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The latest menu innovations

January 25 2022
innovation menu restaurant

The menu is the main entry point between diners and your kitchen. A well-thought-out and practical menu guarantees you a better customer experience, and better sales to boot. QR code, virtual advisor or even augmented reality, find out how to innovate in terms of menu.

Augmented reality, innovation or trend?

Augmented reality is one of the most talked about technological trends in recent years. Many industries, including the food sector, are using augmented reality primarily for education, entertainment and advertising purposes. How can this technology help restaurants attract more customers? In addition to providing a whole new user experience for diners, augmented reality restaurant apps are an effective method of attracting new visitors.

Using Augmented Reality for Promotional Campaigns

Through various advertising campaigns using augmented reality, such as offering your target audience to play a promotional game in augmented reality, you can attract more customers to your restaurant.

Assistance in finding your restaurant's address

Location-based augmented reality food apps display various locations on images in real time. Therefore, if you have a network of restaurants, integrating an augmented reality GPS system into your mobile app can help users find one of your nearby restaurants.

Enhance the user experience during tasting

An augmented reality app can also act as an informative medium, displaying information about each product.

To learn more about a product or dish, users can scan the menu, and watch a detailed description of the product appear in their screen. Augmented reality can therefore provide useful information about a particular dish in a more interactive way than a regular menu. Customers can discover the health benefits of the dishes they order or any other relevant information.

QR code: moving from technical linkage to qualitative customer experience

From social distancing to enhanced user experience, there are many reasons to use a QR code menu in a restaurant.

No more passing the menu from hand to hand, between customers and with staff

The biggest current benefit of a QR code menu in a restaurant is, of course, that it reduces the number of things customers have to touch when dining. Display your QR codes in easy to spot locations in the restaurant so that customers can find and scan them as easily as possible. This system also limits interaction between guests and staff, who simply step in to answer questions or serve orders at the table.

Menu adjustment made easy

When you run out of something in the kitchen, it's difficult with simple paper cards to let guests know that a menu item is no longer available. With a digital menu, you can make updates as often as you like with minimal effort. This helps avoid disappointment for diners if they order a dish that is out of stock.

Attractive dish images, for better sales

A digital menu is designed with a strong user experience in mind. You can highlight popular items, increase order value and optimize conversion rates.

Space is limited on print menus, and that's often why there are no photos of the dishes. Yet, customers decide with their eyes. A nice picture of your appetizing burgers with all the sides will catch people's attention and make them want to order them. With a digital menu, you can include images with as many items as you want.

All for a better customer experience

Overall, your customers will have a more enjoyable and relaxing experience in your restaurant. A QR code menu is a quick and easy way to order, and they can view it on your website or app without having to manually search for it themselves. This also allows your staff to focus on the "hospitality" part of their job, and reduces the chance of ordering errors. With a QR code menu, the customer is in control of the ordering experience. He selects exactly what he wants to eat and enters the details of his order himself.

Virtual sommeliers, expert advice and upselling at hand

For the past few years, the trend has been for virtual sommeliers, online or app-based wine guides. Do you specialize in wine, or does your restaurant offer a large selection of different vintages? You have everything to gain with a virtual sommelier.

Virtual sommelier, to suggest interesting or unexpected food and wine pairings

Food and wine pairings are often a great opportunity to increase value for a customer. A well-placed suggestion by your highly trained servers can persuade customers that a certain wine will enhance, or elevate, a meal. It's all part of selling an experience. By integrating a virtual sommelier into your offering, guests can indicate their tastes and choose a bottle to match the dish they've ordered. This allows you to take over from your servers, who may not know everything about the intricacies and subtleties of the bottles on offer, so that you can suggest something interesting.

A great way to tell the story behind each bottle

Among the thousands of varietals and winemakers today, there are stories behind each vineyard. Incorporating these stories into the dining experience can pique the customer's interest, and again gives the impression of serious attention to detail.

Don't be afraid to incorporate human interest and storytelling into your service - a compelling story is always a great selling point. It helps make the experience memorable, which means you'll be able to increase the number of repeat customers.

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