JUST EAT DELIVERS LATEST IN FOOD TECH INNOVATION

Just Eat, Ireland’s leading marketplace for online food delivery, today gave a sneak peek into the future, bringing together exciting technologies in the fields of Augmented Reality, Artificial Intelligence, and other innovations aimed at revolutionising the way people discover, order and enjoy food.

At an event in The Digital Hub themed: “Exploring Food Tech Innovation”, Just Eat showcased the future of online food technology by providing guests with a hands-on experience of the innovations that will help improve food experiences for both customers and restaurants in the decades to come.

The event also included a panel discussion which focused on how technology is rapidly changing the food service industry. The panellists included Ferando Fanton, Chief Product and Technology Officer, Just Eat Plc who travelled to Dublin for the event. He was joined by Iseult Ward, Co-Founder and CEO, FoodCloud and Mikey Cannon, Co-founder & Head of Product, Bizimply.

Amanda Roche Kelly, Managing Director, Just Eat Ireland said: “As a company, we have an ambition to revolutionise the way people order and enjoy food. Technology is central to achieving this and is core to our proposition to both customers and restaurant partners. We’re hosting today’s event to demonstrate the latest technology innovations we’re trialling in other markets and share our learnings with the start up community in the industry. As Ireland’s leading marketplace for online food delivery technology will continue to be key to how we grow our reach and service in the coming year.”

Fernando Fanton, Chief Product and Technology Officer of Just Eat was in Dublin today for this event. Speaking at The Digital Hub he said: “I’m delighted to be in Dublin today to share our company vision and to showcase some of the recent innovations that we have introduced to our service. Working with leading technology partners, we are exploring all the many ways that technology can shape and transform how we have traditionally interacted with food. Attendees at today’s event saw some of our latest innovations we’ve developed with Microsoft (Xbox One and HoloLens), Amazon (Echo) and Apple (Apple TV). We’re looking forward to introducing our new offering through Xbox One in Ireland later this year and similarly are working with partners on the other technologies to see when they can be introduced to the Irish market.”   

Fiach Mac Conghail, CEO, The Digital Hub welcomed everyone to the event today saying: “Today’s event highlights the huge potential of the food service industry and the opportunities in play for innovative digital media technology and internet businesses in particular.  A perfect example of a technology company successfully leading the charge in this sector is Bizimply, one of almost 100 companies, located here in The Digital Hub.  Bizimply has had a fruitful year and its future looks bright.  This event provided me with a vast insight into how technology is rapidly changing the food service industry. We were delighted to host this event in partnership with Just Eat and to have welcomed some of the leading talent in the food industry to The Digital Hub today.”

Working with leading technology companies across social media, gaming, artificial intelligence (AI), Augmented Reality (AR), and robotics, Just Eat has become seamlessly integrated into the technology that shapes our daily lives.

The experiences and innovations on show at the event included:

• HoloLens (Augmented Reality) – A first in food technology, Just Eat allows us to imagine a world where traditional menus become a thing of the past. Enhancing the physical environment through AR, the experience brings food to life, enabling customers to see a restaurant menu as a buffet for them to pick and choose from.
• Apple TV: Just Eat today showcased the app it has introduced for Apple TV in the UK market. Offering the most extensive range of cuisine choice, and bringing restaurant partners to television screens across the UK, the technology revolutionises the group ordering experience. For the first time, multiple iPad and iPhone devices can connect to the Apple TV in your living room, making it simple and fun for friends and family to order together.
• Xbox One: Just Eat has partnered with Microsoft to become the first multi-cuisine platform to develop an app for the new Xbox One, enhancing the gaming experience and enabling users to order food effortlessly, at the touch of a button.
• Amazon Echo Alexa: Amazon Echo is the hands-free speaker users control with their voice. Echo connects to the Alexa Voice Service to play music, provide information, news, sports scores, weather and now – food. The skill developed by Just Eat allows consumers to ‘ask Alexa’ to re-order their most recent meal, choose between collection and delivery, check the status of their order, and confirm payment by cash or card.

The company will be introducing some of these new innovations into Ireland on a phased basis over the coming year.  Just Eat also confirmed that their second Seed Programme of 2017 aimed at start-ups in the exciting FoodTech space will be opening for applications in September 2017. Follow the Just Eat Ventures team on social @JustEatVentures or visit the website www.accelerator@just-eat.com.