etico

1. The Problem Space

The current restaurant food supply chain has many sustainability issues rooted in outdated habits. Commonplace industry practices like the shipping of ingredients from faraway countries, and the lack of restaurant-consumer food transparency, contribute both directly and indirectly to climate change. Despite the alarming consequences, restaurateurs are still hesitant towards transitioning their establishments into sustainable businesses.

There are two key deterring factors against adopting sustainable practices: firstly, sustainability is not a necessity to run a successful restaurant; and secondly much financial and human resources need to be invested into restructuring and implementing workplace changes. These two factors can be boiled down to a lack of a motivating force towards turning sustainable, and a lack of resources.

2. Key How Might We’s

Through primary and secondary research, we uncovered three overarching opportunity spaces that could tackle the two aforementioned deterrents:

Demand
How might we make consumer demands for sustainable options known and attainable to restaurants, so that sustainability may be a part of a restaurant’s pride?

Transparency
How might we support food transparency between restaurants and consumers to facilitate accountability, in an engaging, branded manner to boost trust and credibility?

Support
How might we empower the consumer community to support restaurants’ transitions towards becoming sustainable businesses?

3. The Concept

etico does this with its two touchpoints— the etico mobile app, and the etico menu. The etico app aims to cultivate an online community of sustainable diners. It is a platform where consumers can identify, support, and fact-check sustainable and transitioning restaurants with access to the secure blockchain database that stores sourcing data. The app is also a space for brand communications, where restaurants can showcase their journey towards sustainability, among other prides.

Meanwhile, the etico menu enhances the in-house dining experience through interactivity and transparency. The digital menu in the form of a folding screen allows for consumers to view key ingredient sourcing information without visual data clutter. Its dual screen capabilities makes the browsing experience novel, highly-interactive, and immersive. While waiting for orders, diners can view engaging content on their dish’s origins and ingredient journey. This transparency builds relationships between a consumer, their meals, and restaurants.

4. Core Features

4.1 etico Mobile App

Restaurant Profile and Menu
Partnering restaurants have profile and menu pages on our app, where users can view menus in full, as well as restaurants’ efforts towards going sustainable. Each menu item has detailed ingredient information, highlighted allergens, nutritional information, and an AR preview.

etico Certified Source Contracts and eitco IDs
If a restaurant has an etico certified contract with a food source, this contract will be stored on our blockchain database, and have a unique eitco ID. The ID allows users to verify a contract’s validity and authenticity. Certified contracts show a source’s Sustainable Practices, as well as logistical details and dates, painting a full picture of an ingredient’s origins and journey.

Sustainable Practice Guide
Sustainable Practice tags such as “organic”, “ethically sourced”, and “regenerative farming” will be displayed alongside sources that carry out such practices. A succinct explanation of each practice can be found in the Sustainable Practice Guide, and the metrics that which etico certifies these practices with will also be displayed.

etico World
This community space allows restaurants and diners to interact and stay up to date with each other. Restaurants can post sustainable practice updates, promotions, and etico movements, while diners can leave reviews on restaurants, providing valuable feedback.

etico Movements
This community funding system garners support from diners to equip restaurants with the financial resources they need to achieve sustainable aspirations. For example, if a restaurant needs a certain amount of orders per day for a month to be able to afford a locally sourced ingredient, they can appeal to the etico community to donate to, or dine in more frequently to support their cause. Consumers who “support” a restaurant will receive notifications when the restaurant starts and makes advancements in their movement.

When the movement’s goal is hit, the primary reward would be the new sustainable option that the restaurant can now provide. Supporters who helped the restaurant become a part of the restaurant’s sustainable journey. Restaurants may give additional rewards if they wish to as well.

4.2 etico Menu

Sync Account Preferences
When a user’s phone is near an etico menu, NFC signals from the menu will automatically prompt the user via a notification to sync their dining preferences to the etico menu. The menu can then give diners tailored dish suggestions, highlighted allergens or avoided ingredients, and filter out dishes that do not fit the user's diet.

Detailed Ingredient Information
With the etico menu’s dual screens, detailed dish information like a full ingredient list, sourcing information, allergens, and Sustainable Practice labels can be displayed without overloading the user visually.

Portion Visualisation
A size representation graphic of a dish will be displayed on the menu, and scanning it with the etico app quickly pulls up the AR view. This allows users to accurately visualise a dish’s portion size, so that they can reduce food wastage.

Dish History and Ingredient Journey
While waiting for their order, diners can interact with engaging media and data on their dish. They can get better insight into a key ingredient’s logistical journey and dates, and view the conceptualisation and evolution of a dish through an interactive timeline with anecdotes from restaurant staff.

F. Expected Outcomes

etico aims to rewrite the restaurant supply chain system through social change. It supports accountability through facilitating transparency between restaurants and diners, via the etico menu and restaurant-diner communications on the etico app. This upheld transparency provides consumers with the credibility and trust to potentially support transitioning restaurants. When this consumer-restaurant partnership becomes a norm, consumer demands for sustainability can substantially impact the industry, creating major changes.