The food industry has witnessed considerable changes in the last few years owing to growing internet penetration and technological advancements. Ever-evolving food delivery habits & distant dining have compelled eating houses to seek confrontation with their customer base. Most firms have opted for private tech-enabled channels & social media to connect with their prospects. In this blog, we will talk about the top 6 food tech trends of 2021.
The food industry is one of those sectors whose demand never goes down. The growing economy has improved the per-capita income. People nowadays are reaping better disposal incomes which drastically improved their purchasing power. Gone are the days when the bigger eating house and costly cuisines are accessible to wealthy individuals only. Better income is now empowering individuals to seek a different kind of FBO to quench their hunger. Consequently, the food industry is now emerging as the fastest-growing sector in India.
 The increasing dominance of high-speed data and smart devices has enabled the industry to inch towards the automation regime. Also, the technology advancements have empowered the sector to produce quality foods at a prompt pace.
Significance of Food Tech in Current Era
The sudden burst of food-booking apps in the Indian marketplace has completely transformed the way we deal with the ordering of foods. The technological dominance has compelled the food sector to seek significant changes from the ground up. Such services are rapidly gaining traction in metropolitan areas owing to the matchless convenience they offered to their customers.
By 2018, many foods business start-ups and delivery services began to thrive in different areas of our country. Since these businesses adhere to immense growth potential, they successfully reaped considerable fiscal backing from many venture capitalists.
Such start-ups have emerged as the prominent growth driver for the food industry in India due to their urge to invest and evolve various food tech services.
Digital booking, delivery apps, and cloud services have overhauled the inherent discrepancies of the food sector. The eruption of food-based start-ups has prompted FBOs to adopt technological-based solutions that ensure minimal manual intervention and quick turnaround time. These start-ups are putting their efforts to leverage customer-friendly technological advancements, such as mentioned below.
Read our article:How can an Online Food Ordering System make your brand create milestones?
Prominent Food Tech Trends of 2021
The section below entails the list of prominent food tech trends of 2021.
Voice Commands
Voice commands have emerged as a vital tool for businesses to improve customer experience. Precisely, it started to gain traction in the late 2018s owing to the push provided by the corporate giants like Google and Amazon. People, especially from urban areas, prominently use such services for ordering foods and home chores. Similarly, hotels and eating houses have also inched towards the voice-activated system.
When coupled with other tech-based solutions, such technology can enable voice-based services to strengthen restaurant operation as well as management. It would remain the hottest food tech trend of 2021.
Social Media Platforms
For more than a decade, the Google search engine has remained a prominent source of prospects for various eating houses and hotels. But after the advent of Facebook and Instagram[1], most businesses have shifted their marketing effort to these platforms. Since these platforms have a massive user base, they have become a primary hub for marketers across the globe. Presently, many hotels and other food-based establishments facilitate table and room bookings via these platforms. It seems that these platforms will continue to remain the primary choice for FBOs for years to come.
Tools Ensuring Tailored Services
Customers are always fond of personalized and customized experiences. In the pre-automation era, the possibility of rendering customized services was one of the biggest hurdles for FBOs. This forced the customers to steak with available options and paid the steep prices. However, the arrival of advanced technology has changed that scenario forever. The tech solutions available today are capable of transforming any conventional set-up into an elite establishment in no time whatsoever. Also, some tools enable food operators to cater to demand efficiently and deliver services as per customer’s requirements. This is also true for established FBOs which still leverage old ways to serve their customers.
Artificial Intelligence
The impact of Artificial Intelligence on the business landscape is beyond monumental. Today AI can be found in almost every business domain, including food industries. The insights rendered by AI can enable food operators to create a probability-based reservation, demand-equitable pricing, and resourceful ordering. The increased use of such practices will surely enable FBOs to improve services and minimize overhead costs.
Despite widespread adoption, companies have yet to explore the full potential of AI. According to experts, it can improve every facet of a business if it is implemented sensibly. It seems that AI will continue to rejoice top spot in the food tech trend of 2021.
Big Data
Data is an asset because it renders useful insight on matters that affect the company’s growth and sales in one way or another. The collection and sorting of big data seek specific technology and tools. An effective data collection could enable the FBOs to avail accurate predictions on the following parameters.
- Customer behaviour
- Buying pattern
- Sales loopholes
- Potential Vulnerability
With these insights in place, FBOs can overhaul their operation and services accordingly for better sales and ROI.
Ghost Restaurant
The concept of cloud kitchens or ghost restaurants originated from the idea of online ordering. Nowadays, people, instead of dining out, prefer ordering foods at their doorstep. Ghost restaurants usually work on a business model that connects as many food operators under one umbrella. Such synergy ensures the following benefits for the food operators and online food aggregators.
- Firstly, it kept the overhead cost out of the equation.
- Secondly, it mitigates the requirement of setting up costly infrastructure for providing good dining experiences.
Cloud kitchens are often touted by customers for their unprecedented convenience and affordability.
Conclusion
Implementing these technologies can put you in a commanding position and let you rejoice competitive edge over rivals. The days are long gone when firms relied on the old practices of marketing and trade. Presently, almost all organization leverages bleeding-edge technologies to execute their marketing campaign. So these are the top six food tech trends of 2021. Stay tuned as we are coming with more information on the top food tech trends.
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