ONLINE

The Restaurant
Of The Future

Online program from Silicon Valley for hospitality and restaurant executives

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What Is An Online Immersion Program?

Billions of dollars of venture capital have flown into the restaurant tech sector in recent years, a phenomenon that speaks to the potential of technology to radically transform the experience of eating out. In fact, a great number of innovations have already taken place, across diverse areas such as mobile payments, customer relationship management, smart kitchens, reservation and review platforms and many others. In response to this intense period of innovation activity, we’ve seen the creation of a new ecosystem comprised of food tech accelerators and venture capitalists, digitally-savvy restaurants, and legacy players seeking to adapt.

Our immersion program will educate you in all of these trends, connect you with the companies pioneering groundbreaking solutions and inspire you to turn your own company into a leading innovator capable of long-term growth.

Restaurant Tech startup innovation map

What Will I Learn?

Our immersion program is made up of sessions with leading companies operating at the forefront of major trends in the restaurant tech space such as:

E-commerce

E-commerce for dining is a big industry in itself and a major site of innovation. Startups in this space include ChefMealKits, where users can buy meal kits from their favorite restaurants or chefs, and Eat Club, which is aimed at companies, allowing them to have food delivered from local restaurants through a web or mobile device. White-label platforms for restaurants to create and manage their own online ordering and delivery systems are also seeing significant growth. Examples include ChowNow, an online ordering platform that provides restaurants with a way to offer online ordering to customers via either Facebook pages, branded mobile apps or existing websites.

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Program Agenda

Get the direct access to the most transformative technologies that will help you lead your organization through turbulent time:

Theme 1

RESTAURANT AND HOSPITALITY: MAJOR TRENDS

Session 1: The Platformification of Dining and Hospitality

Platformification is sweeping across all industries, restaurants and food service included. This means diners can now go online to connect to a huge array of eateries to book tables, deliveries and much more. Other options in the sector include platforms to connect with locals who host you in their homes for authentic home-cooked meals. Software companies have made these experiences possible through the power of platforms. To find out how this trend will grow in the future and what it’s impact will be on restaurants and hospitality, this session connects participants to a leading platform innovator.

Session 2: Food Delivery Transformed

Today, diners who do not want to go out to eat can order in from virtually anywhere, even from restaurants that do not deliver. That innovation comes courtesy of tech companies leveraging web and mobile apps to fill the gap. Stay-at-home diners now have the option to order a pizza from a robotics company that operates no restaurants. Instead, the company runs trucks that both bake the pizza in a smart oven, and deliver it. This is just the beginning of the technological disruption of food delivery. Find out what will come next in this session as you meet a company leading the change sweeping the sector.

Session 3: Robots and the 21st Century Kitchen

The robots are not coming, they are already here. At least, when it comes to eating. Today smart machines can make us burgers, coffee and pizza. For now, they are confined to a small number of eateries in the San Francisco Bay Area, but is a future where robots are in every kitchen, domestic and commercial, far away? Find out in this session as you meet one of the world’s most innovative companies in food and beverage robotics.

Session 4: Building Omnichannel Customer Experiences

For a majority of customers engagement with restaurants today comes first via an online channel such as a social media post, a web page or a mobile app. This move to digital platforms has catalysed the industry to rethink the customer experience. They are being aided in this by a new wave of technology companies that are expert in providing seamless, omnichannel experiences. In this session participants will meet one of the innovators moving the food service industry toward an ever-more individualized model of commerce. They will learn what the impact of hyper-personalized customer experiences will be on the future of hospitality.

Sessions led by:

Theme 2

FOOD SERVICE LOGISTICS

Session 1: The Fresh Food Supply Chain

The growing demand for fresh produce, regardless of the season, has pushed entrepreneurs to come up with novel solutions to the problem of transporting perishable food without waste. Many have risen to the challenge, with businesses using new approaches to both hardware and software to ensure produce reaches its destination in optimal condition. How will this impact the food service industry? This session will answer that question as participants learn about the disruptive aspirations of the companies working to change the fresh food supply chain through meeting one of the sector’s leading innovators.

Session 2: Food Traceability and Transparency

In the restaurant and hospitality business, food safety is a fundamental aim. It is now possible to achieve that goal with the help of emerging technologies, as innovative companies deploy AI, blockchain and big data to build new tools for compliance and traceability.These platforms enhance visibility and provide predictive insights across supply chains. To gain insight into how this digital disruption will impact the food service sector, this session connects participants to a leading innovator in the space.

Session 3: Digital Supply Chain Management

It was not so long ago that moving raw materials and finished goods between suppliers, manufacturers and retailers was a task characterized by labour-intensive, manual processes. Since those early days supply chain and logistics have undergone numerous transformations. In our current era Silicon Valley companies are deploying AI, blockchain and other disruptive technologies to recreate the supply chain anew. In this session participants will meet a leading supply chain innovator in order to see what this digital transformation means for the future of the food service industry.

Session 4: Self-Driving Vehicles and Logistics Disruption

The art and science of moving produce “from farm to fork” along the food supply chain is on the verge of a major disruption. As Silicon Valley companies vie to become the first to build self-driving trucks, the restaurant and hospitality sector is preparing for this coming world of autonomous mobility. In this session participants will learn what this future of logistics looks like when autonomous trucking becomes commonplace; participants will meet a company undertaking disruptive work in the market for self-driving.

Sessions led by:

Theme 3

THE ON-PREMISE EXPERIENCE

Session 1: Transforming the Restaurant Space

The rise of online ordering, delivery services and mobile apps does not mean eating out is dead. Far from it, in fact, with patronizing restaurants among the top sectors for consumer disposable income.That’s why amid digital disruption tech companies are still concentrating on optimizing the dining experience through AI, automation and advanced analytics. In this session participants will meet a company reimagining the physical restaurant in order to gain insight into what the future of eating out will look like.

