Facial recognition system for coffee shop visitors
Experienced baristas are great at remembering their regulars and their favorite orders, but with the NoafFace device, this skill can be automated. A facial recognition system has become operational in one of Sydney's coffee shops. Thanks to it, a barista, for example, can immediately offer the client his favorite large latte with an individual amount of sugar. Customers for the most part note that they like such a service, because a visit to a coffee shop becomes a more “warm” and pleasant experience for them.
Ordering fast food from a car using the face-to-face system
One of the most popular fast food restaurants in the southern states of the United States, called Chick-fil-A, decided to speed up customer service during peak hours. The establishment realized that no modern technology can compare in speed with real people, so the standard drive thru service (ordering from a car) was supplemented with the Face-to-Face Ordering service, which can be translated as “face-to-face ordering.” Several employees of the establishment work near the customers' cars. They quickly take orders from drivers and passengers using work tablets. At the same time, they do not need to run to the restaurant and back, since the order is immediately sent to the kitchen electronically.
What to do
To become a successful restaurateur, desire alone will not be enough. You should start your project from the planning stage.
You need to analyze your abilities, skills, abilities and the amount of capital that can be invested. The results of the analysis need to be compared with the direction you want to pursue. If you have enough money for a mobile ice cream refrigerator and have minimal experience in this industry, then you shouldn’t think about opening a premium restaurant. In order for consumers to like a project, it is important that it differs from many similar ones. Advantages can be in quality, price, additional services, unusual service format, interesting design. You need to work in accordance with the law. In addition to registering a legal entity, you must obtain a package of permits. The list of them depends on the specifics of the institution. When planning to open a catering outlet, it is important to think about its advertising. The modern world makes it possible to abandon ineffective standard methods of promotion and actively use the Internet and social networks. Perhaps you should invite some popular bloggers to rate the new restaurant and write reviews on their pages. Young audiences usually listen to recommendations and are happy to visit new fashionable places.
Robot barista
At the Tokyo coffee shop Henn na Cafe, hot drinks are now being prepared by a robot barista. In 2-4 minutes, a robot named Sawyer will prepare you a cup of coffee, while managing to serve not only you, but also four other customers. To use the services of a robot barista, a visitor needs to go to the terminal and receive a receipt with a QR code. The developers calculated that Sawyer could replace 5 cafe employees and significantly save on staff salaries.
Plant-based meat, milk and veganism
Veggie food and plant-based meat also remain popular. If you want absolutely everyone to eat in your cafe or restaurant, then your menu should include vegetarian and vegan dishes. By the way, vegetarian cafes are visited not only by vegetarians, but also by ordinary people who want to take a break from meat and try something new.
In addition, a trend has emerged for plant-based milk - soy, almond, coconut, oat and others, as consumers want to try new flavors. Prepare cocktails or coffee with this milk to be on trend and delight your visitors with a wide choice.
Plant-based meat is a new trend. Teremok has already given guests the opportunity to try this new product - their #non-meat cutlets from Beyond Meat consist of pea protein, water and oil. It is close to regular meat, but does not contain soy, cholesterol, antibiotics, hormones and parasites, and instead of blood it contains beet juice. In principle, the topic of plant-based meat is very relevant, and this market is developing rapidly. McDonald's, Burger King and KFC are already selling dishes with plant-based meat in some countries and are testing the concept (and the first results are very positive!). By the way, you can also try Beyond Meat at White Rabbit.
Service to reduce restaurant waste
In Toronto, a group of environmentalists created a startup called The terus, which helps food establishments cut down on waste and disposable materials that harm the environment. The team analyzes a restaurant's business model and eliminates unnecessary costs, such as plastic straws and containers. According to CEO Lucy Cullen, the company recommended that one restaurant ditch disposable candles in favor of LED candles, resulting in savings of about $1,800 in one year. The terus say their efforts have already reduced waste by 61,000 pounds (about 28 tons) and saved restaurants more than $27,000.
Conscious consumption and social responsibility
Conscious consumption also follows from a healthy lifestyle. Finally, the media brought to our attention the severity of the environmental situation, especially the situation with plastic and garbage. Restaurateurs are refusing to use plastic straws (they are not recyclable!) and plastic tableware. Fortunately, the disposable tableware market has something to offer us - now there are so many options for environmentally friendly tableware! Ikea uses disposable cutlery from bamboo, and all McDonald's packaging will be made from renewable, recycled or certified sources by 2025. We are waiting, sir!
