Are you wondering what new restaurant technology to invest in 2024 as a business operator?
We've got your back.
As the year 2024 poses a new competitive environment for food businesses, it's only right to highlight some of the most exciting new apps on the market.
This includes everything from safety and inspection management to FOH and BOH operations management and inventory management.
And who knows, you may even become a Michelin star bearer if you're extremely strategic (and a bit lucky).
However, bear in mind that just because something is on trend and popular in the market does not imply it is right for your restaurant.
That's why we'll also go over Leafe, the restaurant management software that has just topped the charts! After we've given you the lowdown on this hands-on program, we'll toss in some of the greatest Leafe alternatives to date to help you make an informed decision.
7 Best Leafe Alternatives For Restaurant Businesses
Here’s a detailed run down of the best Leafe alternatives for your food safety platform. Read on…
1. Xenia - Overall No.1 Leafe Alternative for F&B & Restaurant Businesses
If used as a food safety tool, Xenia streamlines everything you need to ensure that your platform is following compliance, safety checks and passing all the red flags to meet food safety guidelines.
However, Xenia is much bigger than that!
As one of the best Leafe alternatives, the program provides an extensive list of free advanced tools that can help you with your business’s operational efficiency concerns. One of these features is its extensive template library, which has a variety of food safety checklists and SOPs, customizable templates and forms that are designed for a wide range of food business managers.
Moreover, to ensure that the staff is fully engaged and held accountable, the program offers a dedicated task and work order module that you can use to deploy any activities. Assign these to your designated team, and closely monitor their performance through different completion stages through a centralized dashboard.
All thanks to integrated communication tool, you can expect your team members to communicate effortlessly through work orders, tasks, or dedicated chat rooms - giving managers a holistic overview of everything.
Top it off with Bluetooth temperature sensor technology to regulate food storage temps, ingredient storage temperatures, or anything that goes to your restaurant customers. Specific temperature measurements on food are there to ensure that the fridge, freezer, and storage units are monitored in real-time.
It's as simple as that.
Key Features
- Real-Time Temperature Monitoring: Provides real-time monitoring of storage units, allowing for prompt remedial action to maintain food safety requirements by alerting users to dangerous temperatures.
- Customizable Templates: Xenia offers the ability to create and customize workflows that are specifically designed for different staff responsibilities. This ensures that each employee is focused and their tasks are completed on time!
- AI-Powered SOP Writing Tool: The platform provides an advanced AI-powered tool for generating standard operating procedures (SOPs). This tool simplifies the process of creating well-defined protocols for staff training, compliance and any day-to-day BOH restaurant operations.
- Task Management: The comprehensive task management system utilizes an advanced scheduling and assignment engine to quickly handle anything that comes their way.
- Integrated Communication Module: Xenia facilitates real-time collaboration by enabling team members to communicate seamlessly using features like as direct messaging, group chats, and discussion threads. This promotes the prompt discovery of problems and encourages responsibility & accountability on the spot!
- Reporting: Managers can get detailed statistics and analytics on the performance of their team, health inspections, and compliance. This information assists in making informed decisions and promoting ongoing progress.
- Dedicated Learning Center For Increased Accountability: Seeing to the fact that new team members need to be trained to bring them up to speed, Xenia has a dedicated learning center addressing an arsenal of resources for restaurant professionals etc.
Pricing
- Free Forever: Free for up to 5 users with access to task & work orders, parent assets, internal chats, template builder, etc.
- Starter: $99 / month for 15 users and comes with a work calendar view, work and template reports, sub-assessments, and sub-locations.
- Premium: $199 / month for 15 users and offers unbound access to all the core features.
- Multi-Location - Multi-Unit Operators: Got a thriving multi-location business, which you need pricing for? Feel free to contact our sales team for more details.
- Custom: Need something tailored to your organization?
Available for up to 5 users
Premium for $99/month for the first 20 users (with free trial period)
Available on iOS, Android and Web
2. SafetyCulture
Up next on our Best Leafe alternatives list, we've got SafetyCulture.
You can improve your company's food safety compliance program and do away with paper-based audit methods with the help of SafetyCulture, a program for food safety training. You and your staff can employ this application to gather crucial data on food safety anywhere, even when there is no internet access, using only a mobile smartphone.
Enable your auditors to provide comprehensive reports with photographs, comments, and information on remedial actions by using digital checklists. Connecting temperature sensors enables it to track the cold chain process of food commodities, with readings sent directly to the app for easy access and monitoring, even while at a distance.
Key Features
- Health & Safety Management: Promote a safety first culture in your food business while keeping your staff safe on the job.
