AI is undoubtedly going to be at the top of the list on everyone’s trend predictions and we can expect to see it driving some real industry innovation – across everything from automated dining experiences and hyper-personalised menus in food services, to smart services, energy optimisation and business-focused maintenance in facilities management.
There will no doubt be a great deal of test and learn, with only a handful of AI applications surviving the year and many more falling by the wayside.
As the focus on sustainability continues, and statutory environment and social requirements increase, I anticipate seeing businesses using advanced AI systems to ensure that resources are understood and utilised more efficiently particularly in the food services sector.
With consumer expectations and heightened awareness of progress on corporate net zero claims growing, delivering on meaningful commitments around areas such as cutting food waste, social accounting and carbon emissions in food services is going to be crucial, as will collaborative decarbonisation strategies with supply partners and clients.
That being said, sustainability practices in general are moving away from being a point of difference to being business as usual. The true differentiator will be how businesses integrate sustainable transformation into their organisations and meet the ever differing expectations of the more informed clients and consumers – for example, in food services, low-carbon meals need to be tasty, nutritious and comparable on cost.