In times of global health crisis like this, where many countries are facing either partial or even full lockdown, one of the things that we miss the most is visiting restaurants. For me personally, my favourite part about dining in is seeing the menu –and wondering the process that they had gone through to develop them.

But today, I learned how artificial intelligence (AI) and data analytics can play a part in developing a well-loved restaurant menu.

Meet Wrap Bstrd, who dubs itself as the first F&B brand and dark kitchen in Singapore to be driven by AI and data analytics.

As a result of a partnership between tech-driven F&B company Ebb & Flow and AI solutions company SQREEM Technologies, Wrap Bstrd offers a range of wrap dishes that were developed combining behavioural data capabilities and pattern analysis with the skills of chefs, creative professionals, and branding experts from the two companies.

In an email interview with e27, SQREEM Technologies CEO and Co-Founder Ian Chapman-Banks explains how the company’s evaluation of over 200,000 individual data points to map behaviours and trends of distinct consumer groups in Singapore allowed the team at Ebb & Flow Group’s Dark Kitchen Lab to analyse customer journeys, predict demand, and map behavioural intent to purchase.

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“What this means is that everything that went into the creation of Wrap Bstrd was derived from our ability to pinpoint the exact tastes and preferences of office workers in the CBD area – local comfort food that comes in convenient packaging,” he says.

How exactly does this process better than the conventional way of menu development?

According to Philipp K. Helfried, Chief Investment Officer at Ebb & Flow Group, it starts with enabling the company to take a lot of the guesswork and manual research out of the usual process required to build out F&B brands from the ground up.

“The ability to analyse 200,000 data points and convert these into actionable insights means we are able to glean a very specific direction to work towards when crafting our brands, and the menus. This way we can augment the creativity of our chefs by giving them the tools they need to make sure their recipe is a hit with a very specific demographic; in this case, office workers in the CBD area,” Helfried elaborates.

“Our use of data and analytics also spans more than just the creation of the menu, it also informs our decisions with regards to branding, and marketing; how, where and when we reach our audiences. It also allows us to trial new concepts and brands at a fraction of the cost of conventional methods, so we can test out new menus and fail fast with very minimal cost impact,” he continues.

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Technology in your plate

 

In their Artificial Intelligence Trends to Watch in 2020 report, CBInsights revealed some of the biggest themes to come up in the world of AI this year: from commercial deepfakes to AutoML to tackling small data problems in AI.

Implementation of AI in industries such as F&B –especially later when businesses will try to survive the aftermath of COVID-19 pandemic– might also present an unprecedented urgency to it.

Chapman-Banks is certain that the use of AI in F&B industry will be a trend in the future.

“In the F&B sector, AI or tech is traditionally only used to simplify operations. But we plan to go one step further and use it to craft concepts, develop brands, inform marketing decisions and even help companies make key strategic and business decisions,” he says.

“If you are able to not just know, but really know what your customers want, your course of action becomes much clearer. Which means you can innovate that much faster,” he adds.

Also Read: Artificial intelligence is a key consideration for companies looking to adapt operations to optimise user experience

But as a tech company, SQREEM is aware that the barriers of adoption amongst non-tech business include lack of information.

“Non-tech businesses may not be aware of the possible use cases,” Chapman-Banks points out.

Together with Ebb & Flow, SQREEM is set to launch at least eight AI-driven delivery-only brands.

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