Restaurant QR Code: Why Should You Use QR Code Menu As Part of Your Sustainability Efforts

The restaurant industry is responsible for today's environmental challenges, including food waste and carbon emissions.

In this context, a restaurant QR code is a game-changing technological solution, helping eateries tackle these environmental issues.

Remarkably, 78% of consumers now prioritize environmental concerns when selecting restaurants, actively seeking out those committed to sustainability.

Moreover, 87% of customers actively seek restaurants that reduce food waste, cut carbon emissions, and uphold transparent sustainability practices.

Given these evolving customer expectations prioritizing safety and eco-consciousness, restaurants are increasingly adopting QR code menus as a sustainable solution.

Using QR-powered digital menu software, your restaurant contributes to a cleaner environment. It strategically enhances customer comfort and safety within your premises.

Ready to meet the demand for safe and contactless dining experiences in your restaurant? Continue reading the article below.

Table of Contents

1. What is a restaurant QR code and how does it work?
2. Restaurant sustainability is a must in this socially conscious era
3. Restaurant QR code: Why do you need to use QR codes for restaurant menus as part of your sustainability efforts?
4. Benefits of going paperless using QR code menu restaurant
5. How to generate your restaurant QR code?
6. QR code restaurant menu: The future of sustainable restaurants

What is a restaurant QR code and how does it work?

A restaurant QR code is a digital menu that uses advanced digital menu software and a QR code generator to make a personalized menu for your restaurant.

Furthermore, a digital menu can be of many types. A digital menu software can create an interactive restaurant menu QR code for your business. 

It lets customers scan a QR code and redirects them to your restaurant’s online ordering page.

Therefore, your customers can easily place their meal orders on the online ordering page, provide a tip, and pay via cashless payment transactions.

Meanwhile, a QR code generator lets you create a two-dimensional barcode to embed PDF, JPEG, and PNG menus.

These contactless restaurant menu QR codes serve as an alternative to traditional paperback menus in restaurants.

Another advantage of a digital menu is that it is sustainable and cost-efficient for your business. You no longer need to reprint copies of your menu once you update your offered menu items.

Moreover, the digital menu is a medium that lets you easily update and edit your menu items anytime.

Catering to customers with a QR code menu promotes sustainability and reduces the risks of a virus outbreak. Thus, a restaurant menu QR code ensures the safety between employees and customers.

Restaurant sustainability is a must in this socially conscious era

During this socially conscious era, restaurant sustainability means running a business operation that protects, preserves, and restores a clean and green environment. 

Sustainability also means awareness of promoting social equity while enhancing and contributing to the economic prosperity of local communities.

How can your restaurant’s effort in promoting sustainability help you attract customers and improve sales?

According to a study by Nielsen Company, about three in four Millennials (74 percent) and Generation Z consumers (72 percent) are willing to pay more for sustainable products and services.

Consumer brands with sustainability efforts in running business operations outperform those that don’t, growing 4 percent globally compared to less than 1 percent.

Moreover, 66 percent of respondents and 75 percent of millennial respondents prefer businesses with sustainability efforts in making their purchases to lower the carbon footprint, according to a survey from McKinsey & Co.

Restaurant QR code: Why do you need to use QR codes for restaurant menus as part of your sustainability efforts?

According to statistics, 55% of participants consider paper the most environmentally-friendly medium to print documents. 

However, 1.5 billion pounds of paper waste is generated per year in restaurants on receipts alone.

Furthermore, many paper wastes are produced by printing paperback menus when restaurants constantly update their menus.

Thus, a QR code menu reduces the paper footprint of printing menus and receipts in restaurant businesses.

Moreover, restaurants can reduce paper wastage and improve their customers’ dining experience using an interactive restaurant menu QR code.

Interactive restaurant menu QR codes are easily scanned using a smartphone camera or a QR code scanner app.

Customers are redirected seamlessly to the online ordering page of the menu QR code, displaying the menu items available.

Hence, restaurants will no longer use traditional paperback menus and receipts – reducing the carbon footprint of paper waste.

Furthermore, restaurants can also benefit from QR technology in streamlining business operations. 

MENU TIGER, a digital menu software powered by QR TIGER, is today’s latest restaurant trend. 

Aside from generating an interactive restaurant menu, your restaurant can also offer the best dining experience for customers through tailored services.

You can build an online presence with the custom-built restaurant website, manage multiple branches in one account, localize menu translations, and other features that can help your restaurant make sustainable strategic efforts. 

Furthermore, you can also track the most popular foods of your restaurant in the dashboard and get more insights about the analytics report.

Benefits of going paperless using QR code menu restaurant

1. Reduces resource spending

The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends disposable menus during the height of the pandemic.

However, disposable menus contribute to the heightened ecological waste of the restaurant industry.

Disposable menus are costly and unsustainable, making restaurants look for other mediums that casually reduce the risk of virus transmission between customers and staff.

Luckily, a restaurant menu QR code strengthens and improves the restaurant-and-customer relationship with its sustainability factors.

Customers can easily access the online ordering page of a restaurant via a menu QR code to order and pay instantly. 

Furthermore, a digital menu QR code software lets you generate a QR code menu where you can update it anytime you want. 

QR code menus are cost-efficient and sustainable to use in restaurants.

2. Minimizes paper wastage

Eco Friendly Habits says 98,000 kilograms of resources are required to make paper, making paper production the third energy-intensive manufacturing industry. 

