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The Spoon

Daily news and analysis about the food tech revolution

Disney

A (High-Tech) Sign of the Times

Of all the reinventions the restaurant is undertaking right now, menus are one of the more fascinating. Between calls to action about paring down the size of their menus, offering disposable ones, or, preferably, going full-on digital and contactless, restaurants have a lot of choices and decisions to make when it comes to how they will present their menus in the future. It’s not a question of wanting to or not. The pandemic, social distancing guidelines, and new regulations for restaurants have, as I wrote a couple weeks ago, rendered the reusable menu null and void.

In some cases, a simple sign that connects customers to the menu might be the best way forward, at least for now.

A boat-load of third-party restaurant tech companies now offer contactless tech bundles that include digital menus, but I was intrigued this week after talking to Larry Oberly, CEO of SpreedPro.

SpeedPro isn’t a restaurant-tech company; it’s a large-format printing service with locations around the U.S. and Canada. Over the phone, Oberly explained that the company recently started offering these large-format signs with its new technology, called InfoLnkX, embedded into them. Customers just hold their phones up to the NFC-enabled decal on the sign, which pulls up the restaurant menu on that person’s device.

Oberly said the tech is highly customizable, which means different signs could take users to different digital places: the menu in one instance, a promotion coupon in another, a video somewhere else. Remember the days of strolling down the sidewalk and pausing at a random restaurant then asking to view their menu? Were a restaurant equipped with something like SpeedPro’s signage, a person could simply hold their phone up to a sign outside and pull up that info themselves instead of cramming around a bunch of other people to all view the same menu posted in the window.

Social distancing is obviously the motivator behind the tech. While an InfoLnkX-enabled sign isn’t quite as technically flashy as, say, a contactless dining bundle from a restaurant tech company, it could very well have it’s own place in the future of restaurants. Besides lessening the number of people crowding around to view the same menu, being able to browse a menu from their own device would help customers decide on what to order before they ever set foot in the restaurant, hopefully lessening the number of people in line and making the entire order process faster.

For restaurants struggling to stay afloat and trying to adjust to dozens of new operational realities, the best interim solution for the menu issue might be a case of simpler is better.

Disney, Dole Whip . . . Delivery?

At some theme parks, the food is as much a part of the experience as the rides. We’re getting neither at the moment, thanks to the pandemic, but that might change soon, at least where food is concerned.

This week, Disneyland asked its annual passholders if they would like theme park food items delivered to their home. Think funnel cakes, churros, and the ever-popular Dole Whip, not to mention more substantial meal items found at restaurants around the park.

Disney hasn’t made any promises or shared any plans beyond the survey question. And while I thought the news was odd at first, the more I sit with it, the more it actually makes sense. Hear me out.

Disneyland has yet to set a reopen date for its Anaheim, CA theme park, and a note on the site from this week said that date “has not been identified.” Giving diehards a chance to order their favorite foods from the park would in a small way keep fans locked into the Disney ecosystem. It would also help generate some sales for the theme park, which has obviously lost revenue since it closed up due to COVID-19. And if memory serves me correctly, much of the fare you get (sandwiches, salads, pretzels, popcorn) at Disneyland would travel well, making the items easier to deliver.

Again, there’s no official word this is happening, but if enough passholders are missing their Dole Whip and can’t adequately recreate it at home, Disney may have a new sales channel on its hands. That could in turn set a standard for other theme parks with memorable food items. Harry Potter World Butter Beer, I’m lookin’ at you.

Restaurant Tech Around the Web

DailyPay adds CYCLE to its instant pay app for restaurants. The app, which lets restaurant workers access their earnings immediately instead of waiting for a paycheck, now lets restaurants provide bonuses, termination pay, or other “off-cycle payments” to employees instantly.

To-go sales grew in May. Black Box Intelligence shared new data at the Restaurants Rise conference this week indicating an increase in sales for restaurant to-go orders for April (66.8 percent) and May (96.4 percent). “Everything that was lost in the way of dine-in sales, in some cases, was made up by … to go and off-premise,” Kelli Valade, Black Box Intelligence CEO and president, said during the conference. 

Popeyes is getting a makeover. Chicken chain Popeyes plans to open 1,500 worldwide that feature an updated design (see image above) and lots of high-tech bells and whistles to make its operations more efficient. 

Heme Park! Disney Picks Impossible’s Plant-Based Meat for its Menus

Impossible Foods is putting the “heme” in “theme park.” The company announced today that Disney has selected the Impossible Burger as its “preferred plant-based burger,” and will be adding the vegetarian meat to its menus at Disneyland, Disney World and Disney Cruise Line.

Being associated with one of the biggest brands on the planet is definitely a nice Donald Duck-sized feather in the cap for Impossible. It will help drive brand awareness among a whole new group of people, and getting the Disney seal of approval should help Impossible score similar deals as it fights off other plant-based burger rivals for market share.

It’s worth noting that Disney is using Impossible by name on its menu. It could have just gone with some other name nameless plant-based burger option (perhaps from Cargill?), but the Mouse House is naming names, and wants people to know its serving Impossible’s product. Impossible was already one of the fastest growing brands in the U.S. last year, and teaming with Disney certainly won’t hurt.

But while Disney is a huge brand name, we should also keep the actual numbers in proper context. Disneyland drew in 18.7 million people last year, while Disney World attracted 20.9 million visitors. According to MagicGuide, Disney World serves 10 million hamburgers a year.

Burger King, another Impossible partner, on the other hand, serves 11 million people globally every day, and claims to sell 2.1 billion Whoppers around the world each year.

Obviously, there’s only a certain subsection of these audiences that will choose the plant-based option, but the bigger point is that the Disney partnership shouldn’t put a strain on Impossible’s production, like the BK deal did last year.

But what the Disney deal does do is give Impossible another direct connection with the consumer. Disney patrons will be ordering Impossible products by name, an important point as Impossible continues its moves into grocery stores.

Impossible launched its ground meat product last year at select grocery stores. But at retail, Impossible faces competition from the likes of Beyond Meat, Light Life, and a host of other plant-based meat players vying for your greenbacks.

Disney, however, with its parks and cruises, has a variety of different eateries on-site. So the relationship also gives Impossible a number of venues to show off the Impossible Burger served in ways other than a straight up patty, and even outlets to serve up the new Impossible pork product.

The bottom line though is that the happiest place on earth just got a little happier for flexitarians.