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Product sensestretch
Design a product for restaurant owners to reduce food waste.
How to approach it
Find out where waste happens in a restaurant: over-ordering, prep, spoilage or plate waste. Each has a different fix.
How a strong answer opens
“I'd like to find where waste happens in this restaurant: over-ordering, prep, spoilage or food left on plates. Each has a different fix, so I'll start with the most expensive.”
Outline of a strong answer
Try answering out loud for a few minutes before you open this.
- Clarify restaurant type and size
- Map where waste happens across the day
- Pick over-ordering of perishables as the biggest cost
- Ideas: demand forecasting, stock tracking, surplus sale listings
- Prioritize forecasting tied to supplier orders
- Discuss data input burden on busy kitchen staff
- Measure food cost as a share of revenue and waste by weight
Where this question usually goes wrong
Jumping to a waste-tracking app without considering that busy kitchen staff won't enter data in the middle of service.
Learn the method
Generate solutions worth discussing in Module 1, Product sense and design.
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