Food on Demand: The Lowdown on Loyalty, Chipotle, Dine Brands and More
Restaurant Technology Network (RTN) Co-Founder Angela Diffly was on hand at the Food on Demand conference in Las Vegas May 4-6. Diffly shared her insights in a series of four articles posted on the RTN site.
Wondering what differentiates the industry's most innovative and loyalty players – Paytronix, Punchh, Lunchbox and Thanx? Diffly recaped the session, Monetizing Brand Loyalty. Brands agree that first-party data is paramount. While brands agreed third-party delivery is not going away, “restaurants need to create something customers can’t get on the third-party platforms,” said Aaron Newton, Chief Product Officer, Thanx.
Read Diffly's full recap, Winning Customer Loyalty: Same Mountain, Different Paths.
Food on Demand was loaded with fresh market research and insights. Here, Diffly recaps 10 key takeaways from the research presented at the event.
We all know Chipotle is killing it when it comes to digital innovation. One of the highlights of Food on Demand was a fireside chat with Chipotle’s Director of Digital Restaurant Experience & Managing Director of Robotics Logan Hull. Check out Diffly’s recap, Chipotle’s Clear Vision. Chipotle is testing Miso Robotic's Chippy to automate frying its tortilla chips. “We’re thinking beyond Chippy, diving deep into understanding moments of friction. We’re not interested in robotics as a PR stunt,” said Hull.
Dine Brands is among the restaurants that have embraced virtual brands and increasing demand for off-premises dining options. The parent company of IHOP and Applebee's recently added Radius Network's Flybuy Pickup to help improve carside and in-restaurant pickup and delivery, as Diffly detailed in this article. Other tech additions include SYNQ3 for the call center; both solutions tackle clear pain points for the brand. Referring to Flybuy Pickup, Gladstone said, “You can’t manage what you don’t measure; now we can.”
Recap from Food On Demand 2022: Dine Brands
Last but not least, Olo's founder and CEO, Noah Glass, delivered a rousing keynote and explained the driving forces behind the public company's decision to buy Omnivore. Glass emphasized it’s vitally important to have a direct relationship with consumers. He suggested if you don’t have data from every digital touchpoint, you can’t improve the customer experience, and cited this direct connection with customers as the table stakes driving force behind the company’s acquisition of Wisely. Read Diffly's full recap, Olo’s Time To Shine.