RESTwithEU has already started!
The RESTwithEU Pilot Project is currently being worked on its first work package, ‘Mapping of Existing Tools and Gap Analysis’, to investigate whether some factors affecting the restaurant sector have been changed over the last decades.
As a matter of fact, the pandemic and the current inflation, accentuated by the international socio-economic crisis we are facing, have led to changes in people’s habits modifying the way they relate to each other, their leisure time and even the way they consume.
As a result, these circumstances also hit small businesses the hardest putting them in a difficult situation in which digitalization plays an important role. In this respect, it should be noted that SMEs make up most businesses in the hospitality sector across the EU and that 95% of European businesses have less than 10 employees with a clear predominance of enterprises with 0 employees. Therefore, RESTwithEU pays special attention to SMEs in the catering sector and encourages them to modernize.
The accelerated digitization, demanded by society and as a consequence of changing habits, is requiring SMEs to renew themselves in order to face this new reality. Thus, it is imperative for the restaurant SMEs to reach at least a basic level of digital intensity by 2030 and RESTwithEU will help to improve their performance in terms of openness to digital platforms, tools and new technologies to increase the productivity and the ability to resist unexpected events.
RESTwithEU aims to discover and create innovative tools that will enable restaurant companies all around Europe to become more globally competitive and digital.
To achieve this goal, some questions need to be asked:
What are the challenges that the restaurant sector is currently facing? What kind of digital solutions does exist? Do the existing solutions address all the challenges and if so in which way will they help? Or what kind of new solutions does the sector need to face those challenges not addressed by existing solutions?
In order to answer these questions, RESTwithEU has adopted a strategy based on both traditional research and AI analysis considering existing works. Afterward, the European project will count on stakeholder’s expertise to discuss the latest advancements and breakthroughs related to the restaurant sector. In this regard, the expert participants will validate this first phase of the project whilst ensuring the statistical validity of the obtained results.
The importance of RESTwithEU’ stakeholders
Stakeholders are one of the key parts of the RESTwithEU Pilot Project, not only due to the expertise they can share, but also because they can influence decision-making for a more digital, innovative and sustainable restaurant sector.
Do you want to take part in RESTwithEU as stakeholder?
In this case, stakeholders are quite diverse, for instance, European Digital Innovation Hubs (EDIHs), HORECA associations, tourism organisations, sustainability associations, restaurant clusters, culinary schools, universities, technology centres and multinational companies related to business, financial services and digital solutions.
The actors involved provide the services needed by restaurant companies through an innovation ecosystem and, in the case of EDIHs, facilitates the exchange of best practices across hubs in different countries. Moreover, the actors involved can respond to digital challenges by engaging in dialogue and taking part in projects such as RESTwithEU to raise their concerns about the digital issues that the catering sector is facing at national and European level.
Would you like to join us as stakeholder in this new European project? If you feel identified and you want to participate as a stakeholder in this European project, here is the next step to follow.
Join RESTwithEU in the next Stakeholder Workshop on Thursday 19th January in Lyon!
Facing the Restaurant Industry Challenges is an opportunity for the stakeholders to discuss the lasts news and advancements of RESTwithEU project. During the event, the participants will share their breakthroughs about the challenges that the restaurant sector is currently facing and will get ready for a digital and more sustainable future.
The stakeholders will also have the opportunity to visit Lyon, the international city of gastronomy, and receive a VIP ticket to assist SIRHA LYON, an international Hospitality & Food Service event with authentic culinary experiences.
Uncover the best part of transforming the future of the restaurant industry by joining RESTwithEU!
