2021’s Restaurant Trends Using Restaurant Software Solutions

Looking at the impact that the pandemic has had on the restaurant industry, it can be seen as a driver of transformation across the globe. Owners have embraced restaurant software solutions and are using new business models to not only survive but flourish despite the current situation.  Fast-casual restaurants, ghost-kitchens, meal kit offers and more are serving to meet diners where they are (i.e. at home) and bringing success for restaurant businesses.

Fast-casual over Full service

In fast-casual restaurants, diners get superior quality food, freshly prepared in a relaxed, informal setting, along with counter service speed things along. Restaurant software solutions and food tech solutions are playing a key role in the fast-casual sector. Point of sale, restaurant apps, self-ordering kiosks, online ordering & delivery are some of the major restaurant software solutions being leveraged. Regardless of cuisine, fast-casual restaurants that adopted off-premises strategies, for instance, third-party delivery, curbside pick-up, and online ordering etc. find themselves ahead of their competitors.

Contactless Dining

Because of the ongoing pandemic, people want to steer clear of particular touchpoints that result in various levels of physical contact for diners as well as staff, ensuring a safer and more sanitary dining experience. A large percentage of diners feel more comfortable during the pandemic when they can peruse menus, order food, make payments for their meal and offer feedback by means of their smartphones instead of interacting with restaurant staff. This, along with food tech solutions for food safety purposes, is a step forward in the right direction for the restaurant industry helping restaurants to bounce back faster.

Virtual food halls

A relatively new concept has begun to get popular, namely virtual food halls…letting customers order from multiple virtual restaurants contained within one ghost kitchen and make them all available simultaneously through a single platform (e.g., a website or app), resulting in zero friction during the customer ordering experience. Customers would no longer have to rely on third-party delivery services and place orders straight from a virtual food hall.

Restaurant meal kits

Meal kits offered by restaurants are fast becoming a popular trend among top restaurants. Do-it-yourself food kits like these comprise all the ingredients a customer would need to whip up a restaurant-level dish at home. Strengthened by restaurant software solutions in terms of online food delivery, meal kit services allow customers to select from a range of recipes offerings via an app or online. The kits are then delivered right to their door, inclusive of instructions and measured-out ingredients.

Ghost kitchens and virtual restaurants

The Covid-19 pandemic has sped up the growth of ghost kitchens and virtual restaurants as food-delivery sales reach ever greater heights. Restaurateurs are turning to the virtual space as a realistic and affordable way to keep with the times. Virtual restaurants and ghost kitchens alike have sprouted up to take advantage of the growing trend of ordering in as opposed to dining in. Both delivery restaurants and ghost kitchens are witnessing a considerable boom with projections indicating that by 2030 this sector could generate approximately a $1 trillion global opportunity.

These trends are only just the beginning. Modern business models, robust restaurant software solutions and emerging concepts will carry on evolving to cater to diners where they are and take the food and restaurant industry to a whole new level.