- Integrate with Sensors: SafetyCulture sensors, when combined with the mobile app, are strong tools that provide peace of mind to food safety managers and food handlers.
- Operational Excellence: Optimize processes to increase productivity, efficiency, and the delivery of high-quality goods or services on a large scale.
Pricing
- Free: $0/ user/Up to 10 users
- Premium: $24/seat/month - Premium when billed annually
- Enterprise: Ask the vendor
3. FoodDocs
FoodDocs helps you stay on track with food safety compliance and organizational rules.
You can quickly digitize your food records with FoodDocs, saving time on staff monitoring and assisting them in staying on top of their obligations.
This is accomplished via their people management tool. You can organize team training, course completion certificates, and food safety training seminars all in one spot with this service. FoodDocs can be utilized as well to raise awareness about food safety and the need for food hygiene.
Key Features
- Traceability System: When you need specific product-related information rapidly, their Advanced Search features enable speedy document retrieval.
- Integrations: Their technology makes it easy to link with smart devices and IoT temperature sensors, allowing for speedier monitoring and overall food safety.
- Knowledge Base: Get all the resources you need to implement and use FoodDocs
Pricing
- Free Trial
- Basic: €84/mo/ Billed at €999/yr
- Standard: €167/mo/ Billed at €2388 €1999/yr
- Professional: €250/mo/ Billed at €3588 €2999/yr
- Enterprise: Get a Custom Quote
4. Safefood 360
Safefood 360° is a food safety training program that focuses on administration and compliance.
Users can use Safefood 360° to monitor every aspect of their food production operations, from supplier negotiations to food stock quality and pest control activities.
This food safety software can also help in assuring compliance with different food safety requirements, such as HACCP, as well as the upkeep of a Preventive Control Plan (PCP).
Key Features
- Action-Drive Software: Your team is provided with clear, searchable, and filterable grids across the platform, allowing them to see and identify their activities promptly in order to remain on schedule.
- Alerts and Notifications: Users are informed when work is needed, alerted when it is overdue, and escalated to top management when a serious risk is posed, enabling multinational enterprises to obtain maximum control with little micromanagement.
- Real-Time Auditing: Their solution automatically monitors events and signs inside your records and data and can detect nonconformities without direct human involvement.
Pricing
Ask the vendor for a quote
5. Jolt
Moving n with our Leafe alternative recommendations, we've got Jolt.
It is operations management software that is accessible on numerous platforms, including smartphones and tablets, to assist organizations in food, retail, hospitality, and other industries in achieving team responsibility, digital food safety compliance, and improved staff performance.
The program, powered by a digital checklist platform with integrated kitchen hardware, remedial actions, and customized alerts, provides individual employee responsibility, insight into store performance, and accurate food safety records.
Key Features
- Checklist Reminders: Checklist reminders are useful, providing audio and visual warnings to ensure activities are not forgotten. This feature demonstrates its efficacy in increasing task management and responsibility.
- Customized Text Message Confirmations for Audits: Jolt's customized text message confirmations for audits give vital input while also ensuring accountability and compliance.
- Photo Requirement: This feature discourages fraudulent reporting and assists in compliance checks, assuring accurate documentation and fostering openness.
Pricing
- Jolt customizes its offering depending on your exact needs
6. Ideagen EHS
Food safety and quality management solutions from Ideagen help you to streamline and simplify compliance with essential industry requirements.
Their user-friendly software provides you with unrivaled control over your organization, making it simple to manage quality, safety, operational efficiency, and waste management.
Key Features
- Increase Visibility: With automated processes, you may get insight into your supply chain and monitor supplier information. Identify new risks and remove nonconformity.
- Automate Audit Preparation: Using automated processes, you can gain insight into your supply chain and monitor supplier information. Identify and remove developing threats.
- Protect your Reputation: Maintain customer and retailer satisfaction while avoiding possible negative feedback associated with product recalls, food fraud, counterfeiting, and allergy incidences.
Pricing
Ask the vendor for pricing information
7. ETQ
Whether it's keeping tabs on supplier quality or keeping an eye on equipment and people safety, ETQ Reliance has you covered when it comes to food safety.
This software helps businesses in the food and beverage industry streamline their processes and stay compliant.
From manufacturing to executive suites, ETQ's quality management solutions are driving the shift in focus from siloed approaches to data-enabled, integrated platforms for managing business processes.
Key Features
- Reporting: Allows businesses to manage data by producing drag-and-drop analytics reports, scheduling reports that dig deeper into data, and filtering data by pertinent parameters.
- Audit Trail: Get simple audit trail logging and include enhanced features that make it easier and more efficient for organizations to ensure compliance.
