The advent of technology has transformed various industries and the foodservice industry is no different. Foodservice operators should use technology to better target emerging consumer trends such as customization, on-the-go experience and health and wellness across emerging countries in the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region to stay ahead of their competitors, says GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company.

The company’s report, ‘Foodservice Insights & Trends – Technology’ reveals that convenience, growing health awareness and adventurous palates looking for customized experiences among consumers are driving the use of technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), visual recognition, 3D printing and robotics in APAC foodservice industry.

Sumit Chopra, Research Director for Consumer at GlobalData, says: “Technology is the lifeblood of every industry and it has undoubtedly created opportunities for the foodservice operators to add the wow factor. Operators are pouring in investments in developing technologies as the foodservice sector is currently on a massive growth phase, largely powered by small and medium size businesses relying on dedicated suppliers and utilizing increasingly powerful logistics algorithms.”

This is substantiated by the company insights, which show that leading foodservice operators in Asia are embracing the latest technologies to understand the customers’ preferences and serve them better. For instance, KFC in Beijing has partnered with Chinese search engine giant Baidu to develop facial recognition software that can suggest dishes for consumers based on a demographic profile. Other key players such as Starbucks in Japan has joined hands with Uber Eats to roll out the Starbucks menu directly to customers while in China it tied up with Alibaba Group Holding’s Ele.me unit to do customer deliveries.

IMAGE FOR PUBLICATION – Please click this link for the chart: ‘Key consumer trends driving technology adoption in APAC’

Chopra concludes: “APAC foodservice operators are using technology to analyse consumption data, digital payments & transactions and order pattern to align their offering with the consumer preferences and ensure their supply chain and production processes are as efficient as possible.”