Recession-proof your business

This is the fourth LinkedIn edition of the bi-weekly Consumer & Retail Insights newsletter by CB Insights...but already issue?#138?which means you have plenty to catch up on!

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Hej!

Do you need coffee to start your day? Starbucks’ newest barista robot is waiting for you at the end of this newsletter in Patent of the Week. Now, on to the main meal.?

I recently visited Copenhagen and spent a serendipitous evening at Amass, a restaurant that serves course after course of gastronomic garbage.?

Amass runs very efficient operations. It uses what many consider to be garbage (fish bones, corncobs, fruit peels) to create innovative dishes. This helps the restaurant do its part to tackle the $1T global food waste crisis.?

This level of food waste reduction is truly an art. And as good art does, it draws attention to harsh realities: 95% of restaurants experienced significant delays or shortages of key food items last year.?

Shortages not only mean lost revenue in the short-term, but can drive customers to eat or shop somewhere else in the long run. To help mitigate these issues, we’ve identified over 150 companies automating and digitizing the restaurant industry, some of which directly target fighting food waste. ?

Source: Automation and digitization tech for restaurant & food service

Fighting food waste pays for itself

Thanks to CB Insights, you don’t need to be a Michelin-trained chef to get innovative with food waste.?

Solutions like demand forecasting and inventory optimization help players throughout the food and retail industry reduce overordering and spoilage. And they can be implemented in as little as 1-3 weeks!

Source: 13 tech solutions to help recession-proof retail businesses

While investing in technology that reduces food waste will have upfront costs, the long term benefits include boosting profits.?

Don’t believe me? The proof is in the pudding — or rather, yogurt.?

Danone has made significant investment in its supply chain to both prolong shelf life and create new revenue streams from unsold goods, which we’ve mapped out for you below. In its most recent earnings call, the company’s CEO attributes some of these strategies to its current revenue growth.?

Source: Analyzing Danone’s Growth Strategy: How The CPG Giant Is Creating A More Sustainable Food Supply Chain

There are many recipes for a brighter future

The technologies mentioned here are just an amuse-bouche when it comes to addressing broader food security issues. In the past, addressing food waste was a drop in the profit bucket. Today, with shortages throughout the supply chain from raw materials to finished products, reducing waste wherever possible is imperative.?

Less obvious solutions, like drive-thru geofencing or robotic food preparation, can streamline operations to help restaurants produce fresher, more accurate orders, reducing the likelihood that a customer will send back food.??

And if you’ve ever ordered a Doritos Locos taco with extra sour cream only to be disappointed when its soggy shell dumps fillings everywhere, you understand just how important this technology is to the customer experience.?

If you’re hungry for more cost savings tech, check out 13 tech solutions that can help retailers recession-proof their business.

Stay hygge,?

Jackie Tubbs

P.S. Have you tried Connect??

Every week, hundreds of CB Insights customers are using Connect to meet with technology vendors.

A recent Connect request: A large athletics consumer brand is looking at technologies that solve for outfitting challenges.?

If you know a technology that can assist with this, submit an Analyst Briefing here.?

P.P.S. Don’t worry – I still ate the taco in my personal fight against food waste.?