Direct · Food & Beverages
Quick Service Restaurant
A multinational QSR chain pinpoints waste hotspots across its restaurants.
Customer profile
The foodservice provider is a multinational fast-casual and quick-service dining restaurant (QSR) chain specialising in meat products. Operating across Australia, the chain sought a clearer view of material loss and waste across restaurant processes, beyond the volume and cost summaries its existing systems could provide.
Situation
The challenges that needed addressing.
Current systems limited
The chain's insights were constrained by its existing systems, which provided overall volume and cost information but could not show where in its processes material loss occurred. Unlike Direct, the incumbent tool offered no visual representation of data beyond numbers in a spreadsheet.
Gaps in current data
Existing data was inconsistent, with gaps open for interpretation. The company wanted to tighten its data structure and attribute the true cost of waste to products in particular restaurants over a specific time frame.
Limited understanding of waste
The chain was uncertain not only about where material loss and waste hotspots were, but also which specific materials were being wasted and why, whether at intake, storage, overproduction, overcooking or incorrect preparation.
Solution
How Empauer helped.
Empauer, RMIT University and the Fight Food Waste Cooperative Research Centre developed Direct, a business-ready tool that quantifies the true cost of waste by mapping where food and non-food material losses flow across the supply chain. Aligned to the FLW Standard and ISO-14051 (MFCA), Direct enables granular attribution of material flows and costs. In a 2022 pilot programme, the QSR chain used Direct to map processes in two of its Victorian restaurants, establishing a baseline to determine the where, why and how much of wastage. Direct's visual results pinpointed hotspots in the processing stage, allowing the chain to adjust operations for better resource efficiency and identify new income streams by repurposing food that would otherwise go to waste.
“People can interpret Direct results a lot easier than just looking at a spreadsheet full of decimal points.”
Outcomes
What the work delivered.
Improved operational processes
Direct identified a significant food waste hotspot in the food service processing stage, revealing that the ordering system and cook plan were not being used effectively. The data made the scale of the problem visible: substantial wastage was accruing in the processing stage at the pilot restaurants.
Optimal food waste destination
Direct identified breakdowns where materials were being sent to landfill instead of food rescue, suggesting that a greater variety of SKUs could be donated rather than discarded.
New product income streams
The assessment showed how material loss, including herbs, spices, bastings and bread, could be transformed into new products such as soup bases or stocks, to be sold or donated rather than wasted.
Environmental reporting capability
Direct improved the chain's reporting capabilities by providing accurate insights into the financial cost and mass of lost products, with scope to add emissions metrics as the tool develops to support ongoing mission goals.
Discover how Empauer can help your organisation see more clearly and act with greater confidence.