There is much talk about the new Artificial Intelligence apps like Chat GPT. I have spent a bit of time asking this AI robot questions and have been most intrigued by the answers it give. Some have been outrageous but some uncannily accurate. I asked my Robot (remember it is an American) what predictions it had for restaurant trends for 2023. These are the answers it gave me and I think they are interesting:
1. Plant-Based Menus: As vegan and vegetarian diets become increasingly popular, many restaurants are introducing vegetarian and vegan dishes to their menus.
2. Tech-Savvy: Restaurants are leveraging smart apps and tablets for ordering, payments and more. This technology will become increasingly prevalent in the coming years.
3. Quick Service Restaurants: Fast-casual restaurants, such as Chipotle and Panera, are dominating the market, offering convenience and customization to their customers.
4. Delivery Services: Restaurants are embracing food delivery services such as Uber Eats, GrubHub and DoorDash, to make their food more accessible to customers.
5. Mobile Ordering: Customers will be able to place their orders through an app and pay in-app. This is convenient for customers and gives restaurants access to customer data.
6. Robots: Automation is becoming increasingly prevalent in the restaurant business, with robots being used to perform tasks such as taking orders and delivering food to customers.
7. Clean and Healthy Eating: People are becoming more aware of the health benefits of clean eating, and restaurant menus are reflecting this trend by featuring organic and local ingredients, and dishes that are free of preservatives and artificial colors.
8. Online Reservations: In order to better serve customers and improve efficiency, restaurants are turning to online booking platforms and apps.
Stephen is a hospitality professional from Johannesburg South Africa. His career started with THF hotels in the UK and subsequently with the Southern Sun Hotel group in Johannesburg. Stephen’s first steps into entrepreneurship was Hickmore Recruitment / CareerMap, a leading supplier of Senior and Exec recruitment services. Stephen was a founder of Pple Hospitality (formerly HSC) the largest Hospitality Industry full-service outsourced staffing company in South Africa. In March 2020 Stephen became a director and owner of the Swiss Hotel School South Africa, which is now his full time endeavour. Stephen writes for a number of publications on food and hospitality industry matters, trends and opinions.