FnB is an extremely popular term in the catering and food service industry, with an increasingly dizzying growth rate with the number of eateries, restaurants, and cafes constantly opening everywhere. 

So what is FnB? What technology trends are being widely applied in the FnB industry ? Let's find out with EDUTO in the article below!

What is F&B?

FnB (or F&B) is an abbreviation for Food and Beverage, an English phrase used to refer to the food and catering service industry. However, with the development of the economy, the FnB model no longer only provides culinary-related services to customers but also includes the restaurant , hotel and tourism businesses.

FnB businesses are businesses operating in the fields of restaurants, catering, and cuisine. 

Today, as people's demand for food and culinary experiences is increasing, FnB businesses must constantly update consumer tastes as well as have a reasonable business strategy to compete with many competitors. competitors in this lucrative market.

One of the strategies that large F&B brand chains have been speeding up is to take advantage of technology to improve the dining experience and attract more customers. 

Next, let's take a look at some typical technologies being applied by many businesses in the F&B industry today. 

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Technologies Being Successfully Applied In F&B

Digital Payments

Digital payment, also known as cashless payment, is becoming a familiar and popular form of payment globally and in many Southeast Asian countries (67% of financial users support it). digital payments for financial transactions). 

Not only that, the demand for contactless payment systems is at an unprecedented high compared to before and is expected to account for 91% of transactions by 2025. In Vietnam, cashless payments can be implemented. available in many forms such as: payment via e-wallet (Momo, Zalo Pay, Viettel Pay,...) digital banking, debit card, credit card. 

Not only are large restaurant chains or coffee shops using digital payments, but more and more small dining locations also allow customers to pay cashless.   

The advantage of this form is that managers can understand the store's revenue clearly and in detail, helping to control assets better, preventing fraud and financial loss. 

Besides, it will also be more convenient for consumers to pay, effectively solving the situation of customers not bringing enough cash and errors in the exchange and payment process. 

Food Delivery

Food Delivery application originates from customers' needs, helping them easily order through websites or online applications without having to go to the place to buy. 

Previously, this form was only popular with fast food restaurants such as Pizza Hut, KFC, Jollibee,... But now with the appearance of Food Delivery applications, customers can order any dish. , what drinks they need, with many diverse restaurant and coffee options appearing on the app. 

Shoppers can also easily find and place orders right at home, then pay directly on the app or choose to pay later. 

For FnB businesses, using food delivery technology also helps them increase the number of orders and revenue significantly. However, it also requires managers to calculate and negotiate reasonable costs with delivery units to avoid customers having to pay too high a fee for this service.

Order Using Handheld Device

One of the pioneering technologies in the F&B industry is the use of handheld ordering devices (phones, tablets) for wait staff to order dishes for customers at the table. 

Many large-scale restaurants have chosen handheld ordering devices to improve the ordering process and serve customers smoothly and effectively. In particular, with this technology, employees can request payment on the device anywhere as long as there is an Internet connection, helping to save unnecessary travel time and serve customers more quickly. 

Ordering food will no longer be a problem for restaurants when the restaurant has a large number of customers and allows serving more customers, which also means increasing customer return rates and boosting sales. store's goods. 

Managing Restaurants and Cafes Using Software

This is a technology solution that many FnB businesses are interested in because of its efficiency and high applicability in all operational management processes for restaurant stores.

Management software for the F&B sector will include a set of equipment: point of sale machine, cash register and order machine, automatic receipt printer, barcode scanner, etc.

The application of management software is the solution to bring the best service experience to customers, by connecting departments together from bringing customers to the table, ordering and serving food quickly, to processing. The payment process is also simpler and more convenient. 

Managers can also easily understand the entire working process of employees, monitor financial situation, and support daily reporting work.

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How Large F&B Chains Use Technology to Succeed

The quick service restaurant model is one of the popular  types of FnB business developed by many FnB brands, typically three names: Starbucks, KFC, McDonald's.

These FnB chains usually do not invest too much in human resources but mainly apply technology and equip software equipment to serve food and beverage processing. Let's see how they have applied technology!

Starbucks

Starbucks has long been known as a famous coffee chain brand in the world, but few people know that behind that great coffee taste are modern and unique technologies. 

Many industry experts also view Starbucks as a technology company, alongside other giants such as Amazon, Apple, Microsoft and Google, with products: wireless charging station systems, beacon technology, and bar applications. Mobile math, Roastery virtual reality experience, etc 

Customers coming to Starbucks will use the restaurant's Wifi to access the Starbucks Digital Network - a digital content system with a series of paid publications such as The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, The Economist,...

Starbuck has deployed this service as a spiritual food for customers to enjoy alongside the shop's cups of coffee, with the aim of enhancing the customer experience at the store. 

In addition, Starbucks is using smart refrigerators to help monitor the expiration date of ingredients placed in the refrigerator and Clover coffee makers with cloud connectivity, along with other modern IoT (Internet of Things) devices. Starbucks also makes full use of it everywhere in the store.  

McDonald's

If you've ever bought food at McDonald's, you'll probably be quite surprised when you have to manually order food on a large screen placed outside or right in the middle of the store - also known as an automatic kiosk. 

At the screen of this digital ordering counter, buyers will be able to view all the dishes on the menu, choose portion sizes, drinks, and pay with a bank card to get the bill. 

With automatic ordering, customers do not need to line up at the counter and ask staff to choose for themselves, but can serve themselves to save more time. 

McDonald's also allows customers to order through the mobile phone application, food will be sent to their home, or placed at any address of the customer's choosing. With food delivery applications growing rapidly today, the company develops its own ordering platform in parallel and cooperates with third parties to reach more customers. 

KFC

At KFC, the technology used is mainly artificial intelligence and IoT in production and commercial activities. 

Typically, the KFC store chain in Beijing (China) is currently using image recognition technology to identify customers, replacing membership cards and loyalty cards. With this technology, employees can know the customer's age, gender, and food preferences to make appropriate suggestions. 

In addition, about 300 KFC stores in Beijing will also be equipped with virtual reality game consoles; allowing customers to not only satisfy their needs for food and drink, but also for fun and entertainment.

KFC is also in the process of researching and developing 3D bioprinting technology to produce chicken meat in the laboratory, creating a line capable of making Chicken Nuggets from chicken cells and raw materials. plant materials. 

This idea of ​​KFC comes from consumers' need for healthy eating, in response to meat replacement and the development of more environmentally friendly products in food production.

Conclude

For businesses doing food , restaurant, and coffee businesses, we hope you will discover more lessons from how to apply technology from the famous brands above. 

The article also provides general information for those new to the FnB business to understand the industry's concepts and technology trends that can bring the best quality of service to customers.

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