ACCELERATED BY THE PANDEMIC
If product and process development was on the ascent before Covid-19 came along at the start of 2020, the pandemic seemed to accelerate this innovation. As Georges Haddad FCSI, CEO of Luminescenza in Lebanon, says: “Through challenges come innovations, in just one year, the Covid-19 pandemic brought wide- ranging change to the F&B industry,” he says. “Restaurants implemented innovative ideas and technologies including online ordering, contactless pick-up, delivery and payment, QR code menus, waitlist applications and social media advertisement to stay competitive in the market.” Of course there is a case to be made for the flip side of this and while those technologies that were already in the ascendancy have advanced, the new development of fresh technology may have slightly slowed. As Ken Schwartz FCSI, president and CEO of SSA Studios in Florida, says: “The pandemic has clearly had an impact on the industry. One aspect of this is face-to-face meetings and tradeshows. The lack of these has prevented the necessary interaction to discuss challenges and needs and to look for viable solutions. Therefore, it has been some time since we have seen innovation from a working model or demonstration. And, of course, needs have realigned somewhat on a global basis.” One of the areas that has been vastly
improved and propelled by the pandemic is off-premise dining. Gone are the days when take out and delivery was limited to pizza and mediocre meals from chains and mid-level restaurants. Even before the pandemic delivery was on the rise as the ghost kitchen concept started gaining traction. Covid accelerated the ascent of this business model and today it is hard to imagine any outlet that doesn’t offer a delivery or take-out element. “I think the conversation of how to handle off-premise orders is much more massive than ever before,” says Tim
McDougald, project manager, Clevenger Associates in the US. “In the past we’ve rarely had the conversation of how to handle off-premise orders, how to hold them, all of that. In the new era I think it has to be front and center at the start of design. “We’ve seen huge innovation in various ‘food lockers’ from several manufacturers. Designing those spaces at the beginning of the project is more important now. Thinking through the make line for those orders is a bigger topic. It used to be an afterthought, maybe you stuck a shelving unit over in the corner and hung a DoorDash sign on it. That doesn’t work anymore, establishments are now being designed with off-premise as the main focus and indoor dining as an added bonus, a complete reversal of what a restaurant was before. Finding innovative products that help this happen is a much bigger focus than ever before.” Karen Malody too believes ghost kitchens are here to stay and will open up new avenues for consumption of food. “Ghost kitchens will likely proliferate alongside the continuous innovation in technology surrounding ordering platforms, payment methods, and delivery systems,” she says. “Interestingly, this will bring back such methods as automated delivery belts taking food to cars, drive up automats (as well as walk-in automats), and pneumatic tubes. Delivery of food in pneumatic tubes is an example of how innovation can be utilizing a process, service or product in a manner not previously utilized.” (A Minnesota McDonald’s drive-thru
restaurant famously delivered food to customers in pneumatic tubes until its closure in 2015.)
Michael Neuner FCSI, has overseen the launch of a program of delivery services and a virtual concept developed by his team at fine-dining Michelin-starred restaurant Hakkasan in London and he says the evolution in delivery will continue. “Innovation over the next 5-10 years will focus on evolving delivery solutions; utilizing technology more efficiently for both POS and also within the kitchen/BOH areas to use fewer humans,” he says.
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE ON THE RISE
“AI WILL ENABLE CHEFS, MENUS, AND EQUIPMENT TO OPTIMIZE TIME, LABOR, AND QUALITY
OUTCOMES.DESIGN AND BUILD-OUT PROGRAMS PROVIDE VARIOUS SCENARIOS TO SUPPORT
DESIGN TEAMS” ARLENE SPIEGEL, FOUNDER AND PRESIDENT OF ARLENE SPIEGEL & ASSOCIATES, NEW YORK
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WORLDWIDE
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