Furthermore, paper waste statistics make up 16% or 26 million metric tons of landfill solid waste.

Imagine the number of menus you have produced every year. These printed paperback menus have a significant impact on the environment.

Now that consumers are becoming aware of the ecological impact of restaurant waste. You can position your restaurant as a responsible and sustainability-conscious business using menu QR codes.

A QR code menu contributes to the call for going paperless in the restaurant industry, which reduces carbon footprint.

3. Influences guests’ restaurant choice

7,000 respondents reveal that restaurants’ sustainability and eco-friendly practices affect their preferences.

Statistics show that 43% of customers will willingly pay more to support the sustainable initiative practices of restaurants.

Furthermore, 66% of respondents support the cause of sustainable transparency in restaurants.

Thus, consumers consider various factors in choosing the place to dine, including the restaurant’s efforts to practice eco-friendly and sustainable initiatives.

You can meet this customer’s preference by introducing a QR code menu in your restaurant’s business operation.

A QR code menu offers a unique and convenient way of ordering for customers who prefer streamlined services. 

The QR code menu is a tech-savvy tool that will entice more customers to your restaurant and keep regulars to dine in again.

4. Editable and trackable QR code menu

In generating a QR code menu using MENU TIGER digital menu software, you can always edit your menu anytime or when the need arises.

You no longer need to reprint tons of QR code menus again since you can easily edit the menu items on your online ordering page.

An editable QR code menu optimizes your restaurant operations. It reduces time-consuming tasks like reprinting and redistributing QR codes on your dining tables.

Furthermore, aside from the editing feature of MENU TIGER’s interactive menu QR code, you can also keep track of the most popular foods in your dashboard. 

This will help you create strategic methods for promoting and advertising other profitable menu items by cross-selling.

5. Promotes contactless interaction

QR code menus ensure social distancing and minimize virus transmission inside your establishment.

The QR code menus are scannable at a distance, which maintains the importance of social distancing.

6. Increases customer and employee safety

In connection with contactless interaction, the QR code menu increases customer and employee safety since they can access the digital menu individually using their own smartphone devices.

Aside from making things convenient, this technology also contributes to the support of going eco-friendly in the restaurant industry.

How to generate your restaurant QR code?

Your restaurant can use MENU TIGER digital menu software features to create a QR code menu. 

Here is a step-by-step guide on how to create a digital menu QR code that allows your customers to easily scan and order.

1. Create a restaurant account with MENU TIGER

 Go to MENU TIGER website and sign up for an account. 

2. Set up your store/stores

Set up your restaurant store/stores on your admin panel. 

Then, select Stores, click New and provide your restaurant name, address, and phone number.

3. Customize your restaurant’s QR code menu

Customize your restaurant’s QR code menu according to your brand.

Add your restaurant’s logo, or change the QR code patterns, colors, eye pattern, and frame design.

You can add a call-to-action phrase to increase your QR code menu visibility.

4. Set the number of tables in your restaurant

Set the number of tables in your restaurant to create a different QR code menu for each table.

5. Add admins and users for each store

Add admins and users in the Users section and click Add. 

Provide their contact information, email address, and password. Then, choose the access level of your added user, whether an Admin or User.

An Admin can access most sections, while a User can only manage orders.

6. Create menu categories for your food list

Click the Categories section on your admin panel and click the New button to add menu categories.

7. Add a food list for each menu category

List down the menu items included in the menu category you created.

Include a food image, description, prices, ingredient warnings, and other necessary information in each menu item.

8. Create modifier groups and modifiers for an item or category

Click Add in the Modifier section to create modifier groups like salad dressings, steak doneness, beverage add-ons, cheese, and others for your menu items or categories.

Add modifiers under each modifier group to keep your choices and add-ons organized.

9. Customize your restaurant website

Strengthen restaurant branding using MENU TIGER’s custom-built restaurant website. 

Add your cover image, restaurant’s name, address, email, and phone number. Then, set the language(s) and currency(s) on your restaurant website. 

Add a brief background about your restaurant in the About Us section.

Enable the Most Popular Foods section to highlight your best-sellers, trademark dishes, and other menu items.

Highlight the convenient dining experience in your restaurant in the Why Choose Us section.

Furthermore, you can also set the fonts and colors to match the branding you established for your website and physical restaurant.

Promote campaigns, vouchers, and discounts in the Promos section.

10. Set up payment integration for your digital menu

Proceed to the Add-ons section to set up cashless payment via Stripe, PayPal, or enable the cash payment option. 

11. Scan to test QR code menu functionality

Do a scan test before posting the menu QR codes.

12. Download the well-functioning QR code menu

Go to the Stores section and download the QR code menu for each table in SVG or PNG formats.

13. Print and place tabletop QR code menus

Print and deploy the QR code menus as table tents, stickers, inserts, etc., so customers can easily scan them. Keep track of your customers’ orders in the Orders section. 

QR code restaurant menu: The future of sustainable restaurants

QR code menu is a great tool to be part of your sustainable practices. It isn’t just a good tech tool for the current situation.

Still, it will be imperative for the long-term success of the restaurant industry.

With the restaurant industry’s current challenges, corporate commitment to sustainability could make your brand stand out.

Although people have different levels of digital comfort, the QR code menu is a game-changing tool you can use to elevate customer experience and become a much more responsible restaurant business.

If you want to integrate QR code menus in your sustainability efforts in your restaurant, contact us now.