Top 9 Emerging Food and Restaurant Tech to Watch Out for in 2023

Over the past two years, restaurants have undergone a major transitional period. Many pivoted to off-premise services to stay afloat, contributing to the acceleration of many restaurant technology advancements. 

Diners have also changed, becoming used to the comforts of online ordering and delivery. Although dine-in customers have been coming back in droves since the vaccinations began, online ordering and delivery continue to boom, and more and more restaurants are adapting to the demand.

Consumer habits have also transformed, encouraging restaurants to explore more inclusive menu items and services, like plant-based dishes and automated ordering systems. 

So what could be in store for restaurants next year, tech-wise? Here are the top 10 emerging tech you need to watch out for:

1. Sustainable Food Sources

If you’re already getting questioned about your food’s origins, expect more customers to ask by next year, which means it might be a good time to reevaluate your food suppliers. 

Look into farms practicing regenerative agriculture. It is a holistic approach to farming that restores soils and the ecosystem instead of destroying them. Indigenous communities have always farmed this way, so consider partnering with them for your livestock, poultry, dairy, and produce supplies.

The GreenPrint Business of Sustainability Index has shown that 75% of millennials will pay more for sustainable and environmentally-friendly products, so consider revamping your menu to earn their patronage.

2. Lab-grown Seafood

Lab-grown seafood started making headlines in 2019 when Lou Cooperhouse, founder of BlueNalu, introduced cell-based seafood, which can be grown in a lab rather than harvested from the ocean. Basically, the company wants to produce seafood without actually killing a fish.

Today, lab-grown seafood is available in other countries including China, South Korea, and Germany. The product is made from cultivated fish cells and plant proteins, and they mimic real fish, from fish sticks to sushi-grade salmon.  

Lab-grown or synthetic seafood may be the new way to enjoy seafood next year, as it comes without the risk of ingesting microplastics, mercury, and other contaminants. Plus, serving lab-grown fish helps your business contribute to marine life conservation efforts, a cause that can bolster your reputation among eco-warrior diners.

3. Enhanced Loyalty Programs

The long ban on in-house dining may have helped restaurants embrace technology quicker but at the possible cost of customer loyalty. Food delivery apps make different restaurants visible at once, so they can easily tempt regular customers to switch to a competitor. To combat this, restaurants are enhancing their loyalty programs by swapping out antiquated stamps or swipe cards with digital loyalty earnings.

A powerful loyalty management software allows you to award loyalty earnings with only your customers’ mobile numbers. Customers can automatically get earnings each time they order or use their loyalty to get discounts. You can also send them emails updating them on their earnings, which can serve as a reminder to eat at your restaurant to redeem their earnings.

4. Contactless Ordering and Payment

In our 2022 Restaurant Trends blog, we also mentioned contactless ordering via QR code menus. We’ll continue seeing this trend in 2023, coupled with significant improvements.

The usual QR code menus available today allow customers to view items and place orders. But soon, they may also be able to run a tab and pay only when they’re done eating. Watch out for the Group Ordering feature, too, which lets a group of diners run a single tab when they scan the same QR code. What’s more, they can split the bill via the QR page, saving them time in calculating their bill.

According to a report by the National Restaurant Association in 2021, 52% of adult customers want more tech for contactless ordering and payments, so implement them in your restaurant now so you can be ready for 2023.

5. Delivery Options

Even if in-house dining has returned, customers will continue ordering meals for delivery, so it’s important for full-service restaurants to open delivery channels not only from their own delivery platforms but from third-party apps as well.

You may be wondering, “Do I really need to manage my own fleet if I already have third-party fleets” or vice versa? It depends on your delivery order volume; if you get delivery orders past the point your own fleet can handle, then getting the help of third-party riders will be necessary. On the other hand, if you don’t get enough delivery orders, partnering with third-party delivery companies alone will be more cost-effective.

