McCann Worldgroup’s Post

I’m extremely excited about what ClearCOGS has to offer for the restaurant industry in 2024. What do you turn to in a world of uncertainty? Data driven insights will be the ultimate power play in the new age of AI. Restaurant brands are already embracing the future with predictive analytics; not being reactive, but proactive in planning the days ahead. No more scrambling to react to random increases in demand or store level managers relying on gut instincts. Now, restaurants can anticipate customer behavior, optimize inventory, and tailor their store level prep with surgical precision. Imagine, accurately forecasting daily store level demand while avoiding costly waste or running out of the items your customers love  – that's the magic of ClearCOGS. How do you prepare your restaurants for profitability in 2024? The answer is simple…. Know what you need ;)

52,000 bowls of mac and cheese! That's a lot of mac and cheese. That much mac and cheese would weigh as much as a small airplane, fully loaded. 52,000 bowls of mac and cheese is also the amount of mac and cheese a ClearCOGS customer sold in the past year! Want to see how your restaurant's best sellers measure up? Sign up for ClearCOGS to see your own #SavoryStats : images that show the scale of your operations as visualized by AI. #restaurants #ai #aiimages #tech #insights #clearcogs

Schnucks Markets Embraces Innovation with AI-Powered Salad Bars The regional Midwest grocer is launching a cutting-edge "smart salad bar" experience in select stores, leveraging Picadeli's artificial intelligence (AI) technology. This innovative solution, initially announced in March 2023, is set to enhance the fresh food offerings at 22 Schnucks locations in Missouri and Illinois, as well as Eatwell Market banner stores. Powered by proprietary software and hardware, the Picadeli system ensures full traceability of the supply chain while optimizing the salad bar experience for customers. Using machine learning algorithms, each salad bar is customized to cater to the unique preferences of individual stores, ensuring a fresh and diverse selection of ingredients. Additionally, the solution incorporates advanced food safety features, including hygienic materials, technology-enabled shielding hoods, and automatic hand sanitizer dispensers. Schnucks is also embracing AI technology with Instacart Caper Cart smart carts, which are equipped with computer vision and AI capabilities. These innovative carts streamline the shopping experience by allowing customers to bag items as they shop, skip the checkout line, and seamlessly complete their purchase from anywhere in the store, leveraging technology to enhance the overall in-store experience. #AI #Innovation #SaladBars #GroceryTech 

Could you eat 4,019 tri-tip sandwiches? That many tri-tip sandwiches would stack higher than the space needle! In the past year, a ClearCOGS customer sold 4,019 tri-tip sandwiches. That's a lot of meat! Want to see how your restaurant's best sellers measure up? Sign up for ClearCOGS to see your own #SavoryStats: images that show the scale of your operations as visualized by AI. #restaurants #ai #aiimages #tech #insights #clearcogs

#AI can drive innovation! AI can potentially also revolutionize fast-food drive-thru ordering.🤖🍔 Or can it? 🧐 McDonald's's recent venture into AI-driven drive-thru ordering showcased both promise and pitfalls. With an 85% success rate, the technology shines bright. However, the remaining 15% of errors highlight the critical need for continuous refinement and the importance of human oversight. The fast food giant, which had been testing voice-automated ordering systems at about 100 restaurant drive-throughs since 2021 has now taken the decision to remove it all together! The systems’ miscalculations have led to some highly amusing viral videos with absurdly incorrect orders—like a handful of butter, hundreds of chicken nuggets, and ice cream loaded with bacon.🥓🍦🧈 This should serve as a powerful lesson for all businesses integrating AI into customer interactions. Thorough testing, ongoing improvements, and strategies for handling glitches are essential. Embracing AI is a marathon, not a sprint! #Innovation #CustomerExperience #TechTrends #FastFood

AI presents: "Powerful opportunity to leverage technology to elevate restaurant team members’ experiences". Yum is moving swiflty to capitalize opportunities with AI starting with employee productivity and expanding to customer-facing use cases towards visually managing queues and AI-powered ordering. Some use cases are well accepted while others, such as dynamic pricing, might still take time for customers to accept whole-heartedly.

https://lnkd.in/ef-U6zUA Restaurant chain holding company Yum Brands (Taco Bell, KFC, Pizza Hut) says it's using AI to market to customers based on their purchase data at other stores. This is being pitched as an AI story, and certainly any company trading at a restaurant multiple would prefer to be valued at closer to an AI multiple. But it's really a story about first-party data: Yum has a larger data-collection surface area because of the brands it owns, and can infer things about a customer's preference at one restaurant based on their purchases somewhere else. Since each menu is a different local maximum, this ends up being more informative than if they operated at the same scale with a single brand.

#AIGONEWRONG Vol. 42 🤖💔 Have you ever ordered food online and been greeted with images of food you’ve never even seen before? You can thank AI for that. Instacart's venture into AI-generated food photos is turning heads for quirks that make the food look disturbing or absurd What do you think: Is this a clever approach to food presentation or a missed opportunity for authenticity? Dive into the bizarre images here: https://lnkd.in/gDvXWw29 #BADAI 

These days, running an off-premises business involves more than just getting food out of the restaurant—it involves navigating a challenging digital environment. Michael Boyan from Shake Shack highlights the importance of adapting to evolving consumer preferences. Andrew Garfrerick from Papa Johns emphasizes the complexity of modern tech stacks. Wade Allen of Costa Vida, Fresh Mexican Grill discusses the significance of focusing on metrics that matter. Angela Coppler, CFE of Cousins Maine Lobster explores the role of AI in enhancing the customer experience. It's clear that optimizing off-premises operations requires a multi-faceted approach. Read more about their strategies and experiences here: https://lnkd.in/eu9gcR32 #OffPremisesOperations #FoodOnDemand #RestaurantIndustry #FODC2024 Food On Demand

Excited to share this insightful article from QSR (with great insights from Bad Ass Coffee of Hawaii) that delves into the game-changing potential of AI-powered insights for menu optimization in the restaurant industry. This piece brilliantly highlights how artificial intelligence can be a pivotal tool in understanding customer preferences, predicting dish impact, and making data-driven decisions to enhance menu offerings. Let's discuss! What are your thoughts on integrating AI into the culinary experience? How do you see this technology shaping the future of the restaurant industry? #AIInRestaurants #MenuInnovation #FoodTech