If you build it will they come?

Nation's Restaurant News, Feb 9, 1998 by Rob Grimes

Online book merchant Amazon.com is proof an Internet store can be successful. It was built, and the public came. But can "virtual foodservice" be achieved?

In some ways the answer could be simple. Some foodservice operators already exist on the Internet. Delivery, for example, can be had by contracting one of the sites that specialize in the service and have contracts with local foodservice establishments to deliver their products directly to your door. The process is now prevalent in the pizza segment.

At some point you may be able to fire up your Web browser, order from your favorite restaurant and have "flash-frozen" meals sent to your home. The technology, which has its roots in irradiation, already exists but is used primarily in the on-site foodservice sector. But what about the true virtual restaurant?

By virtue of the title, the virtual restaurant would be without boundaries and serve food without the constraints of a physical building. The customers would come and be served simulated food in this virtual environment.

Think about the hype that simulation and artificial intelligence programs received several years ago. Using Al, various statistics of an operation are fed into a computer, which then looks at every dimension and spots trends that, when pointed out to the operator, will help him to make better business decisions.

What about the traditional approach of a "taste panel" for which potential patrons are brought into a test kitchen and are asked to sample dishes? Their analysis would include product taste, presentation and portion size. It also can apply to the building of a new prototype where test groups are asked to comment on concept decor and design elements.

By taking those concepts and building them into our virtual operation, we can simulate menu and recipes, customer service and other aspects of a foodservice operation. We could utilize the operation for a number of purposes, such as concept testing and as a virtual retail operation a la Amazon.com.

The testing of concepts is fairly straightforward, because the pieces to accomplish it already exist. A virtual concept test might only involve focusing on the physical aspects of a site.

Menu flow also can be analyzed in order to predict the popularity of proposed menu items. If different menu items reside on different screens, the virtual operator can, for example, instantly gauge how many times the customer visits a particular item. The data can be fed into an intelligence engine to glean detailed information and projections based upon the raw information gathered on the site.

But in order for a totally virtual foodservice operation to work, some major changes will be needed. Using an internet site for taking delivery orders is not much different from using a facsimile. But the delivery of full meals from concepts other than quick-service establishments is more of a challenge.

In order to make that option a viable one, customers need to be assured that the quality of the food they will receive is the same as what they would get if they went to the operation itself. The other side of the equation is the technologies behind this type of cooking. While the flash-freezing technology exists in the United States, it is not widely used in foodservice.

If we can master that technology and overcome consumer skepticism with regard to product quality, the days of "Restaurant.com" are near.

But like all things on the World Wide Web, the biggest challenges are getting customers to visit your site, keeping them there and getting them to come back. With a complete virtual operation, that objective is easier to obtain since the end result is the purchase of a real food item to be delivered directly to the customer. But with the concept operation, the task is harder.

Of course, the true test of the virtual foodservice operation, whether operating as a concept testing method or as a complete operation, does not come until one is actually built. Then you can see if customers come.