robot stats & food industry information

what is rpa or robotic process automation?

RPA is ultimately about automating some of the most mundane and repetitive computer-based tasks and processes in the workplace. Think copy-paste tasks and moving files from one location to another, for example.

how can Rpa improve restaurant and food operations?

One of the most significant benefits of RPA in the food and beverage industry is its ability to increase operational efficiency. For example, RPA can automate the process of tracking inventory levels, which can help reduce waste and improve supply chain management.

Another area where RPA can be beneficial in the food and beverage industry is compliance. RPA can help automate compliance-related tasks, such as ensuring that food safety regulations are being followed and that all required documentation is complete.

RPA can also help improve the customer experience in the food and beverage industry. For example, RPA can be used to automate the process of taking and fulfilling orders, which can help reduce wait times and improve accuracy. Additionally, RPA can be used to automate the process of tracking customer feedback, which can help companies identify areas for improvement.

quick statistics

According to the International Federation of Robotics, more than half a million industrial robots are installed around the world, most in manufacturing. Now, a shortage of qualified workers is pushing more companies to explore using robots in a wide range of roles, from filling online orders in warehouses to making room service deliveries in hotels.

“For the restaurant industry, technology has become critical to its hospitality mission,” says Deborah Matteliano, AWS global head of restaurant service providers. “By automating rote back-of-house tasks, restaurants free up resources to improve the guest experience, without sacrificing efficient operations."

Approximately 50% of restaurant operators plan to integrate workplace automation into their daily processes. This can include integrating chatbots to interact with customers and automating food preparation, ordering and payment, menu selection, reservation scheduling and chat responses on social media.

Moley Robotics has taken automation a step further by developing a robotic chef that imitates human movements. It can prepare, garnish and serve food and clean up after itself.

According to a recent report by the World Economic Forum, workplace automation is expected to significantly impact 85 million jobs globally by 2025. The report highlights that humans will share work responsibilities almost equally with machines, with humans contributing 53% and machines 47%. This shift represents a significant change from just three years ago when humans completed 67% of the work.

Industries that are likely to be affected the most by automation include healthcare, transportation and agriculture. As a result, businesses need to adopt automation, digitization and other new technologies, while workers need to acquire new skills such as analytical thinking, creativity, social interaction and emotional intelligence.

To increase efficiency, reduce costs, and close the labor gap, all while providing a great dining experience, restaurants have begun using robots, powered by the cloud, to handle a variety of repetitive kitchen duties, giving their employees more time to focus on customers.

business is booming

The restaurant industry is booming, according to the National Restaurant Association’s 2023 State of the Restaurant Industry report. While other consumer industries grapple with sluggish sales, restaurant revenues are on track to surpass $997 billion by the end of the year, an 11 percent increase over 2022. Given that growth, the need for food service workers is expected to exceed pre-pandemic levels. Hiring is up, but currently, 87,000 positions in the US remain unfilled. Moreover, food service has the highest employee turnover rate of any industry, and 92 percent of restaurants in the National Restaurant Association’s survey say the cost of food is a significant issue.

the national restaurant association

The National Restaurant Association forecasts that restaurant sales will reach $997 billion in 2023, an increase of nearly 11% over 2022 and up from $789 billion in the chaotic pandemic year of 2021 (which was itself a 20% increase over 2020).

The industry has shifted from recovery mode and is back on the growth trajectory it was on in 2019. Though the growth curve is slightly shallower than pre-pandemic projections, it is undeniably there, giving operators that survived the COVID-19 years a chance to catch their breath.

restaurant receipts

Overall, restaurant receipts were also up 25% between January 2022 and January 2023—about four times the inflation rate in the same span. Overall, inflation influenced the cost of restaurant supplies. Still, unlike the home shopper who experiences inflation at the grocery store, restaurants must also deal with the costs of rapid wage increases in their industry. So, while top-line sales look promising, there are more costs below the surface; those sales didn’t necessarily flow through to restaurants’ bottom lines.

menu prices

According to research by the National Restaurant Association, menu prices increased by 8.6% in restaurants between April 2022 and April 2023 (the most recent month for which data is available). April 2023 was the ninth consecutive month to show year-over-year increases of at least 8% for restaurant prices. Higher prices are one of the reasons we are seeing higher sales numbers.

That restaurant prices have been growing faster than grocery prices for the first time since mid-2021 reveals the tension below the higher sales figures. The higher costs could deflate restaurant patronage. But food-away-from-home prices have grown more rapidly than food-at-home rates since around 2009, so this shift is a return to normal in some ways.

asian food is king

Thai, Chinese, and Southern cuisine are dethroning pizza as the most popular cuisine in many US cities.

Pizza has long been America’s favorite food. But recent analysis from Toast shows that Thai, Chinese, and Southern cuisine are becoming the most beloved foods in many US cities from Salt Lake City to Cleveland.

digital sales on the rise

According to research by restaurant technology brand Qu, digital (online and mobile app) sales have shown to have staying power. Most restaurants see about 25% of their sales come from digital channels, though brands that bet big on digital early on can see sales as high as 50%. Digital sales are expected to grow steadily through 2023, with restaurants likely seeing digital become 33% of their overall sales mix.

One of the biggest pain points to increasing your off-premise sales is order inaccuracies and delivering an inconsistent customer experience. More than two-thirds of customers cited those two factors as having the most significant impact on their online ordering experience.

food grown in labs

Lab-grown meat produced by harvesting animal cells in a lab may account for one-third of all U.S. meat consumption by 2040. Although it is not yet available in the U.S., the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has deemed lab-grown meat safe. This technology has the potential to disrupt the multi-billion-dollar cattle and plant-based food industries.

Supporters argue that lab-grown meat provides a cleaner and healthier alternative to traditional meat, as it can be produced with lower levels of fat and cholesterol and infused with organic supplements. However, the widespread adoption of lab-grown meat could significantly impact animal farming, potentially reducing the need for large-scale animal agriculture.

employmemnt opportunity

Employment for food and beverage workers is projected to grow 9% from 2021 to 2031, faster than the average for all occupations

The US Bureau of Labor Statistics projects a return to form for the restaurant labor force. Before the disruption of the pandemic, the restaurant industry was a job growth machine, increasing its labor force by 10% to 11% most years. Many new vacancies—about 955,100 every year—are expected to come from seasoned hospitality workers retiring or switching to a new career field. So training a new generation of hospitality professionals will be an industrywide effort.

in conclusion

RPA has the potential to revolutionize the food and beverage industry by increasing efficiency, improving compliance, and enhancing the customer experience. As technology continues to evolve and becomes more accessible, it is likely that more and more companies in the food and beverage industry will begin to adopt RPA as a key part of their operations.

RPA technologies such as UIPath, Blue Prism, Automation Anywhere, WorkFusion, and Kofax can be highly relevant to the food and beverage industry.

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