This is the web version of our newsletter. Sign up today to get updates on the rapidly changing nature of the food tech industry.
This time last year, the restaurant biz was grappling with pandemic-related shutdowns and restrictions and innovating on the fly to survive the fallout. Digital menus. Virtual tip jars. Ad-hoc drive-thru windows. These mannequins.
As the year wore on, much of the restaurant-related innovation turned to tech, a shift more or less forced by the pandemic. By some accounts, technological shifts expected to unfold over the course of a decade happened in a matter of months. Online ordering is the norm for many, which means so, too, are the technologies that power that process, whether in-house creations or third-party platforms. Virtual restaurants run from ghost kitchens are everywhere now, including in existing restaurant locations. Someone’s revamped the automat (see above), the robots are coming, and investors have a sudden interest in funding tech that promises to make the back of house more efficient.
There are also a lot more questions than previously around which tech tools restaurants actually need, where investment is most likely headed (spoiler: it’s the back of house), and, most important, what’s going to bring the most value to everyone’s restaurant experience moving forward.
We could debate all of that here. Instead, I invite you to tell The Spoon about your restaurant tech innovation this summer at The Spoon’s Restaurant Tech Summit, set to take place August 17 virtually.
Whether you think you’re the next Olo, want to entirely disrupt the drive-thru, or have a robot mannequin to track food waste, The Spoon would like to hear from you. Tell us about it by applying for the Spoon’s Restaurant Tech Innovator Showcase, which will happen as part of the aforermentioned Restaurant Tech Summit.
The Spoon team and panel of restaurant experts will choose the 10 most interesting teams building innovative and potentially game-changing new products. Those 10 companies will then get an opportunity to do a four-minute pitch about their company that will be featured as part of the main stage at the event.
A few general guidelines apply. Companies need to be at early stage, with fewer than 10 employees and less than $1 million in funding/investment. Companies should also have an actual tech product (software, hardware, etc.)
Your pitch will be seen by attendees at the Restaurant Tech Summit and your company will be covered by The Spoon.
More Headlines
San Francisco Makes Restaurant Fee Caps for Delivery Services Permanent – San Francisco, California voted to permanently cap the fees delivery services charge restaurants at 15 percent. The San Francisco Board of Supervisors unanimously approved a resolution.
ResQ Raises $7.5M for Back-of-House Restaurant Tech – ResQ, whose software platform manages restaurant repair and maintenance tasks, has raised $7.5 million in seed funding, bringing its total funding thus far to $9 million.
Grubhub and Resorts World Las Vegas Partner on New Hotel Concept – Resorts World Las Vegas has announced a partnership with Grubhub for a new mobile order service.
Leave a Reply