Skip to content
‹ Back to IndustriesFood & Beverage

Around the Table: Automation in Quick-Service Restaurants

In the age of technology, convenience reigns king. In the quick-service restaurant (QSR) industry, where convenience and speed are part of the product, technology is a natural business partner. “Around the Table,” explores how automation has made its way into franchises all over the country, with the full extent of its capabilities still untapped….

This story was produced through MarketScale. See how Food & Beverage teams put it to work with Customer Stories & Case Studies.

·
Share
Around the Table: Automation in Quick-Service Restaurants

Free workspace

Turn your Food & Beverage expertise into content.

Record interviews, organize footage, and write with AI on a free trial of the MarketScale platform for qualifying companies. No demo required, no credit card.

Try it Free

In the age of technology, convenience reigns king. In the quick-service restaurant (QSR) industry, where convenience and speed are part of the product, technology is a natural business partner. “Around the Table,” explores how automation has made its way into franchises all over the country, with the full extent of its capabilities still untapped. Antunes guests Steve Gauger, Senior Vice President of Advanced Development & Automation, and Dan Hartlein, President, speak decisively about automation’s potential to improve quick-service system, customer satisfaction, and profits.

The term “automation,” often brings to mind visions of intricate machines roving around autonomously. But Hartlein and Gauger assure that automation doesn’t have to be that complicated, or wildly futuristic. In fact, Antunes designs automated programs that integrate into a QSR’s already established kitchen space, resulting in little disruption to established processes.

Whatsmore, automating need not be a giant change. In fact, small, granular changes can have major ripple effects in efficiency and profits. From cutting slices of cheese, to fishing out pickle spears, automating these small tasks in the assembly line can produce drastic changes in QSR performance.

As the COVID-19 sits heavy in everyone’s thoughts, Hartlein and Gauger point out the hygienic benefits of automated processes, emphasizing the consumer’s growing habits of ordering-in or delivery. But will automation steal jobs from people? Gauger and Hartlein assure that’s not the case.

With automation still breaking ground in the quick-service industry, the possibilities are endless and processes are ripe for improvement.

For the latest news, videos, and podcasts in the Food & Beverage Industry, be sure to subscribe to our industry publication.

Follow us on social media for the latest updates in B2B!

Twitter – @MarketScale

Facebook – facebook.com/marketscale

LinkedIn – linkedin.com/company/marketscale

Your experts belong here

Every story in MarketScale Food & Beverage starts with a company putting its plant managers, quality leads, and R&D teams on the record. Buyers are already reading this topic. The only question is whose experts they find.

Processors and grocery buyers vet suppliers hard, and your operations people are the ones who can satisfy them.

Book DemoSee how it works15 minutes, straight to a calendar.
B2B Weekly

The week in Food & Beverage, and sixteen other industries, every Monday.

Ten stories, one-line takes, five minutes. Free.

Food & Beverage: are you visible to AI?

Before they reach out, Food & Beverage buyers ask AI engines which vendors to trust. Explore how your experts, customers, and partners can become useful content for buyers and AI search.

Free Trial

You just read one Food & Beverage expert. Your company is full of them.

This article was produced through MarketScale. The same platform turns your plant managers, quality leads, and R&D teams into the articles, video, and social content Food & Beverage buyers are searching for. Start a free trial and see it with your own people. For qualifying companies, no credit card, no demo required.

NPS +73 · 1,000+ creators · 38+ countries

What your free trial includes

Hands-on access to the MarketScale platform
Media requests to your crowd, remote recording, AI writing tools
No demo required. No credit card.
For qualifying companies. Company confirmation required.

More Food & Beverage Insights

Why Arla’s APAC lead says Asia’s GLP-1 shift hinges on price and pills

Why Arla’s APAC lead says Asia’s GLP-1 shift hinges on price and pills

Arla Food Ingredients' Asia Pacific head says GLP-1 drug use in APAC is still early, held back by cost, reimbursement and lower obesity rates. Generics and pills could change the pace. US survey data broadly match his forecast of gains for protein-rich foods and pressure on confectionery and less healthy snacks, giving APAC product teams an early view of which categories grow and which shrink.

  • 01EY-Parthenon survey data shows US GLP-1 users cutting back on sweet and salty snacks, which could help APAC food makers plan while adoption in Asia is still early.
  • 02Products built to deliver more nutrition in smaller portions don't depend on drug uptake. Among US consumers managing their weight, far more cut calories or exercise than take medication.

Nov 12, 2026

Why Tradin Organic wants supplement makers off spot buying for key ingredients

Why Tradin Organic wants supplement makers off spot buying for key ingredients

Weather pressures mango, cocoa, and wild-harvested ingredients. Tradin Organic suggested moving key ingredients from spot buying to partnerships. They sometimes work with development banks, offering loans as part of these arrangements aligned with sustainability goals.

  • 01When warm nights stop mango trees in Peru from flowering, the spot market can tell a buyer what scarce fruit costs, but it cannot grow any more of it.
  • 02Buyer commitments can make farm projects financeable, enabling development banks to fund them as standard loans aligned with sustainability goals.
  • 03The sharper sourcing question for each ingredient is which of three tiers it belongs in: spot, partnership with volume commitments and technical support, or full integration with asset ownership.

Nov 11, 2026

How labor shortages and capex constrain meat plant automation to 2035

How labor shortages and capex constrain meat plant automation to 2035

IndexBox's latest outlook says the meat processing equipment market through 2035 is driven by rising protein demand and automation. Crew skills are likely to shape line choices.

  • 01For operators short on skilled labor, a line the current crew can run and maintain could pay off sooner than the one with the best spec sheet.
  • 02The retrofit-first reading fits mature plants with a large installed base; processors adding capacity for value-added products in emerging economies are more likely buying complete new lines.

Nov 10, 2026

Explore More Food & Beverage Insights

Read more expert perspectives from across Food & Beverage.

Browse Food & Beverage Hub

For B2B teams

Your experts could be publishing here

Stories like this one run on content MarketScale captures from real practitioners. See how your team's expertise becomes coverage in Food & Beverage and beyond.

Book a Demo

Or call us. No forms required. We pick up. 214-945-2512