner, which this year includes FSTEC, a three-day foodservice technology conference taking place September 16-18 in Grapevine, Texas. 2024 has never been a more exciting (or challenging) time to get up to speed on your ideal tech stack or balance the speed of hospitality and digitally enhanced service.
The food tech industry seems to grow and shrink at the same time, as M&A activity buys out smaller brands, while new solutions emerge every day hoping to become the next big thing in the restaurant digital ecosystem.
With a flurry of news and activity in the technology space this year, Informa’s FSTEC conference will tackle tough questions such as “Should I partner with a technology vendor or build my own technology stack?”, “How do I keep my data safe?” and “How do I get started with voice AI?”
Other tech news this month includes Microsoft announcing a partnership with capacity management software solution Curbit, and DoorDash launching in-app happy hour promotional deals that operators can enable to attract price-conscious consumers.
Tech Tracker rounds up what's happening in tech for the restaurant industry, including news from restaurants, vendors, digital platforms, and third-party delivery companies. Here's what you need to know and why.
Preview of FSTEC 2024
Restaurant technology's biggest event is back, and one of the can't-miss sessions at FSTEC this year will see restaurateurs engaging in a friendly debate about whether they should “buy” their tech stack (partner with an outside vendor) or “build” it themselves — a trend that many restaurateurs are considering. The DIY tech trend really took off last year with brands like Wingstop and Yum Brands making the move.
Going forward, we expect many restaurant companies will choose a little of both options—a mix of in-house custom solutions that solve problems that off-the-shelf technologies can't, while partnerships with technology vendors will likely still dominate. This “buy vs. build” conversation will take place on the first day of FSTEC, September 16, and will feature insights from executives from Papa Johns, Brooklyn Dumpling Shop, Dine Brands, and Potbelly. They'll discuss the pros and cons of both options, as well as explore how even emerging brands can build their own in-house software (for example, seven-location Jeff's Bagel Run built its tech stack from scratch after not finding a solution purpose-built for bagel shops).
Besides questions about building and buying a tech stack, other hot topics at FSTEC this year include:
An opening keynote from futurist Mike Walsh will discuss the extremely hot topic of AI and how businesses can future-ready their organizations without getting overwhelmed by the deluge of AI solutions. A conversation with Little Caesars' Chief Information Security Officer will discuss why operators should prioritize data safety and security, a topic that has become a hot topic following high-profile security incidents by companies such as Panera. A conversation with Yum Brands' Chief Digital and Technology Officer will discuss how Yum is leading the way in the digital ecosystem, including the development of its proprietary point-of-sale system, Poseidon.
Carbit Announces Partnership with Microsoft
Curbit.ai, a foodservice technology company that specializes in capacity management solutions, announced a new partnership with Microsoft this month. The collaboration comes out of Curbit CEO Fran Dougherty's long career at Microsoft, where she helped grow the Microsoft Azure platform.
The partnership will enable Microsoft to enhance the analytical power of Curbit's product suite by providing digital infrastructure and real-time AI capabilities to enhance the software's service analytics, real-time order progress, kitchen performance and guest sentiment analysis.
“Tighter integration with Microsoft's global infrastructure and enterprise footprint was a natural next step in our company's evolution,” Dougherty said in a statement. “As we continue to innovate and further develop our technology, this collaboration marks an important step in realizing our vision of powering 100,000 restaurants by 2027.”
This is part of a recent trend in foodservice technology solutions, with more SaaS companies shifting their focus from after-the-fact reports and dashboards to real-time analytics that can provide operators with data and recommendations on the spot.
DoorDash launches happy hour and lunchtime specials for operators
DoorDash has announced its latest features for operators, designed to combat consumer slowdowns, especially during off-peak hours. The new products are lunch specials and happy hour promotions that restaurants can customize by turning them on or off during slower times of the day, like lunchtime or late in the evening.
For lunch specials, operators can choose certain items that will be part of the promotion between 11am and 2pm, and can also schedule happy hour discounts from 2pm to 5pm.
“The revenue generated during this time helps balance labor costs while keeping team members engaged during a typically slow time of the day,” Clinton Gray III, co-founder and chief brand officer at Slim & Huskies, said in a statement. “This is a great strategy for locally-based businesses looking to attract new customers that can lead to increased revenue each week.”
Flybuy launches Course Correct to eliminate pickup errors
Another tech trend NRN is watching is the proliferation of very specific tech products that attempt to solve problems caused by omnichannel technology. Flybuy is a tech company that specializes in curbside pickup solutions and recently launched Course Correct, a feature that lets customers know if and when they're heading to the wrong part of a restaurant to pick up their order.
Course Correct uses advanced geolocation technology and AI to recognise if a customer ordering through a digital channel is heading in the wrong direction.
This might seem like a niche thing, but apparently it's happening more often than you might think, according to Five Guys, which is using the technology to make the pickup experience easier and quicker for its customers.
“After rolling out Flybuy's Course Correct to all 1,495 Five Guys locations, we saw dramatic improvements in the pickup process and customer experience,” Steve Teller, vice president of digital strategy at Five Guys, told NRN. “By proactively identifying customers and directing them to the correct location, we saw a 60% reduction in incorrect location errors.”
The first delivery robot with generative AI hits the streets
While there are many delivery robots out there, including from companies like Nuro, Kiwibot, and Refraction AI, Vayu Robotics stands out as the first generative AI-based delivery robot designed to navigate streets and not just sidewalks.
Vayu is based in San Francisco and closed a $12.7 million seed round last year from Khosla Ventures. The technology is built on AI-based models (the building blocks of generative AI: Chat-GPT is one example) and uses low-cost passive sensors rather than expensive software to run, and can navigate the roads fully autonomously without the need for off-site operator control or prior road mapping.
Vayu hopes its unique model will make autonomous delivery vehicles more affordable for operators.
“At Vayu, we have developed a unique technology that allows us to solve problems that have plagued delivery robots for the last decade, finally creating a solution that can be deployed at scale in real life and cheaply deliver goods anywhere,” Vayu Robotics CEO Anand Gopalan said in a statement.
