Greene King is to expand its “pub of the future” drive after completing 53 trials involving artificial intelligence, self-cleaning fryers and automated bun toasters.
The pub operator said successful ideas would be scaled as its innovation and efficiency programme entered its second year.
More than 300 products and proposals were assessed during the programme’s first 12 months before selected technology was tested inside working pubs.
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The trials were designed to simplify jobs for staff, improve the customer experience and help the business respond to rising costs, as reported by What’s The Jam.
Technology tested included artificial intelligence capable of monitoring kitchen and beer-cellar equipment.
Greene King also trialled self-cleaning fryers, automated bun toasters, cordless backpack vacuum cleaners and a task-management system intended to replace paperwork.
Headsets linking front and back-of-house employees were tested to help pub teams communicate in real time.
The company initially revealed details of its “innovation pub” scheme after testing equipment at the Charnwood Arms and the Two Steeples in Leicestershire.
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Teams at the two managed pubs had been putting equipment through its paces in everyday trading environments for eight months.
Earlier trials included intelligent beer-dispensing equipment, energy-efficient grills, oil-saving fryers, adjustable kitchen extraction and buttons allowing customers to request attention.
Greene King said the intelligent cellar equipment had improved beer yield and quality, while oil could be used for three times longer in the fryers without affecting the food served.
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Other ideas considered during the programme included artificial intelligence designed to capture food-waste data, smart vending technology and camera-monitoring equipment.
Clair Preston-Beer, Greene King’s chief commercial and digital officer, said: “It is brilliant to see how we can continue to run traditional pubs with people at the heart and harness the benefits of modern technology at the same time.
“A more efficient, innovative and future-ready Greene King means we can reinvest in areas that make a real difference for our people, our pubs and our customers.
“It is exciting to see how this programme is bringing together teams from across the business to test, learn and scale ideas that support our strategic ambition to be stronger and more agile.
“It is about unlocking better ways of working, simplifying processes and enabling our teams to focus on what matters most – enhancing customers’ experiences.”
Greene King said the second year of the programme would involve expanding successful trials, exploring further innovations and working with pub teams to deliver improvements.
The company has not yet identified which individual technologies will be expanded or how many pubs will receive them.
The announcement comes as Greene King has appointed former EasyJet and Qantas executive Andrew Plunkett as its new chief data and technology officer.
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