How Technology Boosts Check Averages by 38 Percent for This QSR Franchise

Crazy Bowls & Wraps, a fast-casual restaurant chain based in St. Louis, Missouri, has introduced a new Lifestyle Menu to cater to customers' specific dietary requirements. The menu offers curated items tailored to popular diets, such as keto, Whole 30, plant-based, and vegan. Customers can customize their orders by adding or subtracting ingredients based on their dietary preferences. Crazy Bowls & Wraps noticed that due to the nature of the menu, the customizations were often not requested as it was challenging to show all options on a fixed overhead menu; Crazy Bowls & Wraps employees also struggled to memorize and communicate all possible customizations, leaving both the customer and restaurant limited in their ability recognize the full potential of their healthy menu choices.

According to Shannah Preseau, the training and integration project manager at Crazy Bowls & Wraps, providing transparency about the ingredients and customization options can prevent getting a "veto vote" when groups and families decide where to dine out. However, the restaurant faced logistical concerns with speeding up the order process and maintaining order accuracy while offering high customization options. In 2020, Crazy Bowls & Wraps opted to test Bite and Elo's self-service touchscreen solutions to address these issues.

Bite's custom kiosk software and Elo's sleek and modular 22” I-Series on Wallaby Pro countertop kiosks integrate into their existing systems to drive efficiency, create brand loyalty, and increase check averages. Preseau praised Bite for focusing on the customer flow and experience, educating customers about uncommon menu items, and highlighting unfamiliar ingredients with descriptions and pictures.

Additionally, Bite's intelligent order recommendation AI, called Bite Lift, predicts what else customers might enjoy in real-time, increasing the average ticket value. Bite’s AI Bite Lift helps many of its restaurant partners increase check averages by 20 percent or more. “The ability for customers to highly customize their order with additional ingredients and add-ons has increased our average check value by 38 percent for kiosk only orders. By reallocating labor to better enhance the guest experience, the restaurant has seen improvements in order accuracy, order customizations, and reduced wait times,” said COO Kim Reitzner.

“Consumers really enjoy customizing their meals so they’re getting exactly what they crave,” says Shannah Preseau, training and integration project manager at Crazy Bowls & Wraps.

“If you’re on the fence about investing in self-ordering products and kiosks, you’ve gotta do it. It’s been the biggest assistance in just elevating our brand in general, and honestly it’s been amazing,” said Kim Reitzner, Crazy Bowls & Wraps COO.

Overall, Crazy Bowls & Wraps' partnership with Bite and Elo has been successful, allowing customers to customize their orders to meet their dietary preferences while increasing efficiency and accuracy in the order process. The program was so successful—even during the early stages of the pandemic—it quickly expanded to 14 of the brand’s 16 total locations and the franchise plans on opening many more kiosk only locations.