Learn about trending food business and restaurant mobile app ideas that are sure to inspire.
The globally rampant COVID-19 pandemic has caused several market behavior changes for customers and businesses. The former seeks better value; the latter wants to create more meaningful and profitable customer engagement avenues.
A single, central way to do so is via a robust, targeted mobile application.
Explore these trending food business and restaurant mobile app ideas and give your business the push it needs towards profitable, potential growth.
12 Top Food Businesses and Restaurant Mobile App Ideas
Fighting for a share in the billion-dollar food app industry is no child’s play. It takes potential, precision, and timing. But, above all else, it requires an idea.
Here’s a list of our top picks for mobile app ideas for restaurants.
1. Food Delivery App
This is a mobile app that lets your customers order food from your restaurant, choose from the entire menu, pay online, track the delivery, and review your order.
As far as food startup ideas go, this is the most basic, most cliched one.
And yet, the revenue from food delivery keeps rising year on year. Powered by enhanced features, UI/UX, and interaction-fueled platform-to-customer services, the market revenue for food delivery has increased by 204% between 2015 and 2020.
The lesson- food delivery app ideas may be overused, but the market has many ROI opportunities.
2. Coupons & Discount App
The appeal of door-delivery of food at lower prices is not likely to die down anytime soon. And, there are so many ways to interpret and exploit this mobile app idea for restaurants as well as non-food-related businesses.
You can keep track of deals running in the top food ordering shops, brands, and services, for starters. Consolidate those deals by day or hour and present them to your users with well-tied alerts. Spruce up your offerings (and revenue) by establishing tie-ins with restaurants and giving exclusive offers on your application.
3. Recipe Creator App
There are several ways to spin this food app idea in 2021.
The extended COVID-induced national lockdowns and subsequent social distancing have pushed people to experiment and innovate with their food. Amidst an audience of that sort, an app for suggesting recipes is likely to work well. You can customize it by-
- user-provided ingredients
- age-appropriate/health-appropriate constraints
- Cuisine or region
- breakfast/dinner/snacks
- Time to cook or prepare the item
- Taste preferences (spicy, sweet, sour)
4. Table Reservation App
This is easily one of the best mobile app ideas for restaurants.
A mobile application that allows people to reserve tables in advance or while in the restaurant queue will save time and simplify booking management for the administration. Plus, if you add a menu in the application, customers can order their food on the way or while waiting for the table, saving additional time and minimizing hassle.
5. Food Donation App
This mobile app idea can work in two ways.
Restaurants regularly deal with leftover food that’s disposed of eventually because of the lack of storage facilities and utilization opportunities. Eateries can publicize their inventory of leftovers every day with a food donation app and invite NGOs and similar organizations to claim the food for the needy.
That’s one way to create a food donation app. The other is to create an app that helps people book or buy food for others and encourages them to pay it forward.
For example, anyone can buy a coffee from your app and buy another with the instruction for it to be given to a homeless person. This is an ethical way to help less fortunate people while serving customers.
6. Calorie Tracking App
A calorie tracking app can be designed for various functions. For example, they can be created to monitor chronic health conditions, dietary behavior, fitness status, calorie intake, etc. Or, they can be used to gather ideas about meals, diets, or workouts based on calorie intake constraints.
As for the economic feasibility of the idea, the global fitness app market with its raging numbers presents a wonderful opportunity for restaurants. To satisfy the customers in your restaurant better calorie tracking app can increase engagement with customers, promote other services (like meal plans), and provide more overall value to diners.
7. Guest Engagement App
In a compromise between fluctuating COVID outbreak and business performances, eating out has become a more careful activity at present. People prefer eateries with enough space to accommodate distancing. They want an experience with their meal while needing it to be as protected from contamination as possible.
At such a time, guest engagement has emerged as one of the top mobile app ideas for restaurant and food businesses.
You can use such an application to entertain your customers without imposing on their space. You can give them options for streaming and show exclusive content. It will keep your guests busy while they wait for their food. Include online payment options, create app-based loyalty programs, or ask for particular ingredient requests, etc.
You can utilize this application idea in many ways to better satisfy the customers in your restaurant.
8. AR/VR Menu App
An augmented/virtually equipped menu mobile application will help customers better visualize dishes and aid their ordering process. You can enhance the mobile menu app with features like-
- A quick-to-access menu list
- Virtual food staging
- Social sharing options
- Calorie and nutrition info
- 360-degree photos
- Ingredient info and visualizations
AR/VR menu applications are a decent food app idea since they create a pre-dining experience. They can also help upsell, directly market promotions, display a wide range of on-demand content, and collect data via surveys.
9. ‘What’s in Your Fridge’ App
As the name suggests, this on-demand app development solution helps users find recipes for the ingredients they already have.
The user can select ingredients from an expansive list. The app will show recipes based on the selections, and users can narrow it down to their liking. Plus, you can add many customizations to the app to make it more appealing. For example,
- Item omission and replacement from recipes
- Sort recipes by dish types
- Sort recipes by ingredients
- Modify results by dietary restrictions
- Choose by cooking techniques
10. Experimental Cooking App
Many patrons order the chef’s special or come with an order that’s a unique spin on their favorite food. You can avoid disappointing such diners while giving yourself enough time to prepare what they need with an experimental cooking application.
This mobile app idea for restaurants can do wonders.
Let them choose their preferred cuisines, preferred ingredients, and cooking styles in advance via the app. You can also create a delivery service for such items.
11. Catering Service App
If your restaurant offers catering to customers, you will benefit from an app to accept and manage bookings. Include features like push notifications, account creation, in-app catalog, mobile payments, location-based highlights, loyalty programs, and social media integration to simplify user usage.
This is a great food app idea in 2021 because it gives your customers all the information and services they need in one place.
12. Kitchen Management App
This much-needed affordable mobile app development solution for restaurants simplifies the back-stage monitoring significantly. You can easily track tables, waiter assignments, orders, customizations, patron visit duration, bills, tips, and special requests without bothering the customer or risking their dining experience.
In addition to efficiency, the right kitchen management app can provide several benefits, including-
- Reduction of costly errors
- Enhanced customer satisfaction
- Quick feedback from customers
- Time savings
- Better order analysis
Move Towards Successful Growth with the Right Mobile App Development Solutions
Before implementing any of these industry-proven restaurant mobile app ideas for the F&B industry, take a moment.
The journey from concept to successful execution is significantly impacted by the target audience group, market conditions, user expectations, and time factor. So, even though these mobile app development solutions carry ROI potential, you must proceed strategically to reach that ideal outcome.
Understand the intricacies of the process. Choose the right technology. Do it yourself or hire app developers for a cost-effective outcome. And, get your business going!
