FOOD & DRINK FOOD FOR THOUGHT Nick Hucker of Preoday, explores how digital technologies can help corporate caterers cut waste.
As a whole, the hospitality sector is becoming ever more aware of sustainability-conscious consumers who are interested in the environmental implications of the food they’re eating, such as the source of their food and the waste produced by it.
According to Nielsen, 81% of global consumers feel strongly that companies should help improve the environment. Food wholesaler Bidfood named the sustainability phenomenon “Good for me, good for you”, and in its top trends of 2019, analyst house NPD sees reducing kitchen waste as a factor in the emergence of slimmer menus, which are easier to digest.
Food wastage from the hospitality and food service sector costs the UK around £2.5bn each year. Moreover, 75% of the food not recycled is avoidable, according to circular economy and resource efficiency experts WRAP. For their part, food and drink operators large and small, including corporate caterers, are starting to make moves on this front and fortunately for them, there is a variety of technology available to help them.
How can technology help reduce waste? As with many businesses, the key to successfully reducing waste is often measurement – after all, you can’t manage what you don’t measure. One US-based technology provider, Leanpath, brings together hardware (such as benches, scales, cameras and tablets) with software which enables kitchens to track all food waste in their kitchens.
“Food wastage from the hospitality
and food service sector costs the UK around £2.5bn each year.”
According to the Vice President of Food Waste Prevention at the company: “Each transaction is weighed, and critical data, such as food type, waste reason and disposition code, are captured immediately through a customised user interface. Our landmark bench scale marries this data with
44 | TOMORROW’S FM
a digital picture of the wasted food as well, and all details are electronically stored in a cloud-based database.”
The software then feeds in to its analytics program ‘Leanpath Online’, which allows clients to analyse the drivers of their food waste with a high degree of granularity. An integrated dashboard provides summaries, participation and trend reports.
Reducing waste through stock management Alongside other measuring technologies, we like to think that digital ordering technologies can play a part by helping caterers and operators better manage stock control and ensure that as little food as possible is wasted in preparation and once diners have finished. With digital ordering, knowing what customers have ordered ahead of service time enables kitchen managers to avoid food waste by simply managing their production volumes. Over time, by gathering data about customers’ buying behaviour, avoidable food waste can be reduced significantly. The flexibility of digital menus also means that if a menu item is not selling as expected, promotions and offers can be made.
Digital bins The emergence of clever tech such as smart bins has helped chefs become more aware of what they discard, which is good news for companies’ bottom lines, as well as the environment. Smart kitchen technology providers like Winnow have started to prove popular with operators, singing its praises. The technology itself involves a scale that weighs food waste bins and a touchscreen where kitchen staff can log what is being thrown away. The analytics can then be reviewed to take into account the menu and to make kitchens run more efficiently.
With pressure from consumers on industry, 2019 will likely be an important one for food sustainability and food waste. We look forward to seeing what innovations emerge for the rest of the year to help caterers and operators meet consumer expectations.
www.preoday.com
twitter.com/TomorrowsFM
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58