Even small businesses are now striving to be socially responsible, and that's great. Eco-subbotniks, separate waste collection, cooperation with foundations - you can start right now.
Forcar Color Coded Trash Bin on Wheels, 120 L RUB 7,335.92 article: AV 4679
Biodegradable anti-slip pastry bags FrostIt, green RUB 1,258.34 article: GL-18T3BX-6
Trash container on wheels Forcar, 100 l RUB 4,584.95 article number: AV 4682 RD
Pop-up bar-restaurant under the railway arch
Residents of Milan can now taste American cuisine in an unusual place - The Diner Pop-Up bar and restaurant, created under a railway arch. The menu here mainly includes burgers, fries and other fast food, but that’s not the main thing. The Rockwell Group, which created this pop-up restaurant, decided to focus on the interior first, creating an optimistic, lively and fun environment. In the middle of the restaurant there is a 14-meter-long bar serving craft beer and cocktails.
Esports bars
Esports bars are popping up all over the world, but the Kappa Bar chain from Sweden has the biggest expansion plans. The first establishments where, in addition to serving guests, e-sports games are broadcast, were opened back in 2020 in Gothenburg and Stockholm, and now the network sells the franchise in Norway, Denmark and Finland. The format of esports bars is almost the same as that of traditional sports bars, but the main difference is the broadcasts. Kappa Bars are popular and are designed for a fairly large flow of guests. The chain's new establishment in Jönköping (a town of 95 thousand inhabitants) is located on 180 square meters and easily accommodates 60 guests.
Delivery of products to certain categories of consumers
Here, again, we are talking about the idea of marketing “narrowing” of the broad delivery business. A simple “delivery of goods” from a supermarket is bland and uninteresting. But “Delivery of goods for pregnant and lactating women” (including both food and medicines, manufactured goods, children's goods of various types by the forces of one company) is promising and is fraught with the acquisition of a regular clientele for many years.
There may even be “delivery of groceries for students to the dormitory” and “delivery of groceries for military personnel to the checkpoint of a military unit.” And so on ad infinitum. The trick is that belonging to a certain social group is becoming increasingly important in the modern world: social grouping is the core of the future. And this should be used when choosing the target audience of your business.
Cryptocurrency cafe
The first cryptocurrency cafe, The Ducatus Cafe, opened in Singapore near the central bank. All payment transactions are carried out by clients without using cash - they are replaced by Bitcoin and Ducatus’ own cryptocurrency. The cafe sells several organic coffees, sandwiches and even eco-cosmetics. You can pay for your order through an ATM for cryptocurrency payments.
Coffee shop and car rental 2 in 1
In Japan, you can now drink a cup of latte and rent a Toyota in one place. Toyota Japan has opened Drive To Go, which doubles as a café and car rental shop. The coffee shop is located in the city of Nagoya near the university, so the majority of nearby traffic comes from young people and millennials. The company hopes that by offering students a comfortable location with a relaxing interior and a delicious menu of sandwiches, salads and drinks, it will entice them to rent one of five car models for $10 an hour.
Organizational plan
In this section you need to select the personnel who will be in the establishment and decide on their work schedule. Also, drawing up a business plan involves determining the salaries of future employees.
| No. | Job title | Required number of personnel | Responsibilities | Schedule | Approximate salary per month |
| 1. | Director | 1 | • monitors the work of all other employees; • reports to the owner of the cafe; • creates a work plan, is responsible for holding promotions, discounts and introducing a seasonal menu. | five days a week, from 09.00 to 18.00. | from 35,000 rubles. |
| 2. | Administrator | 2 | • monitors the work of waiters and kitchen; • represents the establishment to the client; • recommends new employees to the director after interviewing them. | two working days, two days off | from 30,000 rubles. |
| 3. | Chef | 1 | • makes changes to the menu; • conducts tastings and master classes; • is responsible for the operation of the kitchen; • hires cooks. | five days a week, from 09.00 to 18.00, the schedule may vary depending on the needs of the establishment. | from 40,000 rubles per month. |
| 4. | Cooks | 4 | are responsible for preparing dishes. | in shifts, work schedule: two working days, two days off, two cooks are at work at the same time. | from 25,000 rubles per month. |
| 5. | Waiters | 6-12 | • accepting orders from clients; • takeaway of ready meals; • payment of the guest's bill. | in shifts, work schedule: two working days, two days off, 3-6 waiters are at work at the same time. | from 25,000 rubles per month + tips from clients. |
| 6. | Cleaning woman | 2 | Responsible for the cleanliness of the hall, kitchen and utility rooms. | Shift work schedule: two working days, two days off, part-time work possible. | from 15,000 rubles. |
| 7. | Security guard | 2 | safety of clients and staff. | Shift work schedule: two days on, two days off. | from 20,000 rubles. |
Also in the cafe can work:
- accountant;
- bartender;
- animator;
- hostess
- and other employees.