- Delegation & Escalation: Delegating, escalating, and monitoring assignments is automated, ensuring that time-sensitive problems and activities are fulfilled.
Pricing
Ask the vendor for pricing information
What is a Food Safety Management System?
Food Safety Management System (FSMS) is a program that prevents food safety concerns from compromising consumers.
Food safety management systems also assist food industry operators in meeting international standards and laws, such as ISO 22000 and the Food Safety Act in the United Kingdom.
What is the Purpose of a Food Safety Management System?
A food safety management system's objective is to guarantee that food is safe and will not cause outbreaks of foodborne disease among customers.
This type of activity typically involves overseeing kitchen safety.
Food accidents or concerns about the safety of food and those making it may hurt the image of the food company operator in the sector.
A food company operator must have evidence of a food safety management system in order to keep both important relationships and customer trust. Other advantages of FSMS include:
- Reduced customer/consumer complaints
- Fewer food recalls or returns
- Possibility of ISO 22000 certification
- Standardized adherence to food regulations and standards, such as the Hazard Analysis and Risk-based Preventive Controls (HARPC) in the United States
What Is Leafe?
Leafe is an app that enables you to quickly and readily capture all of your food hygiene records on your phone, eliminating the need for pen and paper.
The cloud stores all of your food safety and hygiene-related records so that you can access them instantly from any device anywhere in the world.
This means that when the food hygiene inspector comes around, you won't be scurrying for difficult-to-find paperwork or incomplete forms - they'll be available for you at the touch of a button.
Kitchen managers can utilize the app to onboard new staff and educate them regarding paperless documentation by using Leafe's digital checklists and documents on maintaining excellent hygiene, the right hygiene procedures and standards to adhere to, and how to accomplish it.
Features
- Food inventory tool built-in
- HACCP and Local Government Regulations Compliance guides
- Professional help in adopting food safety and hygiene measures
- Available for Android and iOS
- Dedicated features help in the monitoring and management of food and refrigerator temperatures. Kitchen managers who want to do away with all paperwork
Why Should You Use Leafe?
1. Food Hygiene Made Simple
Leafe is used for food hygiene monitoring by food producers, wholesalers, restaurants, schools, and many other sectors of the food business. Managing food hygiene on-site requires a collaborative effort on the part of enterprises and food manufacturers.
Food hygiene authorities need adequate record-keeping and documentation, which creates a challenge that Leafe can assist with.
As previously stated, Leafe enables you to easily record your food hygiene records and inventory without the inconvenient drawbacks that pen and paper present; Leafe's partially automated food hygiene records drastically reduce the time and effort required to keep on top of otherwise time-consuming HACCP procedures.
2. Efficient and Easy to Use Inventory System
It seems evident that the key to operating a successful company is to maximize earnings while minimizing waste. However, this is much easier said than done, particularly in the food sector. You can minimize waste and increase profitability with the help of sophisticated stock control solutions like Leafe's.
Every organization that stores products can benefit from an in-depth understanding of their supply chain, but it is especially critical in the food sector. Knowing precisely what you are purchasing, selling, and discarding is the greatest approach to eliminating wasteful expenditures.
Most food production plants, restaurants, and other food-related enterprises can nevertheless enhance their operations. When the bother of paper food hygiene records and clumsy inventory systems is eliminated with Leafe, both managers and staff will realize considerable time savings.
What are the Key Elements of a Food Safety Management System?
Interactive Communication
The development of trust between food suppliers, distributors, providers, and consumers is accomplished via interactive communication. While a food company owner may not have access to all of these stakeholders, he or she should be aware of and maintain communication with:
- From whom they get their food (the stakeholder immediately above them in the supply chain)
- To whom they give their food (the stakeholder directly below them in the supply chain)
These two stakeholders should be aware of the food safety management system or actively participate in its development. When it comes to food safety, the food industry operator should also consider their stakeholders' preferences, specifications, or needs.
Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP)
HACCP principles demand food industry operators to identify critical control points (CCP), or phases in the process where they have the chance to resolve a food safety hazard, in addition to undertaking hazard analysis. A critical limit or a minimum/maximum value must be specified for each CCP. The following HACCP concepts are required:
- Techniques for monitoring
- Techniques for verifying remedial actions
- Processes for documenting
Bottomline
Another beneficial use of food safety software is for helping with compliance. You can say goodbye to sifting through heaps of papers when providing documentary proof to food safety inspectors using a food safety app.
Businesses can enhance their compliance operations by replacing paper checklists with a food safety app and food safety compliance software.
A food safety app can act as a "sixth sense" for safety inspectors, allowing them to monitor, forecast, and evaluate what's going on in their operations using a system that makes internal compliance activities more effective, sustainable, and productive.