How you can use artificial intelligence in mobile gastronomy

In recent years, artificial intelligence has conquered almost all areas of our lives – and of course you can also use artificial intelligence in mobile gastronomy. Especially as a food trailer operator, Artificial Intelligence opens up completely new possibilities to optimise your business and improve customer service. Read here how it works.

What is Artificial Intelligence?

Artificial intelligence (AI) is already considered ‘cutting-edge technology’. But what is AI anyway? AI is the ability of a machine to imitate human cognitive abilities such as logical thinking, learning, planning and creativity. It enables technical systems, such as robots, to perceive their environment and use what they perceive to gather data, solve problems and achieve goals. AIs can also analyse and adapt their own actions by following. Due to the high amount of data processing, AI’s are very capable of learning and thus becoming more intelligent. The trend clearly shows that we have to learn how to deal with AI. Even in mobile catering, there are already many ways you can make it work for you. Whether in recruitment, food planning or food trend detection: we show you how it works.

How can I use artificial intelligence in mobile gastronomy?

Efficiency and good workflows are particularly important in mobile gastronomy, especially at peak times. The goal is to simplify and optimise all possible work steps.

In the following section, we will show you how the use of artificial intelligence can help you in your food trailer.

Optimise your grocery shopping with artificial intelligence

With AI, you can optimise your shopping and grocery shopping. Smart apps make it possible to connect your fridge to a cloud – an online store. This automatically puts products on your shopping list when they are running low. The AI even manages to create future forecasts based on utilisation data. This way, you’ll be informed about your shortage in time and your products in your sales trailer won’t run out even during a stressful run.

Reduce your food waste

Every year, 11 million tonnes of food are thrown away in Germany, which corresponds to about two full shopping trolleys in a household. This is a big problem, especially in the catering industry, because unfortunately, for hygiene reasons, everything that has been spent and not consumed has to be thrown away. Even if, for example, the best-before date has expired, but the quality of the food may not have been affected at all.

Anastasia Hofmann has tackled this problem with her company Kitro. Kitro is a camera that is attached to a weighted dustbin. This makes it possible to record what is thrown away in a day. These measurements are then processed into reports on waste consumption so that you can plan a more efficient use of resources.

Cooking with Artificial Intelligence

Finding suitable staff has become a real challenge. But this problem can also be solved with automation: Space is usually limited in food trailers. Does it then make sense to use a robot for certain work steps? A robot cannot (yet) replace a human in a sales trailer. Just setting up and taking down the trailer would cause some problems. You make sure everything runs smoothly, interact with customers and are the main act of the trailer. However, automating certain work steps, especially in stressful situations, can provide the necessary relief.

Identifying food trends before anyone else

Tastewise is an Israeli software with an AI algorithm that reads menus published online, identifies changes and new products. It also scours Google reviews and social networks for trending products. Through comments, likes, emojis and pictures, the AI can measure the satisfaction of your customers and immediately suggest measures for improvement. Try using the software to find out which trend is currently booming in your city or (inter)nationally. Also at the Interorga in Hamburg, numerous start-ups were presented on the topic of AI and exciting lectures were held.

Inspire yourself for your brand design

In the meantime, there are some AI-controlled graphic programmes that create a desired motif for you. This includes logos and entire corporate designs. Especially if you are in the middle of the start-up phase, this can be a help to build up your own design cheaply or to get inspiration.

However, we recommend that you use the services of a human logo designer. People are emotional beings and we communicate this when we are together. Especially when designing logos, many founders focus on emotionality and recognition value. To achieve this, an AI might not be sufficient, as its data is purely based on logic.

Conclusion – Is the use of artificial intelligence advantageous in mobile gastronomy?

Artificial intelligence can bring some advantages, such as kitchen support, fast payment or even tracking food trends. In many moments, this can help to keep track and work more efficiently. However, it is advisable not to use too many tools at once. Instead, a step-by-step approach to AI is advisable. Especially AI tools used against food waste can solve a really big social problem and do good. Therefore, think carefully about what added value the use of AI brings to you and your fellow human beings.