Corporate cafeterias go digital

Large corporate campuses face a considerable challenge during meal timings as the employees gather there for a much-needed break. However, this also creates a sudden rush resulting in long queues during peak timings when hundreds of employees crowd at the cafeteria.

In a bid to resolve this and introduce more employee-friendly options, corporate campuses have started bringing in digital methods to the traditional cafeteria with the help of startups like HungerBox and SmartQ. These startups are bringing technology to the office kitchen.

SmartQ offers an app for users, digital dashboards to view sales real-time, and a kitchen display system for chefs and vendors. It also has self-ordering kiosks for who do not wish to use the app. It reduces the time spent looking at how the cafeteria works, what dishes are offered and create a solution which involves digitising the menu and every other process involved. An order placed on the app or kiosk is passed on to the kitchen and the user is notified once the order is ready, thus reducing the waiting time.

HungerBox also offers similar services. The founders of both the startups got the idea through their personal experiences. Sandipan Mitra and Uttam Kumar, founders of HungerBox returned to the food tech space when they realized it was becoming overcrowded with Swiggy, Zomato, Ola, and Uber and more of an investor game than an entrepreneurial one. Krishna Waghe, founder of SmartQ observed that an express combo meal involved 45 minutes, far from ‘express’ in any way.

The voucher company Sodexo has also partnered with Zeta, a fintech startup to trace its digital journey which would include plastic cards and an app.