If you still believe AI is “the future,” you’re already behind – but there’s still time to catch up.
In a survey by Fortune and Deloitte, nearly two-thirds of CEOs reported that generative AI usage had already delivered value to their organizations, while nine out of ten CEOs said their organizations were either considering or already implementing agentic AI this year. Meanwhile, 71% of the respondents said they plan to evolve their supply chain approaches to mitigate risks.
Foodservice brands ranging from McDonald’s to Wendy’s have been leveraging these tools in innovative ways, but AI isn’t only reserved for the QSR giants. Smaller and mid-sized restaurants can also leverage it to fuel innovation and efficiency.
Recently, FI hosted a webinar featuring AI/tech experts, who offered the following advice.
Q: With so many data streams at our fingertips, option paralysis can be an issue. What’s one solution you’d recommend to companies looking to leverage AI?
Rizwan Butt, iTradeNetwork: Anything we’re trying to do to realize value always goes back to that common denominator of data.
- Where are we getting it from?
- How are we getting it?
- What are we doing with it?
- Where is it going to go?
- Then, how do we take action with that data?
Everything we do is predicated on the data that flows through our systems, or the actions we take on a daily basis. Once we come to that realization, we can then understand that the tools that we have at our disposal, whether it’s traditional software or AI systems, are just the means of leveraging that data in different forms.
We have to think about the overall problem(s) we’re trying to solve and the objectives we’re trying to achieve. If we identify the right problems, we can then create the systems that leverage the data to find relevant solutions.
Q: How has AI impacted the transportation of food products along the supply chain?
Stephanie Ngo, Frosty Acres Brands: AI is sitting on top of a lot of different systems. Think about route optimization, for instance, and being able to get real-time data on what’s going on with traffic and the weather.
What I see with our independent [restaurants] is that they’re able to better optimize their fleets. Anyone who’s been in this industry a couple of years knows there’s a driver shortage, and AI has had a huge impact on the transportation side of warehouse or foodservice distribution.
Deloitte’s smart warehouse is the epitome of advanced warehouse technology, but for the vast majority of distributors, that’s cost-prohibitive. So, what I see is something as simple as AI being implemented to get an email about an order change or something that needs to be done quickly to the right person to make those changes.
Q: What advice would you give a company looking to jumpstart their AI usage?
Melissa Lee, consultant: Based upon my experiences, training, and discussions, there are three factors to get started.
- Identify the organizational model: We used a hub-and-spoke model in close partnership with cross functional representation from technology functions such as supply chain, R&D, finance and legal, and our commercial and marketing business segments, and we formed a small leadership cohort we identified as AI champions. While some organizations may choose a fully decentralized model, the key is to identify the stakeholders that will develop, champion and support your AI strategy.
- Establish the AI strategy framework and governance structure: This executive cohort was responsible for developing and sharing the AI strategy framework, governance, and policies with their teams. We use the structure to make decisions, discuss the enterprise roadmap, and share learnings and feedback.
- Educate and train on AI: We used a combination of external and internal AI training to upskill our leaders and educate our teams, including fundamentals, prompting, and governance policies. Because of the pace of AI, I’d also encourage everyone to seek out additional learning through local and national webinars, conferences, and AI-focused peer groups.
Q: How is AI impacting menu development?
Sunny Khamkar, MenuData: Pre-AI, trend-tracking was very slow and narrow. Decisions were based on lagging data, or a partial analysis of what was actually happening. Now, AI enables us to not only extract but normalize millions of menu items and different data points across potentially hundreds of thousands of restaurants in real time – an unprecedented scale when compared to the original approach.
This provides not only that real-time piece, but also more innovation opportunities because we’re able to see trends as they’re beginning on that trend adoption curve, allowing manufacturers and operators to capitalize on trends earlier and faster, which we believe is going to shorten that innovation cycle.
The Food Institute Podcast
How can a food industry trade show spark global culinary creativity? Anuga’s JP Hartmann, U.S. Consul General Preeti Shah, and World Food Championships’ Nikki Jackson share their perspectives on how the U.S. presence at Anuga 2025 is helping to bridge culinary experiences together.