However, to open an establishment, the specialists listed in the table will be sufficient.
The number of employees directly depends on the area of the cafe and visitors visiting the establishment per day.
When hiring personnel, it is mandatory to have work experience and a medical record. At this stage, it is worth including in the employment contract a system of fines that will protect the cafe owner from such troubles:
- stealing food or money from the cash register;
- untidy appearance of employees;
- careless service to visitors.
Each employee takes a short exam before being hired. For example, waiters must know the menu thoroughly, describe each dish, its ingredients, taste and method of preparation, and also remember all prices by heart. The same “certifications” must be carried out at least once a quarter; such a duty can be included in the powers of the director.
Cafe that accepts plastic instead of money
A cafe using plastic waste as a substitute for money will open in London in May 2020. For bringing recyclable plastic into the establishment, guests will receive food from the vegetarian menu. The pop-up establishment will only be open for two days. The campaign was launched by the eco-friendly cleaning products brand Ecover, which decided to draw attention to its eco-bottles, which can be used for recycling. The pop-up café is being touted as “London’s first trash café”.
App for food delivery to your car
The overwhelming number of restaurants, especially in densely populated areas, do not have the opportunity to organize their own drive-in service to serve customers in cars. However, with the FlyBuy app, these establishments located in Seattle, Portland, St. Louis and Minneapolis have a great alternative. Thanks to it, cafe customers can pre-order and indicate their arrival time for it. The waiters, in turn, can see the approaching car on an interactive map and leave with a ready-made order exactly at the moment when the customer gets to the place.
Energy efficient restaurants
In Western countries, one of the main trends is to increase energy efficiency and environmental friendliness of catering establishments. The US Department of Energy is committed to improving the energy efficiency of commercial establishments by 20%, and the American fast food chain Wendy's wants to be one of the leaders in this direction. The company recently introduced a new design standard for its establishments - The Wendy's Smart 2.0. The standard necessarily includes certified equipment with reduced energy consumption, LED interior and exterior lighting, furniture made from recycled materials, the use of an order counter to reduce the cost of printing menus, and so on.
Delivery and dark kitchen
As we have already said, people want to spend more time at home with their family, so they prefer to order food at home, and this is our next trend. If you don’t have your own delivery service (and for Moscow or St. Petersburg their own delivery service is often very expensive and not always profitable), then Yandex.Food or Delivery will save you. Don't lose money, arrange delivery.
Dark kitchens are kitchens that cook only for delivery; they do not have halls with seating - only a kitchen and a delivery service. Such business formats are gaining popularity, since you do not need to look for a walk-through location - you can open where it is convenient for you (= inexpensive rent). You don’t need to work on the design of the premises or the appearance of the waiters, but get ready to invest in online advertising (banners, contextual advertising). You will have to thoroughly study the specifics of promoting restaurants on the Internet (increasing the rate per click during peak hours, working with opinion leaders, etc.)
Do not forget that if you deliver food, then the labeling must indicate everything the same as if the dishes were sold in a store - production address, date and time, composition, expiration date, etc. And our labeler will help you with this :) This is a small printing house in your kitchen, with which you can print both markings for preparations in the refrigerator and labels for goods for sale with barcodes and ingredients.
Pizza bag with frame, nylon RUB 16,787.72 article: PB1926
Labeler Date Code Genie X RUB 149,377.67 article: DCGx2
Pizza bag, nylon, 45.7 x 45.7 x 12.7 cm RUB 2,550.18 article number: PBDX1805
Burgers with fried tarantulas
Tarantula burgers are part of an unusual promotion at the Bull City Burger and Brewery restaurant in North Carolina, USA, which decided to offer its guests a “month of exotic meat menu”. A giant spider fried in the oven is placed right on top of a beef patty with cheese. The restaurant was only able to obtain 18 tarantulas, so the burgers were awarded through a lottery. The lucky ones who tried the menu received a special T-shirt proving that they had survived the Tarantula Challenge, that is, the “Tarantula Test”.
