TECH
Confused about the ‘Internet of Things’? Here’s how IoT is changing restaurant tech forever
Joanna Fantozzi Senior Editor
IoT was a major trend at the 2023 National Restaurant Association Show as networks of connected, smart equipment become crucial to operations
“Your staff can actually have time to talk go customers, your ownership isn’t scrambling…IoT is the fuel that will bring us into a more efficient future and the restaurant industry is now getting to see a glimpse of that and realizing that this making our lives better.” Brewlogicx is a beverage technology solutions company that uses IoT technology and real-time analytics to gain insights into beverage performance, so that bars and breweries can know without guessing whether a specific type of beer is running out and predicts how much the bar will need for the weekend, which products are most expensive or if the bar needs to buy more product. This specific technology was in development for five years before BrewLogicx released it to the public eight months ago. “The major advantage here because then we can actually pair what’s happening in the physical world with what’s happening to digital and make a much more accurate prediction,” Garrity said. “Being able to see key financials and success markers instantly to know the health and freshness of your draft program is going to lower your costs, waste, and improve profitability.” IoT technology was also on display with equipment companies like OneEvent, which uses IoT technology to connect freezers and refrigerators with smart devices and a manager’s phone, that can track fluctuations in temperature, and send notifications if the temperature goes above a certain threshold for a pre-programmed amount of time, which means that someone either needs to close the freezer door or get a mechanic in to repair the equipment before all of the refrigerated food goes bad. “Our system will alert you no matter where you are,” Wayne Glowack, director of marketing for OneEvent said. “IoT lets us give you the ability to manage your restaurant wherever you are just with this little device.”
Last year, in 2022, the National Restaurant Association Show tech pavilion showcased labor-saving robots, including front of the house and back of the house. But as we’ve pulled away from the COVID-19 pandemic, technology trends have shied away from flashy automation and more toward invisible AI. One of the biggest trends we saw on the show floor was Internet of Things. IoT technology — which uses cloud technology to connect “dumb” devices and turn them into smart devices that can communicate with one another — was a crucial feature of many software companies on the show floor, from refrigeration to drive-thru technology. Like most trending technology, IoT allows restaurant operators to be more efficient, cost-conscious, and to reduce menial labor. “Data is the way to make great decisions, reduce waste and loss, and actually be efficient so that we can do the most we can,” Michael Garrity, director of marketing for beverage technology company, Brewlogicx, said.
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