The greatest tech innovations of today mold the restaurants of tomorrow – which is why the Sparkfly team was so excited to head to Grapevine, Texas, for FSTEC 2022. This premier food-tech event focused on how technology and restaurants connect, and it certainly lived up to its billing.
The event was jam packed, with 1,000 attendees coming together to build the future of the foodservices industry. It was exciting to spend so much time talking about technology’s transformative role in propelling restaurants forward into a fruitful future.
Still energized from the event, here are our three biggest takeaways:
#1 Innovation illuminates the path forward
From the booming global mobile payment market to restaurant automation, the Innovation Forums were full of future-forward discussions about building stronger customer experiences and maximizing budgets. One idea rang true throughout — our industry must continue innovating and building tools, like customized restaurant apps and sophisticated digital ordering capabilities, to uplevel how we serve our customers.
#2 The best ideas never sit in a silo
FSTEC 2022 was chock full of networking events where we caught up with old friends and sparked connections with new ones. Each networking event was a chance to talk more casually about the flurry of innovations taking our industry by storm and ideate with fellow leaders on technology’s role in building a stronger industry that puts the customer at its center.
#3 Customer behavior is (still) changing
Speaking of customers, much of the conversation at FSTEC 2022 centered around how their behavior continues to evolve. What seemed like sky-high expectations a few months ago are now even higher. They want even more convenience and even faster service. They also crave highly-personalized experiences catered to their needs. Restaurants must adapt whether that’s through intuitive digital ordering experiences or loyalty reward programs. The right technology can uplevel your customer experiences so you’re positioned for sustainable success today, tomorrow, and beyond.
FSTEC 2022 was a great celebration of what our industry has accomplished and our bold future full of transformative innovation and unshakeable customer loyalty.