Belgian-based Puratos has unveiled a remote customer support app, Digital AdvisAR, that connects bakers, patissiers and chocolatiers to industry specialists worldwide via augmented reality (AR) to assist in problem-solving.

The app is user-friendly for artisan, industrial and in-store bakeries who need expert advice about recipes and technical challenges. 

Ramping up digitalization 
Digital AdvisAR forms part of the digitalization strategy of Puratos, which has 600 technical experts in 71 countries. New ways to support customers, such as digital assistance, came to the forefront when COVID-19 lockdowns brought travel to a halt.

“When creating Digital AdvisAR, our priority was ensuring the hardware seleced was intuitive and user-friendly enough for the user to have as smooth an experience as they would with a face-to-face visit,” Christophe Surdiacourt, group customer technical support director Puratos, tells FoodIngredientsFirst. 

“Some of the first options we looked into were sophisticated but overly complicated, so we found an alternative that would be simpler but just as valuable.

The app has universal symbols that can easily be interpreted by users across the world and experts can speak to customers live during the interaction which was an important feature in its development, says Surdiacourt.

“The software needed enough clarity and precision for the Puratos expert to be able to interpret the situation through augmented reality. Working with Microsoft’s HoloLens, enhanced technical support is available to enable us to visualise the situation very accurately.”The app sources experts who can advise about recipes and technical challenges. (Credit: Puratos)

Expanding growth strategies 
The app was inspired by a Harvard Business Review article advocating the use of AR strategy in many more types of business because of its benefits for customer interaction.

Digital AdvisAR was tested in several countries during the pandemic and will be launched first in Austria, Brazil, France, Italy, Turkey and the US. The app is available in the user’s language. 

Puratos plans to extend the support tool to all other countries of operation.

“Although many businesses have initiated digitalization strategies in response to the pandemic, this idea began in November 2019,” explains Surdiacourt. 

“As digitalization is already a core part of our growth strategy at Puratos, we were keen to explore the opportunity and develop an app that could align with our customers’ needs for speed, quality and efficiency. We can now respond faster with guidance that supports them through their challenges, wherver they are.”

Digital AdvisAR can be downloaded from a regular app store. In-person visits from technical advisors will continue when issues cannot be resolved virtually.

“With the increasing digitalization of our technical service, customers will now have the option of first receiving virtual support with more flexibility and without the need to wait for an expert to arrive,” Surdiacourt outlines.

Faster connections to the specialists helps customers improve their product quality and cut downtime and waste.The app has universal symbols that can easily be interpreted by users across the world. (Credit: Puratos)

Industry moves to digitalize
Businesses in the food space are rapidly moving to digitalize their operations or offerings significantly in the wake of COVID-19-related industry interruptions. 

For example, Plantbaser digital platform was recently unveiled by Planteneers to turn a plant-based food or beverage concept into a finished product in two weeks. Using the configurator, manufacturers can define the criteria for the product they want. 

Customers can also explore different variations in recipes for alternatives to cheese, fermented dairy and meat products. Mayonnaise can also be configured with it, and soon a variety of plant-based baked goods and options to egg and fish products will be offered.

In a similar move, Chemometric Brain, a software-as-a-service (SaaS) platform, was created to identify food fraud and increase transparency along the global supply chain. The cloud-based software uses near-infrared (NIR) technology to guarantee the traceability, suitability and homogeneity of ingredients and food products.

Also, start-up accelerator Food-X has gone digital, in line with social distancing mandates, amid the COVID-19 outbreak. The company virtually revealed eight start-ups chosen for their Cohort 11 program. The start-ups are active in ingredients, supply chain management, plant-based, restaurant technology and sustainability.