Online food ordering platform Zuppler today announced a contactless ordering package restaurants can use as they begin to open the front of house under new social distancing guidelines. Called Menu Anywhere On-Premise, the software specifically addresses the need for more flexible, dynamic menus and contactless ordering for dine-in customers.
Zuppler currently works with about 15,000 restaurants. The Conshohocken, PA-based company’s platform integrates directly with restaurant websites and POS systems, as well as loyalty programs like LevelUp and Punchh.
The company is among those restaurant tech players now focusing on contactless solutions for restaurant dining rooms, most of which now have to operate with reduced capacity, fewer staff, and new standards for social distancing. Those social distancing measures are quickly phasing out things like reusable menus and self-service kiosks, which means more restaurants are now looking for digital options for customers when it comes to browsing menus, ordering food, and paying for it.
“Today’s launch is a natural extension of our current offerings, and is entirely driven by the needs of our clients,” Zuppler’s founder and CEO Shiva Srinivasan said in today’s press release.
Like other Zuppler products, The Menu Anywhere On-Premise tool integrates directly with a restaurant’s main system, including its website and any loyalty programs. Customers can then use their own mobile devices to browse a menu and select items to order. Those orders are automatically sent to the restaurant kitchen, and customers can track the status of their order on their phones as well as pay for their meal. Since Zuppler’s technology is integrated with loyalty programs, customers can earn points from their orders at participating restaurants.
Restaurant tech companies across the industry are now pivoting to offer bundles of contactless software to restaurants. Presto, CardFree, ConverseNow, and Sevenrooms, among others, all offer some form of contactless order and pay features restaurants can add to their tech stack. While this shift in focus is partially a way to help restaurants reopen their dining rooms, it’s also a necessary move for these companies when it comes to staying relevant in a world that no longer revolves around the restaurant dining room.
Zuppler’s history as an online order platform as well as its existing integrations with POS systems, loyalty programs, delivery services, and services like Google ordering have given the company credibility when it comes to digital ordering in restaurants. Now we’ll see if that translates to the actual dining room as customers slowly but surely go out to eat once more.
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