Session 2: Applying Location-Based Services to Dining

Now that we live in an era of mobile information, more and more companies are building location-based services into their smartphone apps and online experiences. Technology companies are driving this trend as they help hospitality providers enhance location-based mobile engagement and create new paths to purchase. The future of location-based services is set to be dominated by their application in indoor environments and by fusions with other emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence. To learn about this future, this session will connect participants to a leading location-based services innovator.

Session 3: Digital Tools for Frontline Staff

Communications and scheduling applications are appearing at a high rate in the tech ecosystem, as more and more companies reap the benefits of ensuring staff are well-informed, motivated and equipped with all the information they need to perform. Many of the enterprises operating in this space design their products specifically for the millions of non-desk workers who do not have ready access to effective communication technology on the job, food service staff prominent among them. In this session attendees will meet an innovator in scheduling and collaboration tools to gain insight into where the future of the sector is heading and how it can transform the hospitality industry.

Session 4: The Continuing Evolution of the Payments Ecosystem

Change in the payments space has proceeded at a rapid pace, bringing us up to the present moment where mobile payments via NFC and facial recognition are commonplace. What’s next in this evolution of payments? In this session participants will meet a company building the future of payments to learn the answer to that question and how it will impact the food service and hospitality sectors.

Sessions led by:

Theme 4

NEW WAYS TO EAT AND DRINK

Session 1: The Rise of Plant-Based Meat and Diary

Alternatives to traditional meat and dairy products are flooding the market. This comes as entrepreneurs respond to the momentum of recent years in consumer trends such as ethical buying and environmental sustainability. The businesses in this new wave of vegan eating produce plant-based meat and fish alternatives made from seaweed and algae. In this session participants will learn what the future holds for plant-based meat and dairy alternatives and find out what the implications are for food service. Participants will meet a leading innovator in the space.

Session 2: Wellness In Focus

A catch-all term encompassing a wide range of industries from beauty to weight loss, wellness is a trend that is on the rise. Its growing popularity has been put down to a turn by consumers toward products and experiences that promote both mental and physical well-being. Entrepreneurs and established companies alike are responding to this demand, bringing to market innovative products and services that include everything from wearable health monitors to meal replacement drinks and alternative foods. This session will take participants on a deep dive into wellness, connecting them with an innovator in the space to hear what this trend means for the future of dining.

Session 3: Meal Kit Delivery: Threat or Opportunity?

The food service and hospitality sector is facing a new form of competition in meal kits. The companies behind these services deliver ingredients and even still-hot-from-the-oven meals to users homes. Will this cut into restaurant revenues or is it a disruption that can be turned into a spur to innovate? Participants will hear the answer to that question in this session as they meet a leader from the meal kit delivery service niche.

Session 4: Innovation in Beverages

Cannabis-infused drinks, direct-to-consumer online wine emporiums, subscription service coffee and non-dairy milk: these are all growing trends in a beverage space rich with innovation. In this session participants will meet a company leading the sector with new and novel solutions in order to learn how disruption in beverages will impact the future of food service and hospitality.

Sessions led by:

Theme 5

ADJACENT INNOVATION

Session 1: New Solutions to Energy Efficiency

Calls for greater energy efficiency can be dated back to the 1970s. Today those calls continue, arguably with greater volume and urgency than ever before. Recognizing that demand, Silicon Valley technology companies are among those proposing radical solutions in areas such as computing, construction and residential and commercial property. To learn about those solutions and find out how the drive for energy efficiency will impact the future of dining and hospitality, this session will connect participants to a disruptor in the energy efficiency sector.

Session 2: Disrupting Insurance with Insurtechs

The process of insuring against risk is changing rapidly thanks to insurtechs. These innovative companies are leveraging emerging technologies such as AI and ML to offer a data-driven approach that promises to make insurance a predictive, proactive service. The restaurant and hospitality sector, no less than any other, will be impacted by this in a big way. In this session attendees will take a deep dive into the future of insurance as they meet one of the companies disrupting the sector.

Session 3: The Digital Transformation Property Rental

A fresh batch of digital-first companies is doing away with the paper forms, phone calls and bureaucratic processes that once characterized the rental sector. These businesses are on a mission to bring simplicity, transparency and convenience to the process. They use seamless mobile and desktop experiences, artificial intelligence and new business models to offer tenants and landlords a streamlined digital alternative to traditional ways of renting property, both residential and commercial. In this session participants will learn about this revolution in rental property as they meet a company leading the disruption of the industry.

Session 4: The Digital Transformation of Farming

In agriculture, spreadsheets are out and mobile, data-driven management applications are in. A range of digital platforms are now seeking to help farmers easily manage all their field information, make strategic decisions and practice precision agriculture. What does this mean for the food service industry not only today but five, or ten years down the line? In this session participants will hear the answers to those questions. They will learn how digital technologies are transforming primary-stage food production as they meet a company leading innovation in the sector.

Sessions led by:

Interested In Online Custom Programs?

For groups of 20+ participants, we can work with you to develop a custom online program around your interests and strategic goals

Personalized and Interactive

Direct Contact with Experts

Access more than 15 hours of live presentation plus additional materials and recordings on your schedule. Drill down with your mentors on things that matter most to you.

Dedicated SVIC Assistant

Silicon Valley Innovation Center provides a personal assistant to participants for the duration of all programs, ensuring a real white-glove experience.

World-Wide
Community

Program participants will uncover new connections and business development opportunities, both within Silicon Valley and globally with fellow course participants.