The food industry is no stranger to innovation, and AR, aka Augmented Reality, might be the next breakthrough to attract customers. You could describe Augmented Reality as a new way to read menus and have a better understanding of the food you’re going to eat. Many restaurants are trying this option, but will it stand the test of time?
What Is Augmented Reality?
First, it would be necessary to define augmented reality, as opposed to virtual reality. Augmented reality consists in adding a digital element in a real environment, and virtual reality is the addition of physical content to a virtual setting.
The best example we can find to describe augmented reality is the massively popular game Pokemon Go, which allows you to chase Pokemon in real life because they appear on your phone in camera mode. Think about apps like Snapchat where filters are widely used. When you see a face filter with some horns on your forehead, for example, it is an example of augmented reality.
In many industries, they’ve already pre-empted the development and deployment of AR tech. For instance, the online casino industry while noted for 32Red online fruit machine games, live casino games have been an increasingly common sight. The interaction with live dealers from remote settings enables gamers to feel as if they’re in a brick-and-mortar casino while playing at a speed closer to the online realm they’re familiar with. AR becomes an extension of this live-streamed, immerse content.
Another Way Of Reading Your Menu
Many restaurants are already doing it. You can sit at the table, scan a QR code and have an opportunity to watch the menu through your phone. With the improvement of augmented reality technology, the dishes look real, and they are an effective representation of what you will have on your plate.
For the customer, it is a very nice way to wait and salivate on your next dish. Considering that a whopping 80% of the Gen-Z demographic enjoys taking pictures of their food, augmented reality doesn’t seem like a stupid idea after all. It also can have a great impact on how the customer views their food.
Le Petit Chef, A Unique Culinary Experience
Augmented reality isn’t only a trick to read your menu in an interactive way, but it can also be an experience that you won’t forget. Le Petit Chef is an AR project at the crossroad of fine gastronomy and technical advancement. You are basically dining on a 3D table where a small character called Marco Polo leads you on a journey with your food. The food presented is real and cooked by master chefs.
The concept has been in place for some years now, and people that tried it were amazed by the combination of food and the interaction they had with a small 3D character that actually looked real. However, experiencing Le Petit Chef dining comes at a cost, because even a Kid’s menu will go well over 50£. It is the price to pay for innovation.
Is AR Going To Last In The Food Industry?
And if some of you think that looking at a 3D plate isn’t particularly necessary to a dining experience, think about the waiters that have to describe every meal to their clientele. With the scarcity of employment in the food industry, augmented reality could be an actual help for overburdened staff. Offering augmented reality to customers is also a way to put your restaurant on the map and show that your brand can be innovative and embrace technology.
In a general way, it seems that restaurants are embracing a fair amount of technological shifts such as the web3, tokens and augmented reality. The industry has encountered tremendous difficulties during the year 2020 and it is still in dire need of reinventing itself.
What they seem to propose isn’t a change in the food itself, but they tend to put the customer at the center of the experience. With tools like web3 of augmented reality, the clientele can trace their food and get access to rewards and membership cards.
