[Aramark] Efficient Cafeteria Operation through Data-Driven Insights

Use Case of Kitchen Manager Solution

Is overproducing food better than underproducing?

Maintaining diner visits and the amount of food waste are interrelated, causing daily dilemmas that food service providers face.

Predicting the exact number of diners and the appropriate portion per person every day is challenging.

If less food is prepared and more diners show up than expected, some may not receive their full portion. On the other hand, if more food is prepared and fewer diners visit, it will result in tons of excess food being discarded.

Most group meal operators prepare sufficient quantities of food to ensure a positive customer experience, even if it means discarding food later.

This approach can lead to environmental and economic burdens beyond mere waste.

Accurately tracking the number of diners and their portion is essential for an environmentally sustainable and economically efficient cafeteria operation.

Currently, operation management captures data for ingredient orders and costs. Still, these are primarily numerical and do not offer insights like the correlation between the number of diners and the amount or cost of ingredients.

This can lead to information gaps in practical operations. Adding data on discarded food to the existing data can provide deeper insights for maximizing cafeteria efficiency.

Aramark, a global food service provider, sought to integrate fragmented cafeteria data for more efficient operations using Nuvilab’s solution.

Reconsidering Overproduction

Aramark currently manages over 300 institutional cafeterias in Korea.

One of these, a large domestic company located in Mapo-gu, Seoul, has adopted Nuvilab’s Kitchen Manager solution.

The cafeteria serves around 500 people daily, with breakfast and lunch across two food distributing stations.

After meal times, overproduced food, which is not served to diners, is discarded.

AI food scanner above the waste bin scans the amount, volume, and type of overproduced food in just a second, requiring no extra action other than disposing of food waste as usual.

Together in Data, Further in Knowledge

Scanned data on overproduction is integrated with the existing management system used by cafeteria operators, requiring no extra effort.

The Kitchen Manager solution shares data with the existing management system through an API, integrating the collected data. Operators can use insights from this integrated data for decision-making.

For example, if overproduction persists despite a near-accurate number of diners, it indicates that the portion sizes for those menu items might be excessive. Adjusting portion sizes can consistently reduce overproduction, decrease food waste, and increase operational efficiency.

Reducing overproduction also enhances the cost-efficiency of cafeteria operations. Cooking just the right amount of meals reduces unnecessary ingredient purchases and waste disposal costs.

After implementing the Kitchen Manager solution, one cafeteria saw a 6% reduction in per-diner ingredient costs and a 10.7% reduction in food waste per person compared to before the solution’s introduction.

Leaving Efficiency, Not Food Waste

In December 2023, the FDA, USDA, and EPA announced a national strategy to reduce food waste by 50% by 2030, highlighting the growing need to minimize food waste.

Following Nuvilab’s solution, Aramark was able to reduce food waste and experience significant operational efficiency improvements. These results encouraged Aramark to introduce the solution to more clients, and now, Nuvilab is on the verge of implementing our AI Food Scanner in 10 more of its dining operations.

Moreover, Aramark is actively discussing the use of Nuvilab’s solution in its other locations across 22 countries.

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