You’ve been plugged into the Metaverse quite happily when your robotic foot massager encounters a problem during its 20-minute ‘scrub and descale cycle’. Its ping and vibration startle you, and you pull off your VR headset in a flurry.
The real world seems very quiet indeed after the chatter of a 1000-person virtual pool party complete with world-famous DJs you’ve just been at – and you try and log back in – but to no avail. The computer says no.
You glance at the clock. It’s only 6.30 pm- but while your body analysis app has set you to feel hungry in 28 minutes, you are getting hunger pangs right now. Yet with your robotic chef still not charged to capacity and your 4D printer out of order, you must fend for yourself.
You remember that nice little spot down the road. Didn’t they serve Mexican food? Your mouth waters. You decide that you’d like to be taken there, and alert your home response systems that you’ll be out for the evening. In minutes your driverless car collects you from your doorstep.
Using your Life Management App, you tell the restaurant you are on the way. It tracks your car, alerting you to road conditions, and while you absentmindedly listen to a stream of updates in your ear chip filling you in on everything that’s happened in the world to the beat of the latest releases, an augmented chatbot shaped as the restaurant’s frog mascot asks you how you feel today.
While you must be careful (all details are sent to your GP) you do know that it will be gauged from your expression if you are interested in an ice-cold cocktail when you arrive. You respond noncommittally to its enquiries with a yawn and shut down the app. Somewhere at the restaurant, a robotic claw grabs and pops open a can of extra caffeinated Red Bull, just for you.
As you arrive, a custom greeting and a table number are flashed in front of you. There’s no server, but your preference for a window has been logged. The seat adjusts to your preferred spine position, and you flip through virtual dishes that appear in front of you.
You must have once said you hated prawns, as they’ve been eliminated you’re your menu.
While hunting for your favourites, and an alert pops up. ‘Please add in your current goals.’
You pause. You did say you’d like to lose that little extra bit of belly fat, so you tick the box for calorie control. ‘Your portions just got reduced by 5%, and the dessert menu will be hidden.’
You hover over a meat dish, but a warning flashes up that your carbon footprint is up year on year – probably after that flight last month. ‘This is lab grown from a production point in Spain’. Would you still like to proceed? Because there’s no point in getting extra penalties on your tax for going over your carbon allowance, you tick a box to remove the carbon-heavy items from your menu.
This still leaves you with a few great dishes. You click to order, agreeing the portion size is feasible and you are 90% sure you can finish it, and in no time at all, you’re enjoying a delicious meal, just the way you like it…
It’s not the future…Yet!
While this future may feel a while off, there are elements that are becoming reality! Drive-through AI voice orders are simplifying customer-to-kitchen interactions, for speed and quality. At the same time, there are many chances for us to have digital ID cards that tie together our digital and physical presence. Menus are adaptable to each person, reducing the risk of allergies and ensuring each customer feels catered to. There are so many changes happening in the Food and Beverage space, from enhancing loyalty to reducing waste.
Our digital store assistant combines data from all of your restaurant systems with CCTV analysis – to help your store staff run the most efficient, profitable and sustainable store that they can. You can learn more here.
We’d love to know what parts of a digitized future would really remove friction for you as a customer and what you’d love to keep.
Let us know on social media! Don’t forget that change is always ahead if you’re in the food and beverage business. Orderly can help you predict changing behaviours and trends, eliminate food waste and ensure you reap the benefits of a more sustainable operation.
Interested in how that could look for you? Speak to us today!
