Your menu is eating up the forests – Get a Digital Menu

There are many causes of deforestation but one of the main ones is paper production.

A simple way to help the environment and reduce paper production is the use of digital menus in restaurants. Not only is it reducing deforestation but also helping with automating many manual tasks.

Part of transitioning to a digital world comes with us no longer needing to stick to traditional ways of handling certain aspects of life.

One of those areas comes in the form of paper restaurant menus.

They’re a thing of the past and can be one of the first options a restaurant can replace with a better option like digital menus.

QR Code Menus help reduce environmental impacts, improve operational efficiency and save money.

Read more: 3 Ways a digital menu increases sales

Paper Menus are one of the causes of Deforestation

Paper is the primary component of a menu. The global consumption of paper is predicted to increase through 2030. Even with us transitioning so many of our paper-related activities, it still seems to be on the rise.

America itself has taken the lead with 30% of the global consumption of paper with only 5% of the population. But, again, a big portion goes to the restaurant business and those that still use paper menus.

Our beloved trees which are natural barriers to dangerous elements against our ecosystem and our main source of fresh air are being diminished at a fast rate. Around 33%-40% of all industrial wood is used for paper-based products.

This can range from office paper to toilet paper but also includes commercialized paper such as restaurant menus.

It’s not just the paper itself but also the ink that’s used to present those menu items. Ink cartridges themselves may not directly be affecting deforestation efforts, but are adding to the piled waste. They can take several hundreds of years to decompose as they’re primarily made of plastic.

They also seep volatile organic compounds that can erode into the soil and destroy vegetation and wildlife. To make matters worse, printer cartridges themselves are mostly recyclable as long as an attempt is made.

It is difficult to update menus weekly and seasonally.

The costs of maintaining a paper menu are high

Sure, you can place a sticker on some price changes, but that makes the menu look cheap and lowers the restaurant experience. Additionally, it is extremely unhygienic which more people are aware of, especially after the pandemic.

It can actually cost thousands of dollars to maintain paper menus. Not just for the initial designs but also when it comes to making changes and reprinting. Simply making an annual inflationary adjustment requires you to have to reprint as prices increase.

It is incredibly important to shift towards an online platform mentality.

Not only should you be looking to shift your operations digitally, but you probably have seen a huge rise in the online delivery business. In the US alone, the food delivery market was at $23.4 billion by the end of 2021, with expected market size of $42.6 billion by 2027.

That means however you run your restaurant; you’ll still need that online presence. These delivery platforms are a good model and template to build out your own digital menu.

Your staff will thank you for the digital assistance

Restaurants with digital menus reduce manual tasks that are easily automated. That way the staff can focus on more important tasks like customer experience.

Your customers can scan a QR code at the table or at the entrance and browse through the user-friendly menu. They can order whenever they are ready and pay with many payment options available.

Read more: Why every restaurant needs QR digital menu

This way, your wait staff can become more efficient without having to walk back and forth while they place and pick up menus.

You can improve your digital menu by implementing upselling features. Showing clear pricing and combinations right in front of people; they’re more prone to make their ticket size larger.

Another thing a paper menu lacks is the power to close out the transaction completely. Yes, you’re able to make a digital menu so advanced that people can directly order from the menu itself and have the staff bring it out as soon as it’s ready.

This method also helps to improve upsells as it gives the consumer the power to order as often as they want regardless of the available wait staff.

With Digital menus you’ll be able to grow faster

With happy customers and with more control over your restaurant experience. You’ll be able to have a more synchronized system between restaurant-based orders and online orders.

This will help provide you with the necessary data points to make informed decisions. That means fewer incorrect orders and larger orders processed faster.

Where can I get a digital menu for restaurants?

Digital Menus-QR provides digital menus for restaurants. With features such as self-order and payment, digital marketing tools, delivery and pickup options, and a wide range of customization for your restaurant.

Whether you are a small or medium restaurant, hotel, or café, Digital Menus-QR is built for all Food business types and is tailored to your needs.

CLICK HERE to get a Digital Menu with order and pay options. You can try it and see how easily you can run your restaurant with automation.