Do you know where the best ideas are made? Well, while I don't have an exact location, I can tell you that it is not in the office! As Ozan Varol said in an article he published on Fast Company in 2022, "An office is where good ideas go to die." Now, that might be a bit extreme, but the truth is, some of the most brilliant ideas are born in unexpected places!
Just this week Juicer announced a new product called Enlighten and Co-founder Ashwin Kamlani stated, “This idea was born at a conference lunch table in early May where we heard restaurant brands voice their frustration about their inability to convert 3rd party customers into direct customers.” Imagine that! A bunch of entrepreneurs are sitting around a conference lunch table in early May, and they hear restaurant brands venting their frustration about the difficulty of converting third-party customers into direct customers. Bam! The spark of inspiration ignites, and the idea for Enlighten is born. Who would've thought that a conference lunch could be the birthplace of such innovation?
And let me tell you, attending industry conferences is an adventure in itself. At Branded, we absolutely love it! From our legendary "Cocktails & Connections" events to exploring the buzzing tradeshow floors, it's the perfect opportunity to meet new people, expand your network, and, as Ashwin Kamlani shows us, come up with groundbreaking ideas.
Now, I'm not suggesting you rush to book a flight to FSTEC (although, for those of you attending, see you there!). However, for technology entrepreneurs like Ashwin, these shows are a goldmine of customer insights and pain points.
In the press release, Ashwin highlighted a problem that's been lingering in the industry for quite some time: consumers are oblivious to the cost savings they could enjoy by ordering directly from restaurant websites. And guess what? It's on us to educate them! Technology is fantastic, sure, but what we really need to ace is consumer education (we'll tackle operator education another time).
The new product called Enlighten is a consumer-facing widget for restaurant websites that highlights the cost-savings consumers can benefit from by ordering direct on restaurant websites. On the apps, customers pay service fees and many places inflate prices to make up for their added costs. And here's a little secret: sometimes, restaurant websites have exclusive items that third-party menus simply can't offer!
Click here to learn more about Enlighten!