6. Click-and-Collect

Food delivery isn’t the only service that boomed in the post-pandemic era: Click-and-collect, AKA curbside pickup, also gained popularity. The service grew by 190% at the peak of COVID-19, while its global average growth reached 159%.

Considering its popularity in the US, click-and-collect sales are expected to hit $140.9 billion by 2024. So if you’re not offering this service yet, study your customer preferences to see if it can be a feasible alternative to food delivery, especially if your own fleet or third-party partners are already exceeding their quotas every day.

7. Smart Restaurant Technology

Still using a legacy POS? If you have imminent plans for expansion or simply want to think long-term, today may be the best time to switch to a cloud-based POS system.

A Cloud-based POS gives you the foundation for integrating smart restaurant technologies, like a self-ordering kiosk, which 79% of diners prefer to use for placing their orders.

If you have a cloud POS, you can get your own self-ordering kiosk by simply upgrading your subscription, whereas with a legacy POS, you’ll have to pay separately for the development of the kiosk’s software, plus its maintenance. Both POS systems will require you to purchase hardware, but your overall spending will be significantly lower with a cloud POS system.

What’s more, upgrading your cloud POS subscription can also give you the platform for your contactless ordering and payment service. It’s basically a whole restaurant management system that makes you future-ready through almost-unlimited integrations.

8. Socia Media Marketing

As consumers and businesses increase their exposure to the virtual business space, restaurant digital marketing efforts may center around social media, which influences nearly 50% of diners.

We may notice more restaurants using Instagram more often. Social Media Today’s survey in 2020 revealed that 35% of diners avoid food retailers with a weak Instagram presence, so being the opposite business can help you get the attention you need. You can utilize Instagram Reels to publish visually-stimulating content like food prep. Instagram’s audience also appreciates stunning restaurant aesthetic images, so if a renovation or remodeling is in order, make that your agenda as you meet 2023.

It would also be wise to start promoting on TikTok. It can be a suitable platform for publishing behind-the-scenes content or leveraging influencer marketing. Studies have shown that the ROI from influencer marketing is comparable to—or even greater than—the ROI from other marketing channels.

9. Sustainable Operations

Circling back to sustainability, consumers want restaurants not only to support sustainable farms and fisheries but also to commit to a sustainable business model. However, meeting this demand can be challenging because food delivery operations generate tons of waste from packaging, not to mention greenhouse gasses from motor vehicles.

Thankfully, sustainable food packaging is available, and if you have your own delivery rider fleet, you can swap out motorbikes for bicycles or e-scooters. If you only rely on third-party fleets, you can’t have any control over their vehicles of choice, but at least, you can focus more on delivery companies that have already upgraded, like Zomato, who’s committed to using only electric vehicles for all their deliveries by 2030.

You can also look into ghost kitchens. They are shared kitchen spaces that different restaurants rent for their delivery services. This business model can be more sustainable than brick-and-mortar locations because you consume less energy thanks to not having dining rooms.

For in-house dining operations, contactless ordering systems are one way to significantly reduce waste and increase sustainability. There’s also the tried-and-true swapping of single-use plastic straws for a biodegradable material, and conserving energy and water.

Meet 2023 With Adaptable Restaurant Technology

New tech trends can be a challenge to many businesses because they require technological upgrades that may be costly or time-consuming. By the time they’ve made the upgrade, a new trend might’ve already emerged, making them late to the game.

It doesn’t have to be that way in your restaurant. By investing in a powerful and adaptable restaurant management system, you can have all the necessary restaurant technologies within reach. One of the best features you can use is a business dashboard, which gives you real-time insights on your restaurant’s performance. This helps you identify the exact tech solution your business needs.

We stress the word “exact” because your restaurant doesn’t need to use all of these emerging trends unless your customers need them. Only do what works best for your budget, operations, and customers. Keep in mind that solutions can be customized to your business’s needs, so no need to imitate everything the big-name restaurants do.