Better prepared

The pandemic will have a lasting digital legacy on the food and beverage sector. By Heiner von Brachel

10 www.foodchainmagazine.com

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ockdown life has inspired a seismic shift within the food and beverage sector, with more consumers than ever shopping online as they favor deliveries over the grocery store; takeaways instead of restaurants. But one need only read reports of the ‘celebratory’ atmosphere that hung in the air as consumers dined alfresco on the cold evening lockdown restrictions lifted to know that this past year will not be the death knell for ‘the physical’ experience. Large swathes of society have been hit hard this past year and any optimistic note must be tempered by this sobering reminder. However, as with any period of rapid change, there is opportunity amidst the uncertainty.

Pre-Covid we were already talking about ‘the fourth industrial revolution’ (the ongoing automation of traditional manufacturing and industrial practices, using modern smart technology) and a period of rapid change akin to industrialization. Well, Covid-19 has only accelerated our hurtling towards this brave new dawn. The future (and increasingly the present) is digital, and for those able to embrace that fact, opportunity abounds. The road to recovery and progress starts here…

Restaurants using technology to make dining more personal Despite that for much of the last year, the UK has been in lockdown