How Bayer Gastronomy realises significant resource savings thanks to AI
Meals saved
Less food waste
CO₂ savings
With Delicious Data, Bayer Gastronomie trusts the possibilities of digital tools. For the menu plans, the software's deep-learning algorithm calculates a reliable demand forecast at item level from historical inventory management data, the planned menu offering and external variables such as vacations, public holidays and the weather. This serves as the basis for procurement quantities. Even after a short time, procurement costs are falling thanks to AI-based data. The interaction between AI and the kitchen team results in a perfect combination for sustainable and efficient menu planning.
Delicious Data optimises the planning of the use of goods despite unclear and dynamic demand. In addition, the new digital standards promote efficiency in menu planning through quick and easy handling. Bayer Gastronomie emphasises the advantage that new staff can plan so precisely and at the same time costs and complexity are reduced.
In order to optimise food use through further measures, Delicious Data's Food Waste Monitoring focused on plate returns and food waste caused by overproduction. Simply weighing and recording the wet waste in the web app was enough to recognise over time that too much food still had to be disposed of.
The visualisation of this potential prompted the project team led by Heiko Leonards to take further measures: In order to reduce food waste, portion and container sizes were adjusted. In addition, they found a lever in the communication between the food counter and the production kitchen to implement the demand reports of the outputs to the production crew even more precisely. Through the interaction of digital and internal planning measures, Bayer Gastronomie managed to save 12,600 meals and reduce food waste by 34%. (The results refer to two sites in the period 01.01.2021-30.11.2021).
Learn from best practice examples how AI and digitalisation contribute to process optimisation, sustainability, food waste reduction and returns optimisation in the food sector.
Bayer Gastronomie is a wholly owned subsidiary of Bayer AG and supports the company as a catering and hospitality partner. The roots go back to the "works kitchen" built in Elberfeld in 1895. With around 500 skilled workers/apprentices and about 800 temporary workers, employees and public guests are catered for every day. The business area of community catering comprises a total of nine canteens, several shops and bistros as well as various food trucks. Sustainability and the responsible use of food are at the heart of everything they do. Especially through the use of digital tools, Bayer Gastronomie sets impulses and innovative standards for how company catering contributes to more sustainability.