The digital shift in school catering

Although it has unique characteristics that set it apart from traditional restaurants and franchises, school catering is also taking the digital turn. What FoodTech innovations are revolutionizing this sector? How do they optimize its operation? What expectations do they meet? Dematerialized payment, Click and Collect, Scan tray, let's take a look at these digital trends that are making a difference today.

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The rise of digital devices in school catering

In a context of transformation of student habits and uses linked to the digital revolution and increased competition, catering companies, and in particular those from the school catering sector, need to reinvent the customer journey and experience in order to get students to come and return. What are the connected solutions available to this sector to make this digital shift? 

The development of biometric equipment 

Although the canteen card still exists, more and more schools are choosing to install biometric equipment to allow access to the school restaurant.

How does it work?

An access terminal, located at the entrance to the restaurant, is connected to a biometric reader that contains a database of "biometric templates", i.e. the image of each student's hand. Each time a student passes through, he or she enters an identification code on a numeric keypad, then places his or her hand on the reader, which checks that it matches the code entered. Once recognized, they can retrieve their tray and eat their meal.

The dematerialization of the badge for the payment at the canteen

The e-wallet has become a must-have for a modern restaurant adapted to the consumption patterns of millenials, the generation born with the Internet. This cashless solution allows diners and their parents to consult and reload their badge independently, by connecting to a portal accessible from several media. It is indeed possible to perform all these operations from a smartphone, a tablet or a PC. When paying for the meal at the cash desk, the badge is displayed directly on the smartphone or any other device. 

Students are not the only ones who appreciate the ease of use of this electronic walletSchool restaurant managers also appreciate the ease of use, as they can create and manage accounts directly from their back office. 

Did you know that?

This solution is fully integrated into the Innovorder ecosystem, which means that students can use their e-wallet at the cash register, at a kiosk or via an online order.

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The revolution in cashiering: the flatbed scanner

The tray scanner, a technology that already exists for companies, is also becoming more widespread in schools. It allows to automate and accelerate an important part of the canteen passage. It is materialized by an autonomous scanner with a compact design. You will need very little space to install this contactless self-checkout device. The students just have to put their tray and their badge (card or smartphone), the content of this one is scanned, validated and settled in a few seconds, between 3 and 5 seconds to be precise!

👉 To go further: Discover the Innovorder Plateau Scan

The arrival of Click and Collect and pre-ordering

Providing a better customer experience, saving time for students, but also for school administration and catering staff, is what Click and Collect can do for school catering.

At some institutions, students can, for example, log on to a mobile app in the morning on the commute or from a computer to pre-order their lunch for the day.

This ordering system has a bright future ahead of it, and Elior and Innovorder have understood this. The proof is in the pudding: they have jointly developed their Weeky Connect solution. 

👉 To go further: click and collect in restaurants: the ultimate guide

Connected fridges

Instead of a traditional canteen or to complement it, many school restaurant managers are opting for connected fridges. Thanks to these smart fridges, students have access to dishes throughout the day and can serve themselves in complete autonomy. These are supplied with fresh and varied dishes according to demand.

The installation of refrigerators from Innovorder partners like PopChef does not require any specific work. Moreover, our teams help you to install and parameterize the integration and also ensure the training of the operation.

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Digital transition: an opportunity for school catering

The digital transition is a major challenge for school catering stakeholders, as these digital devices offer many advantages, both for students and their parents and for school managers.

Simplifying the guest experience with digital technology 

The innovative solutions mentioned above all have one thing in common. They allow the optimization of student flows as well as the work in the kitchen. From the choice of the meal to the payment, the waiting time and the jostling that it causes are considerably reduced. This means more time for guests to relax and enjoy their lunch break. The result is a much improved customer experience.

In addition, this reduction in waiting time discourages them from going out to eat and turning to fast food establishments, which are often found in the vicinity of schools. You kill two birds with one stone by inviting them to eat on site while eating healthier .

Adapting to current trends

School catering is aimed at a hyper-connected generation.

