How Can Blockchain Help the Food Industry Survive?

Is it easy to break the restaurant business? A blockchain is a tool for food companies to have a quality business. You will get life hacks using the latest methods of customer implementation. Our tips as blockchain development company not only help restaurants survive but also increase profits by 10 times.

Foodservice industry and COVID-19

Blockchain is a technology that is a way of storing and exchanging information online. All processes take place in an open virtual space. Blockchain promotes the development of cryptocurrency, as well as the comfort of users on the Internet.

Before the coronavirus, the food industry and restaurant business had made considerable progress. However, business models have changed significantly due to the coronavirus pandemic. Restaurants had to survive in the financial market by various methods. We had to face a new reality and look for the latest approach to a new generation of people — millennials and Zet. The increase in the number of restaurants in 2020-2021 is due to the possibility of more remote work. People began to store more information in mobile phones and cloud storage.

Traceability technologies provide important information very quickly so that people get what they need. Also, fewer people should be in the same room at one time. Fully mobile technology means staff work independently with hand-held devices, QR-code scanners, rather than meeting every day in the office from 9 am to 6 pm. 

Large companies like Walmart are experimenting with blockchains, but standardized blockchains throughout the industry do not yet exist.

How new technologies boost the restaurant industry?

Every millennial and member of the Z generation has mobile phones. These consumers have grown up on the Internet, so the commitment to the best technology is obvious. To succeed in the eyes of a potential customer, improve your services with technical tools. Especially those most often used by people of the millennium and the Z generation. This means creating a mobile application, and in it, respectively, a mobile loyalty program.

Customers can check their progress. They are kept as if on a hunt. You can encourage their progress with personal push messages. Personalization is a top priority when it comes to loyalty to the millenial and the Z generation.

How COVID makes businesses adopt digital transformation

17% of restaurants closed at the beginning of quarantine in 2020. Businesses did not even try to survive during this period, people did not know what awaited them and what the financial losses would be. However, СOVID-19 did not lead to the total closure of the business. There are and remain useful quarantine habits: ordering online, delivery, pickup, adaptation of the menu for delivery, the general cult of purity. The total digitalization of the restaurant business opens the way to the future. The brave are always happy!

What helped restaurants stay afloat in quarantine? We eliminate the most important factors for the success of this business:

• priority of technologies;
• large investments in technology and cybersecurity;
• investment optimization;
• improving the experience of employees and customers in technology;
• digital transformation.

How Blockchain is changing the foodservice

For example, the Foodchains app invites customers to earn FAN tokens to shop at participating restaurants. Users write reviews about the lunch experience or participate in various promotions. Purchases are checked by scanning the car code. The FAN token can be used in all registered restaurants. Besides, there is a function of using cryptocurrency.

Imagine if a retailer could see the whole product at once: from sowing seeds to get the product in their hands. However, the seller does not see the product being grown, processed, stored, or inspected before it enters it. Blockchain technologies help make this a reality, so choosing the right blockchain is an important step. There are no gaps in history, every detail is noticeable. Instead, you can see all the information about the product.

In October, Walmart and Tsinghua University signed an agreement to use Blockchain technology to study the traceability and authenticity of food supplies to their businesses. Walmart first tried tracking mangoes in one of its shops to the original farm. The workers spent 18 hours and 26 minutes on this. Using blockchain technology, the process took 2,2 seconds.

The digital way of delivering food information arrives instantly in the blockchain and becomes available to the user. This includes details of the origin of the farm, batch numbers, processing data, expiration dates, storage temperature, factory information, and various delivery details. Data is recorded in each transaction on which a digital certificate is available. Blockchain cannot be controlled by any user, but anyone can check it.

Read also: Trade finance blockchain

Blockchain use cases in the restaurant industry

Even though from the side the Blockchain system looks relaxed, the system is completely protected. High profits and models of stimulating the restaurant business based on blockchain allow for good development.

Millennials are a quarter of the US population. That’s about 77 million. They have the highest consumption power among all generations. Involving millennials in business is a crucial step to understanding customer loyalty.

If a brand wants to make money on millennials or the ZET generation, let it show its commitment to them. Compared to other generations, the reputation of the company’s philosophy is important. There are many companies to choose food, other goods, or services, so the brand should stand out among others.

The high level of restaurant failures is due to various factors. According to the research from the Ohio State University. Among the reasons: lack of proper marketing, poor location.

The researchers of TSYS surveyed 1,010 consumers aged 18-65 in the United States. First, we analyzed the technology of payment in restaurants, because it is an important factor in survival. 72% of respondents prefer lunch in hotels with modern payment methods.

The current generation is most receptive to loyalty programs or rewards. This is because 80% of people participate in similar programs. Millennials are a significant part of the market, which is why an existing loyalty reward program should be a goal for any business. If you want to expand your user base, take our advice.

