When you serve hundreds of guests a day, waste can pile up fast – and so can costs. At the Mercure Amsterdam City Hotel, the team knew they needed a smarter, faster way to tackle food waste. Instead of relying on guesswork or outdated systems, they decided to change the game entirely by exploring how to reduce food waste with technology.

What followed was more than just a drop in food waste – it was a complete shift in how the kitchens operate. Read further to find out how Mercure Amsterdam City Hotel reduced their food waste, increased their profit margins, and became even more sustainable with Orbisk.

How to reduce food waste with technology: Mercure Amsterdam City Hotel case study

The first thing to realize when talking about reducing food waste in a professional kitchen is that doing it manually, with pen and paper, is nearly impossible in a highly efficient kitchen. That’s not to say it is impossible, but it’s extremely time consuming. And ‘extra’ time is something a professional kitchen does not have.

So then, what’s the answer? How can you reduce your food waste with technology so you don’t have to waste your time with pen and paper? The answer, maybe unsurprisingly, is Orbisk.

The kitchen team at Mercure Amsterdam City Hotel realized this and started working with the Orbi in their kitchen to automatically track their food waste. After a month of tracking their food waste baseline, together with our Food Waste Coaches, the kitchen team came up with strategies to optimize their food waste management.

Which strategies did they use?

Well it can be divided into 4 categories.

• Data-driven menu adjustments
  • Let’s start with the most obvious one – Using the data and automatically created reports from the Orbi, the kitchen team identified highly wasted items on the buffet and removed unpopular items from the breakfast and dinner menus. They then introduced new, guest-preferred dishes based on feedback and data analysis.
• Team awareness & engagement, and a cultural shift
  • The kitchen team and servers were trained to be conscious of buffet levels and replenish based on historical data and context (Demand, # of guests, etc.) instead of overstocking.
  • Got the customers involved by using visuals provided by Orbisk at the buffet to raise awareness about not overfilling plates
  • Regular (in some cases, daily) internal communication around the food waste goals
  • All this shifted the culture to a very waste-conscious culture across all the departments. These results are also highly celebrated within the teams to maintain and boost motivation
• Operational changes
  • They started producing less for buffets and started cooking more to order (à la carte) at breakfast, guided by expected guest numbers
  • They only prepared buffets when guest numbers could justify it. Otherwise, they offer à la carte dining.
  • They are also actively working on revamping the à la carte menu to offer fresh, globally appealing dishes to match their diverse international clientele.
• And finally, Inventory and Storage management
  • They simply reduced food stock levels in freezers and fridges in order to prevent over-ordering and spoilage (Based on data from the Orbi, of course)

That’s quite a lot of changes. And these changes truly made a difference. Read further to see what kind of results Mercure Amsterdam City Hotel got by making all these changes.

Results

Let’s get right into it. Within less than just 12 months, Mercure Amsterdam City Hotel was able to:

• Reduce their food waste by 34%
• Saved over 8000 kg of food
• Saved over €46,000
• Prevented over 18,000 kg of CO2 from entering the atmosphere

All those results, just from tracking their food waste with Orbisk and coming up with concrete solutions to the problems.

Although the tracking was automatic, that does not mean that they do not deserve praise. The kitchen team at Mercure Amsterdam City Hotel has put in a great amount of effort to actively reduce their food waste, and keep their team motivated. That’s not an easy feat in a highly efficient hotel kitchen. So for that, they deserve a lot of praise!

Can Orbisk benefit my professional kitchen too?

You might be thinking to yourself, “That all sounds pretty nice! But… is my professional kitchen big enough to reap these same benefits?”

That’s a fair question. Let’s put your worries to rest. Orbisk has a Food Waste Calculator so you can calculate your potential savings! Click here to use the Food Waste Calculator.

Do you want to read some more success stories? Click here to read about Raffles Singapore, and how they reduced their food waste by 29% and saved over €9000 with Orbisk in less than 9 weeks!

Are you ready to decrease your carbon footprint and increase your profits? Then take that first step. Click the button below to contact our sales team and schedule a free consultation and demo meeting.