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Benefits of Using Business Intelligence for the Restaurant Industry

Benefits of Using Business Intelligence for the Restaurant Industry

Understanding your market is like having a good recipe. Without it, things just don’t work out. That’s where business intelligence for the restaurant industry comes in. With it, suppliers and vendors can find the best restaurant markets to promote their products and services.

Brizo FoodMetrics is like a trusted cookbook, offering a wide range of market ‘recipes’ you need.

In this post, we’ll explore how business intelligence, like the insights from Brizo FoodMetrics, can significantly benefit your operations, marketing strategies, and sales efforts.

How Business Intelligence Works for the Restaurant Industry?

Business intelligence (BI) and Business analytics (BA) serve distinct roles in the restaurant industry.

Business Intelligence (BI) for food industry offers real-time insights for data-driven decisions. For example, a restaurant chain can instantly monitor customer satisfaction scores. If a specific location sees a dip, you can swiftly course-correct, like adjusting a menu item that isn’t resonating well with patrons.

Business Analytics (BA) dives into the why and the future. For instance, a franchisor might find that locations in college towns have increased late-night sales. BA would analyze this trend to suggest a late-night menu rollout during semesters.

Here’s how business intelligence helps different industries:

Restaurant Tech Providers

Example: Consider Toast Inc., a leading name in restaurant management software. They enhanced their POS systems by integrating BI features that track real-time sales and inventory. Restaurants using this tech can make informed decisions by seeing if a new menu promotion attracts more customers to adjust in real-time.

F&B Distributors

Example: Sysco, a global leader in food distribution, uses a foodservice market intelligence tool to analyze seasonal trends. When they see that plant-based options are surging in popularity in summer months, they can preemptively stock more of these items, ensuring their clients always stay supplied.

Franchisors

Example: Starbucks uses restaurant business intelligence to maintain consistent quality across its thousands of locations. They track everything from the speed of service to customer feedback, using actionable insights to make immediate improvements.

F&B Manufacturers

Example: Imagine a condiment manufacturer like Heinz using business intelligence tools to assess which products are most commonly paired with theirs. If a particular sauce is often bought with a specific pasta brand, they can consider bundling offers or crafting a specialized sauce for that type of pasta.

Benefits of Using Business intelligence for the Restaurant industry

Here are a few benefits of business intelligence for the restaurant industry.

Boost Operational Efficiency

BI tools can help you figure out peak business hours, letting you allocate staff more effectively. If Friday nights are consistently busy, you’ll know to schedule extra waitstaff, helping you streamline business processes and avoid slow service and unhappy customers.

Improve Customer Experience

Data can reveal patterns in customer behavior. Maybe your BI dashboard shows that most one-star reviews occur on Wednesday nights—now you can investigate, find the root cause, and make strategic decisions. Is it a staff issue? A menu item that’s not up to snuff?

Optimize Your Menu

BI can help you understand which menu items are winners and which are not pulling their weight. If market research data for restaurant chains shows that vegetarian options are being ordered more frequently, it might be time to develop more plant-based dishes.

Enhance Inventory Management

For F&B distributors and manufacturers, real-time visibility of what restaurants need can be a game-changer. BI helps you anticipate demand so you never overstock or understock, reducing waste and costs.

Benchmark and Compete

Especially valuable for restaurant owners, BI allows you to benchmark performance across locations. If one franchise is outperforming others at weekends, you can dig deeper into the data to find out why and replicate that success.

Enhance Supplier Relationships

For F&B distributors and manufacturers, BI can help you tailor your offerings to restaurant needs. By understanding which products are in high demand, you can negotiate better terms with your suppliers, improving profit margins.

Reduce Costs

By tracking utility usage during different operational hours, BI can help you find ways to reduce energy and labor costs. For example, you might find that dimming the lights during certain hours does not impact customer experience but lowers your electricity bill.

Streamline Marketing Efforts

Leveraging food industry business intelligence can make your marketing campaigns more effective. Say you find that a certain age group predominantly orders a specific dish—you can target your social media ads accordingly, getting more bang for your marketing buck.

Conclusion

Sure, you might wonder, “Isn’t my instinct good enough?” The answer is yes; your instincts are valuable. But supplementing them with business intelligence? Now you’re cooking with gas!

At Brizo FoodMetrics, we turn raw data into valuable insights. We provide comprehensive, up-to-date market intelligence that’s designed to fit your specific needs.

So, we’re not here to replace your gut feeling; we’re here to amplify it. Make better business decisions with Brizo. Get started for free!