Restaurant AI & Technology Report

“The big key point for operators… is focus on flavor, focus on that authentic experience, and people will want to eat your plant-based menu item because it’s delicious,” says Julie Altobello, Senior Marketing Manager of Health and Authenticity at Rich Products Corporation.

As Foodable Labs has identified in the past, there is a 78.4 percent increase in the past 18 months of consumer discussion around plant-based menus. In this episode of The Barron Report, host Paul Barron sits down with Julie Altobello to explore this topic further and discuss plant-based trends, sectors driving trend growth, and how the plant-based trend looks like across different age cohorts.

On this episode of the Barron Report, Paul asks Lexi your burning law questions around pay practices and sexual harassment. We start with the discussion of unpaid overtime.

Ethan Brown grew up on a farm. It was this childhood that led him to believe that there had to be a different way to create delicious meats. Using science (and a little time) Brown developed a plant protein burger that has been lauded for its incredible performance as an imitation beef burger. Reviews illustrate nothing less than pure disbelief in tasting the “bleeding” burger.

While the nutrition facts are not necessarily diet-friendly with “significantly more protein, sodium, calories, and fat compared to a normal burger," according to Tech Insider, Brown says the Beyond Burger hits on a few key factors which makes it a win: Human Health (in opposition to animal proteins), Climate Change, Natural Resources, and Animal Welfare.

On this episode of The Barron Report, Paul talks to Brown about the evolution of plant-based meats, how consumers have started demanding it, and Beyond Meat’s future plans for expansion and distribution. You won’t want to miss this one. Listen above and follow along with the show notes below.

On this episode of The Barron Report, brought to you by Off-Premise Insights, Paul talks to a different type of hospitality professional. Steve Nygren is the founder of Serenbe, a community that has been described as a “Utopian experiment.” Nygren comes from the restaurant and hospitality industry, boasting experience with Stouffers Hotels and later opening more than 30 restaurants under his own name.

The idea for Serenbe came after Nygren moved his family to a multi-acre farm. Fearing serious development by a neighbor, Nygren began buying up land around his plot to ensure his green space would remain. The idea evolved to create a development in which 70% of the space would be reserved for green space, rather than conforming to the current models of urban sprawl.

On this episode of The Barron Report recorded at Foodable.io, brought to you by Kabbage, we get to discuss how Generation Z, or Gen Z for short, is becoming the market that really matters as this segment of the population continues to grow.In this episode, Guest Host Rudy Miick leads the discussion about what is going to draw Gen Z as customers and as staff and team members for the restaurant industry.

On this special episode of The Barron Report recorded at Foodable.io, brought to you by Kabbage, we get to discuss how technology has become the core backbone of how we reach, interact, and exchange info with our customers. In this episode, Guest Host Donald Burns navigates us through this discussion of where technology could take the industry over the next decade. How will online, mobile, Social, AR and more affect the business of the future?

On this episode of The Barron Report, brought to you by Kabbage, we dive into Agricole Hospitality brands to see how they manage hiring and staff.

In 2011, Ryan Pera and Morgan Weber teamed up to open Revival Market, a butcher shop inspired by City Meat Market in Yoakum. It has since evolved to become a full-service breakfast/lunch restaurant and butcher shop. The success of Revival prompted the duo to open Italian restaurant Coltivare, where Morgan developed the cocktail menu, in 2014.

While building the spirits list and managing the bar program at Coltivare, Morgan's interest in bourbon continued to grow. Once he ran out of room for bourbon on the back bar at Coltivare, the idea for Eight Row Flint, aptly named after the variety of corn first used in American whiskey, was born. Eight Row Flint was named one of the best new bars in the country by Playboy in 2016.

Now with 7 different brands under the Agricole Hospitality umbrella, Weber and Pera are starting to get a knack for building top quality teams. From constantly interviewing to patiently grooming their team, this organization has unlocked some key attributes of a successful brand. Listen along with the show notes below to see how you can start attracting top-quality candidates, too!

On this episode of The Barron Report, brought to you by Kabbage, Paul Barron discusses coffee trends with Panther Coffee's co-founder Joel Pollock.

On this episode of The Barron Report, brought to you by Kabbage, the Tupelo Honey team joins Paul Barron in a discussion of what makes brands successful in today's market.

Tupelo Honey was founded in Asheville in 2001 as a revival of Southern food and traditions rooted in the Carolina Mountains. With 15 total locations in 7 states, Tupelo's Southern spirit is infused into every bite of their flavor driven dishes.

CEO Steve Frabitore bought the restaurant in 2008 and it's been growing ever since.

On this episode, VP of Operations and Beverage Director Tyler Alford; and VP of Culinary and Corporate Executive Chef Eric Gabrynowicz take us through the nitty gritty of what has made Tupelo one of Foodable's Top Emerging Brands.

Tupelo takes great pride in their sourcing. They believe that as a small conglomerate of restaurants, their ability to affect change is far greater than that of smaller, independents. Switching to an organic, locally-grown chicken in their restaurants accounts not for hundreds of dollars in change but hundreds of thousands of dollars.

And their commitment to top quality culinary doesn't stop there. The beverage program at Tupelo Honey also speaks to the brand's commitment to improving the quality of casual dining chains. With kitchens that cook almost entirely from scratch, Chef Gabrynowics says transforming the beverage program to be more culinary-driven was not a far stretch to make.

Facebook has been dominating news headlines this week and for good reason. CEO Mark Zuckerberg has been testifying to Congress on the topics of data security and how the social media giant has been trying to improve.

There’s a lot to consider here: How did this impact the election? Is my data safe? Is it finally time to get off the grid?

But before we take drastic measures, take a minute to join Paul Barron for a thought-provoking discussion about what happened and how this scandal may be affecting your restaurant. Didn’t think about that? No worries, we’ll cover everything from how users are engaging with your FB content to how this data debacle is impacting your restaurant sales.

Cambridge Analytica
This is where our story begins. Cambridge Analytica hired a professor to create a Facebook app that collected user data. You’ve seen those fun but useless personality quiz apps on Facebook, right? Right. Users who authorized this app gave the app access to their data like their "Likes". But not just their own data, the data of their entire friend network. This feature was removed in 2014 but the damage was already done.

The important thing to note here is that, up to this point, Cambridge Analytica hadn’t done anything wrong. This was completely legal and in line with Facebook's guidelines in 2014. But when the professor sold the data to Cambridge Analytica, that’s when they violated the Facebook user agreement, which prohibited the sale of Facebook data to third party companies. Facebook removed the professor’s app and demanded that he and all third parties immediately destroy the data but up until now it is believed that Cambridge Analytica still has some or all of the data.

The Impact on Restaurants
Now people across the globe are understandably upset. There are a number of arguments to be made. But what does all this commotion mean for the restaurant industry? Well, as Paul explains, Facebook engagement is down meaning you’ll be having a harder time connecting with your audience using the platform. Social Restaurant Visits through FB are also down.

So, is it time to jump off the Facebook bandwagon? Listen in and find out!

And after you listen to this podcast, join us on Foodable Plus for 10 Tips to Prepare You for the Mass Exodus of Facebook.