Many modern nutrition programs in the world follow this trend and earn large sums. Loyalty programs become the main product of their offers. Because they arise centrally, there are problems with this as well.

Besides, not all loyalty programs are available on smartphones, so consumers do not redeem their points, because they do not have time to track the essence of the number of programs to which they are subscribed.

Blockchain technology provides a perfect solution through which by decentralizing ownership of the loyalty program, the user is given access to their rewards on various platforms. At the same time, users can redeem points in many places and establishments. For example, Burger King has introduced a similar system where users use blockchains for rewards in various programs.

In 2017, Russia introduced the cryptocurrency WupperCoin for loyal customers. It wins in value and trades on exchanges. Customers use the coin to shop at Burger King restaurants and other places where the currency is accepted. The company is large, so it has the resources to create blockchain solutions.

Small and medium-sized businesses do not do this. The most promising solution for the food industry is to create a blockchain platform. The set of tools allows public enterprise operators to introduce new loyalty systems. Restaurant businesses can create a profile on the platform and get in touch with potential customers. The site collects information, then summarizes it, provides information about consumers. The business leader makes it clear their tastes and preferences. Thus, recommendations are obtained to food service providers.

When a customer enters an institution registered on the platform, he earns a token. This helps to return bonuses or money to any institution that is already registered on the platform. This currency can be exchanged for cryptocurrencies. Often people use the Resto application.

Restaurant industry trends in 2021

Inability to get food, the jump in demand for the product, the desire for contactless shopping – the catalysts to change the strategies of the restaurant business faced by restaurateurs. However, we can identify the most important factors that help to achieve success with the help of blockchain.

Simplicity

Item number 1, because the concept is difficult to implement. The right technology inverts the sales process. It reduces user mistakes, making your brand attractive. If reports are updated in real-time, they are available instantly. This allows you to optimize the system and monitor quality information. Technology always works.

Speed or not

Choose what is more important to you – to create value or not to earn anything at all. Many people lived without the Internet, only millennials and generations of Z do not remember these times. Our millennium has instant access to any information. Instant satisfaction of the client’s desires should be fast. Every action in the loyalty program creates an obstacle, which is why people want to get what they need quickly. Those actions that create value in the eyes of man must be done in a few steps or without them at all.

Courage above all

The blockchain system is easy to implement. Punch cards are outdated, they have become the pinnacle when it is not an exciting experience for the customer. The audience loves new sensations. Young people do not even notice that business works in other ways. Defeating millennials and the Z generation requires a better loyalty program than punch cards or purchase points.

The loyalty program consists of two parts:

• Awards
• Actions

These two parts are necessary to achieve the ultimate goal. You can offer simple discounts, but this method has not been relevant for a long time. Venі, vidi, vici – Italian restaurant in New York. This catering engraves the names of customers on the table or a free Ferrari with pizza delivery (only a feature available after a million purchases). The client feels more interesting, although the nature of the rewards is ridiculous. Unlike the 5% discount, it attracts new people because it is different from others. Don’t be afraid to be creative.

A new era of food

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has demonstrated a food safety project that provides a vision for a safe and technological food system. An important area of ​​this initiative is traceability. Consumers need to be provided with a level of transparency and confidence in safety.

Users require access to accurate information about food, its origin, caloric content, full composition, shelf life. Often people need data that doesn’t even have a place on a traditional product label. Such authentication ensures a steady flow of customers. Digital technology is what people turn to when they buy products or order delivery. Traceability is important for a brand because it develops trust. This need is not just a tip for effective business, but a requirement.

Charity

Millennials and the Z generation are one of the most generous generations. These people are willing to help others with donations. This skill applies to brands used by modern consumers. Your company should be only environmentally and socially responsible, and besides, should be actively involved in charitable causes.

You need to expand your loyalty program by allowing people to use their points to help others. Even old and regular customers notice this change and pay more attention. Stand out among others.

David Maloney, an EVP analyst at ArrowStream, believes that data-driven technologies are rapidly being implemented. This facilitates real cooperation in the food industry.

“Historically, the food industry’s trading partners have been blocked. This has led to a contraction of traditional markup strategies and outdated product offerings. Through collaboration, food trading partners can work together to win over consumers through supply chain efficiencies, reducing costs for all partners and creating a history for the products that today’s consumers want, ”he says.

Conclusion 

Blockchain provides security to the user to believe 100% according to the data Spot n Eats. The world is evolving, people are not standing still and they want brands to keep up with the times. You need to know how to attract loyalty and keep the customer. This knowledge will help you understand what motivates a person to maintain loyalty. Your program should be simple, optimized, and unique. Even small blockchain companies can compete with big brands.