Good food isn’t the only ingredient in restaurant success. This year’s dining standouts serve both guests and restaurants, helping to create memorable, delicious experiences.
Restaurant chains are delighting diners at the speed of viral videos. Chipotle debuted a brand-new menu item after two wildly popular TikTokers “hacked” one item to create the chicken fajita quesadilla. Then it tapped the hackers, creators Alexis Frost and Keith Lee, to help with the launch. Taco Bell built an entirely new drive-through concept restaurant to deliver app-ordered meals to guests in cars fast; it also launched successful big-name collaborations that changed menu items and uniforms. Sauce purveyor Kraft Heinz introduced an internet-connected sauce dispenser that, in part, helps restaurants ID of-the-moment flavors their guests love.
Away from home, Texas-born, beloved roadside rest stop Buc-ee’s added a network of premium EV charging stations across its locations so hungry travelers can juice their vehicles while enjoying famous brisket and award-winning bathrooms inside. OTG Management managed to upend its own airport ordering operations, transitioning from iPad ordering interfaces to a mobile app. It connects airport travelers with food from multiple restaurants, delivered to their tables in minutes.
Reusable packaging from DeliverZero makes takeout and delivery more earth-friendly, providing restaurants with BPA-free food containers that it later collects from diners, sanitizes, and sends out again.
Other innovations help restaurants run better businesses, which translates to happier customers. Restaurant-focused point-of-sale provider SpotOn added a new feature that helps staff turn tables faster. Finance platform inKind gives restaurants money in exchange for credit that it sells to diners. Slang.ai taps into artificial intelligence and lets voice AI answer the phone to free up restaurant staff. And a new program created by Oyster Sunday gives independent restaurant employees access to the sort of perks and benefits—including healthcare—that professionals in other industries have long enjoyed.
1. Taco Bell
For showing the world that tacos are a state of mind
2. Kraft Heinz
For catering to the sauce-obsessed consumer
3. Chipotle
For updating its menu at the speed of TikTok
4. inKind
For funding restaurants while feeding guests
5. Slang.ai
For answering the phone when guests are calling
6. Buc-ee’s
For powering up endless road trips
7. Oyster Sunday
For building benefits for independent-restaurant employees
8. OTG Management
For making it easy to order your food without missing your flight
9. SpotOn
For making the wait for a table a lot more palatable
10. DeliverZero
For delivering the heavy lifting on reusable to-go packaging
Explore the full 2024 list of Fast Company’s Most Innovative Companies, 606 organizations that are reshaping industries and culture. We’ve selected the firms making the biggest impact across 58 categories, including advertising, artificial intelligence, design, sustainability, and more.
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