What Everyone Was Buzzing About at FSTEC

At FSTEC last week, our team spoke directly with restaurant leaders about some of the industry's most pressing issues and opportunities. Here are five topics everyone was talking about that will play a critical role in the coming year.

1. Brands are debating whether to build, buy, or both

To meet the needs of digital-first guests-convenience, personalization, seamless checkout, loyalty rewards, etc.-and stand out from the competition, restaurant brands are racing to update and optimize their tech stacks. But the road to success isn't always obvious. Should you buy best-in-class software? Build custom tech in-house? Or both?

This was the subject of the opening session at FSTEC-featuring leaders from Papa John's, Dine Brands,Brooklyn Dumpling Shop, Potbelly, and Kura Sushi-and a theme throughout the event.

The consensus? The decision is far from binary and can have drastically different outcomes depending on your objectives, existing tech ecosystem, and budget. However, many brands are leaning toward a build-and-buy approachthat enables them to build bespoke software that meets their unique needs and save by purchasing core tech components that are generally available.

To explore the build/buy/both debate in more detail, download our ebook below.

2. Restaurants are all in on catering

While catering has long been considered a part-time job for many brands, the recent surge in demandhad everybody talking at FSTEC.

Catering now has the potential to represent up to 20%of sales, and the average catering ticket is $350-10xthe average mealtime ticket of $35-so restaurant leaders across service models are looking to seize the opportunity.

And it's not just about revenue. Cateringis a great way for restaurants to increase awareness, acquire new guests, and improve their reputation in the community.

As we close the year, many restaurant leaders are positioning their brands for success by implementing and optimizing a guest-centric catering program, streamlining operations to boost efficiency, and maximizing catering sales during the holidays.

3. AI is having a positive impact-but it's imperfect

It should come as no surprise that AI was a topic of heated debate at FSTEC. Leaders at Yum Brands, McDonald's, Chili's, and more restaurants testified to AI's positive impact-from inventory management to troubleshooting problems in-restaurant, sales forecasting, marketing content creation, personalized menu suggestions, and lead time quote accuracy.

Others were cautiously optimistic, citing concerns about ethics, data governance, inaccuracy, cost, and uncertain ROI.

All in all, most seemed to agree that AI will become more sophisticated and beneficial to restaurants over time, so it's important to be highly intentional with how you leverage it to improve your business.

4. For operators, ROI is everything

Franchisees are in the business of making money, so restaurant brands that want to roll out new tech solutions need to speak their language. Several leaders shared the best way to secure buy-in from operators is to focus on ROI, efficiency, and impact on the bottom line.

Most importantly, any new technology-from digital orderingto paymentto guest engagement-must make a difference on the store level, particularly in added revenue, savings, and efficiencies.

Like Dino Northway, Director of Off-Premise Dining at Portillo's, shared in our recent webinar with QSR Magazine, "I don't look at what's shiny and new and say, How can I fit it into our tech stack? That's a fool's errand. You should be looking at the team member and guest experience and go from there."

5. It pays to plan ahead

The pandemic was a harsh reminder that we never truly know what's on the horizon. At the time, many brands took a reactive approach to technology adoption just to stay afloat.

Now restaurant leaders are passionate about building a future-proof tech stack to ensure their brand can meet evolving guest expectations, stay competitive, and weather any storms. The general sentiment at FSTEC: restaurants that don't take this approach risk falling behind.

Several leaders shared they're starting with a specific strategy or goal-like personalizing the guest experience-and then working to identify the right tools and partners to help them achieve it.

What this indicates about the restaurant industry moving forward

While there were so many meaningful conversations at FSTEC this year, one thing is clear: leading restaurant brands recognize the essential role of technology in accelerating growth and are willing to invest in systems that directly impact revenue, savings, and efficiency from the top down.

With a fully integrated, future-proof tech stack and a highly intentional strategy, restaurants can increase orders, streamline operations, and improve the guest experience. Those that prioritize the needs of their guests and restaurant staff will pull ahead in 2025 and beyond.

Didn't get a chance to connect with Team Olo at FSTEC? Look for us at CREATE Oct. 9-11, 2024, and Fast Casual Executive Summit Oct. 13-15, 2024.

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