Every day, every act of consumption is associated with digital. This is the case when they travel, when they entertain themselves, but also when they eat in fast food or retail. They now hope to find these codes in their cafeteria, at school. Online menu access, touch-sensitive ordering kiosks and artificial intelligence used to scan meal trays are all tools that can be used to adapt to these new expectations.

Technology opens the field of possibilities. It often provides more benefits with less time and effort. The solutions mentioned above follow this logic by expanding the range of services offered to students and their parents.  

👉 10 must-know restaurant trends for 2023

Facilitate operational management

Thanks to this ecosystem of digital solutions, you can monitor the management of your guests' trays in real time. You can collect valuable data on the eating habits and purchasing behaviors of students in the cafeteria, allowing you to adapt your offer. With the help of high-resolution photos taken via the tray scanner, for example, cashier operators can capture all orders once the service rush has passed .

Going digital also saves money. By replacing cards with biometric equipment and e-wallets, you no longer have to replace lost or damaged cards. The staff responsible for managing lost and stolen cards can then focus on other, less administrative tasks.

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Facilitating access to information 

The desire to eat better is also reflected in school catering. In fact, two laws have been enacted in this sense, the EGalim law in November 2018 and the Climate and Resilience law in August 2021. Both focus on sustainable and quality food. 

Here again, digital is entering the service of school cafeterias as the government has set up, since February 2021, the digital platform"my canteen". This one aims to help the collective catering to better understand the laws mentioned above as well as their objectives:

• 50% of sustainable and quality products, including 20% of products from organic farming by January 1, 2022 (EGalim law),

• 60% sustainable and quality products for meat and fish by January 1, 2024 (Climate and Resilience Law), with a rate increased to 100% for the State's collective catering.

Students and their parents are more and more concerned about what they eat at the canteen and are really interested in the content of their plate. Digital technology, and in particular applications, meet many of their expectations.

With just a few clicks, they now have access to the weekly menu and the ingredients that make it up. They also have access to information about the origin of the products, the way they are cooked, whether they are organic or not, the presence of allergens, but also the nutritional qualities of the dishes. This gives them a more precise idea of the quality and diversity of the meals served.

These digitized menus are particularly useful for children with special diets, allergies or intolerances. 

Some applications even allow you to receive a notification when your child's favorite dish is on the menu, if the information has been entered beforehand. Others even suggest menus for dinner. This type of additional service goes far beyond the school catering framework and parents are all the more satisfied. 

💡 Good to know: GECO Food Service and Decryptis conducted a study on the use of the Internet in school catering. This one reveals that 82.2% of the interviewees would like to virtually access the weekly menu, compared to 54% for the daily menu. It also underlines that almost one person out of 3 wishes to be informed about the presence of organic products, that 41.1% of the people surveyed want to access information on what is cooked on site via the Internet and that 40.5% of them want to know where the raw products served to their children come from.

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Gathering student feedback

The digital tools will also allow you to collect complete and detailed opinions about the school catering service. From the quality of the meals served, to the reception of the staff, to the means of payment and the sales channels, parents and students can easily share their feedback. This "on the ground" information is very valuable and will help you improve your offer. Customers, seeing that their comments are taken into account, will be more and more satisfied and your attendance and loyalty rate will soar. A real virtuous loop! 

Reduce food waste

Reducing food waste is a challenge for all the actors of the catering industry, including those of the school catering. In this fight, technology is an important ally!

It is possible to act at different levels. First of all, through education and awareness, but also through new digital tools to collect feedback from students and their parents. 

The Tray Scan, by allowing you to collect precise information on the consumption habits of the students and the rate of frequentation of the cafeteria, will allow you to anticipate and adjust your offer in terms of quantity, but also of types of meals served. 

While pre-ordering, mentioned earlier in this article, helps limit losses and unsold items and better manage inventory, it is not the only effective approach in the fight against waste. Connected fridges are also effective in the fight against waste as they facilitate product management, inventory visualization as well as data feedback. 

Finally, a solution like Too Good To Go also allows you to revalue your unsold products (surplus production that has not found a buyer) and thus fight against food waste.

👉 F ood service: what does the anti-waste law say?

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Do you manage a school restaurant and want to modernize your establishment? Discuss your project with one of our Innovorder consultants.