HACCP and data collection
More and more equipment is appearing that collects data about the production process. In modern Carpigiani freezers, you can track via your smartphone how often cleaning was carried out, and through the Rational application you will learn about all stages of cooking, data from the temperature probe and also the frequency of washing.
Temperature control label for dishwasher RUB 1,833.98 article: TH3S-180
Electric combi oven Rational SelfCookingCenter 61 (SCC 61) RUR 950,544 article number: B618100.01
Probe thermometer Cooper-Atkins DPP400W and DPP800W RUB 6,233.26 article: DPP400W
Even dishwashers now allow you to upload information about dishwashing cycles and temperatures.
In fast food, frying oil should be checked regularly using LRSM indicators, and in between, a Testo device can be used. As a McDonald's specialist said, they have a special food safety app that reminds you of the need to take readings.
Color coding will not surprise anyone, it has become such a part of our lives, but just in case, let us remind you that you should have different boards and knives for different types of products.
Kitchen cutting board, plastic, 229 x 305 x 9.5 mm, 6 colors RUR 1,942.18 article: CBG912WH
Deep frying quality control test strips 3M™ LRSM RUB 13,064.36 article number: 7100036093
Removable label “USE FIRST” RUB 501.59 article: RU-RUF2
When you know everything about your production, you can be 100% confident in the quality and safety of your food!
If you think that we haven’t covered all the trends, then write your ideas in the comments!
Sources: NPD Group Russia, RusBase.
3D printed cafe bars
Visitors to the Perez Museum of Art in Miami now have the opportunity to visit a cafe created using 3D printing technology. The cafe-bar is called Cucuyo and is shaped like a cocoon, woven from numerous pieces of steel. The cafe was created by Berenblum Busch Architecture and MX3D, which specializes in 3D printing. To weld the 3D parts, the creators used an industrial robot equipped with a welding machine.
Robotic cooking
Catering establishments that use robots have been operating in different parts of the world for more than five years, and it is not surprising that their number is constantly growing. In May 2020, a similar restaurant called Spyce opened in Boston. Most of the menu is prepared by robots. Diners select a dish using terminals, after which the ingredients are crushed into one of seven rotating kettles, heated and automatically served on a plate. The whole process lasts no more than three minutes. The creators still failed to fully automate the restaurant. Some functions, including preparing ingredients, maintaining equipment and adding seasonings, remained with living employees.
08.05.2018
What business to open during the 2020 crisis?
New profitable niche. A business that does not require employees or premises. Minimum investment. Turnkey training in two days.
More details
Quick inexpensive snack
The fast food market has been growing steadily for several years in a row, and now the share of this segment is 46%. In addition to fast food, coffee shops and bakeries are growing (8% share), which also confirms the hypothesis that consumers want a quick and inexpensive snack. The market share of classic restaurants is falling. What and how is growing in the fast food segment:
- Coffee shops Grab&Go (grab and go) +73%
- Burger fast food +16%
- Fast food pizza +23%
- Bakeries +46%
Refrigerated table for collecting sandwiches Turboair KHR12-2-750 RUR 194,088.01
article: KHR12-2-750 Station for packaging finished products San Jamar SW1218SC RUB 11,520.15 article: SW1218SC
Bar organizer Vollrath LDS-4CUP for glasses, lids and bags RUB 27,642.66 article: LDS-4CUP
If you want to open a business in the HoReCa field in 2020, then consider options such as coffee points with snacks (grab&go), shawarma shops, pancake shops, and bakeries. Investments in such projects are much less than in large restaurants or canteens, and their popularity is higher. The main thing is a good location with high traffic - universities, business centers, shopping centers, pedestrian streets. Here are some examples of what a coffee corner might look like:
Coffee module Optimal 1000x750x900 RUB 160,899 article: Optimal
Superautomatic coffee machine Spengler PSL50 ES12B RUB 320,946.50 article: PSL50 ES12B
Coffee module Basic 1100x700x1100 RUB 96,000 article: Basic
