BUSINESS: What Can Operators Learn About Product Development from Bose?
The restaurant industry can learn from technology businesses. In fact, operators should approach their menu development & management the same as tech giants, like Bose, conduct their product development — with live, useful customer feedback.
DID YOU KNOWS…
Calorie Counts
Restaurants with 20+ locations are now legally required to display calorie content info on their menus. The Obama-era law was included in the original ACA in 2010 before being pushed back from its original 2011 start date. Whether or not you fall under this rule, restaurants should at least consider providing basic nutritional info of their meals or adding a few healthy food options for diners.
No Facebook Exodus
Despite the revelations that Russia was able to easily manipulate Facebook’s ad system and news feed algorithms to manipulate US voters in the 2016 election, the social media giant hasn’t seen much blowback from users. Just 1% of FB users have deleted their accounts and 18% use it less than before. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
NRA vs. Dallas Restaurants
The NRA (the gun guys not the restaurant guys) have called for boycott of a Dallas restaurant that supports “reasonable and effective gun regulation.” The restaurant’s owner claims to be “pro-Second Amendment and pro-gun rights” and has been donating portion of restaurant sales to gun control organizations. They’ve been making note of that on their receipts, too.
MILLENNIALS: KILLING THE HIGH ABV INDUSTRY
Why it matters to you: Some alcohol companies are releasing lower ABV drinks for Millennials.
Everyone has hung out with someone who can’t hold their booze. It is super embarrassing for all involved, especially our drunk pal. Maybe we don’t have to worry about that anymore: Enter lower ABV alcohol for the embarrassing friends who get too drunk too fast.
This all stems from how Millennials document their lives. They want to be able to drink & party and take photos & video of the events without getting completely sloshed and looking like a slob on social media.
Only time will tell if a lower ABV version of Ketel One work for consumers. Meanwhile liquor companies will keep trying to balance Millennial’s need for social drinking and not wanting to get drunk. Doesn’t seem like the worst idea ever, and restaurant & bar operators may want to consider carrying these lower ABV drinks to cash in on the trend.
STARBUCKS WANTS TO GO GREEN-ER
Why it matters to you: In an effort to combat waste and wasted money Starbucks doubles down.
Massive restaurant chains like Starbucks have always had a food waste problem. It’s an unfortunate part of the game. In a recent meeting, whoever, Starbucks announced plans to double-down on their waste-reduction efforts and cut waste costs by an additional 15% over the next 18-months. Starbucks loses about $500 million each year to waste, so they have plenty of incentive to make waste reduction a priority. Now if only some of the other fast food giants would aim to do the same then maybe the US could cut down on its’ nearly 50% of wasted food annually.
Regardless of the US’ waste itself, we applaud Starbucks for this move. Any reasons that cause a massive chain to cut down on their wasted food is good news for all of us. As operators, you may want to look at your own food waste costs. How much is it costing you every month? Year? Are there ways you can cut back to save money and fill your coffers a little better? A penny saved is a penny earned, so we all should be looking for ways to cut down waste.
