Report: Prep, Cook, Automate – Where Tech Is Leading the Restaurant Back of House

Introduction

Even before COVID-19, the restaurant industry was in the midst of significant disruption due to new trends and technologies. The pandemic, which has placed food tech front and center across the global food system, has accelerated the restaurant industry’s adoption of those technologies. From food delivery to point of sale (POS) and reservations systems, the innovations that have slowly emerged over the last several years are now a normal part of front-of-house operations.  

Back-of-house processes in the restaurant tend to involve a lot more legacy hardware and closed-loop systems, which present significantly different challenges than those at the front of house. That in turn has created a slower innovation pipeline and less interest from investors. 

This report will examine current back of house processes and technologies as well as the drivers for innovation changing those things. 

 Back-of-house operations present a huge opportunity for tech companies and other startups willing to tackle the many problems that have yet to be solved in the space. Additionally, technological innovations in robotics, AI and machine learning will change the physical restaurant kitchen along with its labor needs and cooking and delivery systems.

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