Running a restaurant or foodservice kitchen comes with its fair share of challenges. With the New Year came an increase in minimum wage in a number of states across the country.
Couple that with a shrinking labor pool created a scenario in which smaller staffs are now expected to handle increased workloads resulting in added pressure and potential strain on operations.
However, there is a simple and affordable solution that can help alleviate some of these challenges and take some of the pressure off of operating a commercial kitchen – implementing a new labeling strategy.
Keeping track of ingredient expiration dates and product labels can be a painstaking, difficult task. Paper product and software manufacturer NCCO seems to have cracked the code, with its innovative and automated DateCodeGenie.
A three-part software consisting of a tablet, printer, and cloud system, DateCodeGenie manages ingredient and food preparation information, prints detailed labels with the touch of a button, and cuts back on labor costs.
For food service experts, the DateCodeGenie is nothing short of revolutionary.
NCCO, born as the National Checking Company, has been a leading manufacturer and supplier of paper products to the food service industry since the early 1900’s.
Today they produce a variety of goods, including order pads, receipt rolls and food safety labels, and have recently diversified into the world of software solutions, including their products DateCodeGenie and partner company Always Food Safe online training.
Bolstered by the recent market-wide shift towards grab-and-go dining spurred by the COVID-19 pandemic, National Accounts Manager Rick Martunas sees simultaneous growth in the paper product and software technology markets: “While some technology has certainly replaced physical products, we still see soaring demand for paper, particularly because of the to-go trend in dining.”
Nevertheless, NCCO has doubled down into the technology market with their food safety solution DateCodeGenie, which simplifies the labeling process.
DateCodeGenie can trace its roots to NCCO’s acquisition of labeling company DotIt, which manufactured food safety stickers.
As the labeling market evolved from the old technique of scribbling dates on strips of masking tape to the use of dots color-coded by day, NCCO explored automating the process of creating food prep labels to make the handwritten and manual process accurate and instantaneous.
Eventually, the company broadened the capabilities of the software by adding a feature permitting restaurants to include additional information, such as branding elements or nutrition facts, on their labels.
“DateCodeGenie evolved from just being for food prep to now making creative and dynamic grab-and-go labels with nutrition facts, barcodes, and expiration dates,” explained Martunas.
It’s a complete solution consisting of a touchscreen tablet, label printers connected to the tablet, and a cloud software service to manage these interconnected features.
The package comes with all three pieces, and is charged as a single, one-time fee, rather than a monthly subscription, keeping costs low. Moreover, the printer uses thermal technology to create a label, saving on recurring ink costs.
Management of individual elements such as menu items, label layouts, ingredient information, and branding occurs through the browser-based portal, which can be accessed anytime, anywhere:
“You can add a new item to your menu from your couch at home,” explained Martunas, “and when your staff comes in on Monday, it’ll be on the software, all without you having to go into the restaurant.”
In our grab-and-go-oriented market, DateCodeGenie provides both customers and managers with an improved experience.
As customers increasingly select fast, pre-prepared meals, the importance of accurate and conscious labeling has grown, but so has the capability of DateCodeGenie.
Once-simple labels are now required to include vital information, like allergens, food sensitivities, and preparation and expiration dates, and reheating information alongside barcodes and pricing, but NCCO still guarantees that a single label will take a second or less to print.
The software is also location-specific, and can keep track of and update label requirements as legislation in its jurisdiction changes. Moreover, the ability to store and manage information within the device’s cloud software reduces staffing requirements and labor costs.
“Ten years ago, the same operation would have required two managers, an assistant manager, a bunch of shift supervisors, and lots of hourly employees,” compared Martunas; “With DateCodeGenie, all you need is a single manager and a few hourly employees to do the same amount of prep work.”
The simplicity of the system makes it easy to learn and even easier to use. For inexperienced or new staff members, use of the DateCodeGenie entails simply selecting the food item and pressing print; the software, based on information inputted by other employees, will automatically calculate the difficult items, like prep date and shelf life.
By streamlining the process, the software eliminates the bottleneck in the making of labels.
“Whatever we can do to help make a person’s job easier, require less training, or become more efficient,” detailed Martunas; “those are things we’re looking at.”
The software can also seamlessly connect with a restaurant’s existing API system, and NCCO has built integrations with a number of popular companies as customer demand requires.
Data management, therefore, can happen all in one place: “Customers use their preferred recipe or menu management software, and any changes made sync instantly to the DateCodeGenie,” remarked Martunas.
Kitchens and restaurants are busy, bustling environments, and NCCO’s DateCodeGenie provides the vital support staff need to stay on top of labeling and food safety.
With a simple, streamlined, and incredibly effective three-part software system, DateCodeGenie makes data management and label printing headache-free and helps restaurants lower their labor costs.
For more information about the revolutionary technology, visit ncco website.
