Dots Platform

What an incredible session at FSTEC with leaders from Yum! Brands, Chick-fil-A and McDonald��s! Here are my key takeaways: Joe Park, Chief Digital and Technology Officer at Yum! Brands, highlighted that AI won��t replace humans, but humans with AI will replace those without it. I also love his vision that in 10 years, we��ll all be using AI assistants instead of ordering apps. Wei Manfredi, VP of Global Architecture, Data and AI at McDonald's, reminded that food is more than just business - it��s tied to our best memories and experiences. Great point that before introducing too much tech to customers, there��s huge potential to leverage AI to streamline back-of-house operations. Catherine Carrell Roberts, Director of Intelligent Automation at Chick-fil-A Restaurants talked about their mission to become the most caring company in the world and shared how using AI as a copilot for staff could boost productivity by 15%, allowing employees to focus more on what really matters - service and hospitality. Huge thanks to all the incredible panelists for the insights! ?? #FSTEC #AI #FoodTech #Leadership #Innovation #RestaurantTech

Could games and virtual worlds become the next major food-ordering channel? There are 3.3 billion gamers worldwide. Annual U.S. spending on games surpasses the entire pizza industry: ~$55B vs. ~$47B. The gaming industry is increasingly embracing metaverse - virtual worlds driven by digital experiences that are highly immersive and interactive. Some of the most prominent ones include Roblox, Minecraft, and Fortnite, with impressive monthly active users of 214M, 166M, and 236M, respectively. Virtual worlds are projected to attract 2.6 billion users by the year 2030. Statistics also show that over 90% of Gen Z engage in gaming,?and a significant portion prefers online food ordering. The future of gaming and social interaction where billions of people spend hours in virtual spaces playing, working, and interacting with each other is almost here. It opens new opportunities for the restaurant industry. And major brands are already venturing into this uncharted territory. In 2021 Chipotle Mexican Grill partnered with Roblox to digitize their Halloween promotion. Players could dress their avatars in Chipotle Halloween costumes, play mini-games, and receive codes for free burritos to redeem in person. The virtual restaurant received over 8 million visits during the campaign. McDonald's has been building virtual restaurants in Metaverse since 2022. The concept is straightforward: ��You are hanging out in the metaverse and get hungry. You don't have to put down your headset. You walk into a McDonald's and place an order. It arrives at your door a little while later��. Last month Wow Bao launched a virtual dance club and lounge on Roblox. This new gamified experience allows players to get new accessories for their avatars, link up their accounts with Wow Bao��s rewards program, and play for a chance to win free food. This post was actually inspired by Geoff Alexander, who recently shared his vision of how restaurants can leverage the gaming industry. Additionally, new 3pd services are emerging for the gaming community. One of them - Liifer, which provides a food-ordering interface using a hotkey in a game. It opens in orderable mode as an overlay to your game allowing order food while playing. You can find Burger King, Pizza Hut, Taco Bell, KFC, Subway, Domino's, Starbucks, and other brands there. So it looks like the gaming sector appears to be poised to generate numerous fresh prospects for the restaurant industry. Do you believe that it can become the next significant channel for food ordering and brand awareness? I would love to hear your thoughts! ???? #restaurant #tech #food #ordering #games #metaverse #delivery

Can a tech company become a top restaurant brand? Startup mindset >> Tech driven >> Tons of VC��s money >> Hyper-fast growth >> Market share >> IPO. Would it work? My previous post sparked heated discussions about the potential success of a tech startup launching a new restaurant concept. So I��d like to discuss this topic more broadly. Tech is vital for the restaurant industry. The first ��D�� in McDonald's ��4D�� strategy stands for ��Digital��. Domino's claims they��re a tech company that sells pizza. Of course, we all know they��re not. But tech is definitely one of their pillars of success. Panera Bread��s recent national outage turned a beautiful customer-oriented business into a brick in seconds and showed how ugly it is without digital. No online ordering, no catering, no delivery, no kiosks, no phone calls, no loyalty program, no card payments. Just cash transactions at a register. Wingstop Restaurants Inc. is testing its new $50 million IT system. 35 million customers place 2/3 of orders digitally. Yum! Brands (KFC, Taco Bell, Habit Burger) is bringing in self-ordering devices as its digital system sales hit $30 billion. Chipotle Mexican Grill is testing an automated digital makeline. sweetgreen accelerates the deployment of its Infinite Kitchens, a robotic system that assembles salads and bowls that could yield a 7-point margin improvement at restaurants where it is installed. And so on, and so forth�� A lot of great restaurant brands are transforming into high-tech companies. But does it work in reverse mode? ��an a tech company become a top restaurant brand? We all witnessed how Uber revolutionized traditional taxi services, how Booking.com and Airbnb transformed the hotel industry, and how Grubhub, DoorDash, and others reshaped consumption patterns. And you��re reading this text from your LinkedIn app, not from a newspaper. So is there a chance for another tech startup to disrupt the restaurant industry? I agree with those who are skeptical about high-end restaurants and fine dining. Because it��s all about experience, art, people, service, and emotions. Not digital. But what about QSR? These businesses are already operating as a system, heavily relying on technology. They produce uncomplicated food that can be easily reproduced. Their economy works on a scale similar to tech companies. The only thing that determines one QSR company from another - is their brand. I took a lot of time, experiments, and resources to McDonald's, Starbucks, Domino's, Subway, and others to deserve the love and respect of customers. On the other side example of MOTO Pizza shows how an unknown brand can become a crazy-popular destination with a 3-month waitlist from the day of their opening without a marketing budget. Well-known logos on a street create intense competition. But what if the next big battle is not for a street, but for digital? Happy to hear your thoughts!