Café de Coral Reduces 10% Losses & Boosts 20% Efficiency with Smart Operations

Operating over 550 dining outlets in Hong Kong, Mainland China and Macau, Café de Coral (CdC) Group runs 4 main business lines: quick-service restaurants, casual dining, institutional catering and food processing, which includes a 4 ISO-certified food processing plants, providing quality food to hundreds of thousands of Hongkoners every day.

In its 2023/24 Sustainability Report, the Group announced the achievement of its targets ahead of schedule, in terms of energy consumption, greenhouse gas emissions, water usage and food waste. For example, energy consumption has decreased by over 25% compared to the baseline, whereas remarkable progress has been made in food waste reduction, with a reduction of 31% which has exceeded the 27% target.

By closely monitoring the use of resources and enhancing the efficiency with advanced technologies and optimised procedures, the Group has worked tirelessly towards lowering emissions, energy use, food loss, etc. adhering to industry standards. CdC also commissioned GS1 HK’s Smart Service team to review production process and share industry standards, hoping to enhance digitalisation and best practice implementation.

Upon analysing the processes together, CdC and GS1 HK team found that little was known of the yield, bone and fat content in each incoming delivery, because the chunks of meat and the processed products had not been properly measured. This could potentially lead to food loss and increased costs, while the team finds it hard to assess the quality of foodstuff from suppliers.

After visiting the plant on-site, the GS1 HK team recommended that e-forms, electronic scales, and a customised dashboard to be used on the pork chop and wonton production lines in the central food processing unit. This would allow staff to accurately record from different suppliers the total yield of a chunk of meat (for main courses), the offcuts (for minced meat), the by-products (for making soups), and the wastage.

Procurement staff would then be able to determine if the foods can be fully utilised and are of good quality, ensuring minimum wastage. This would also help evaluate suppliers: if a particular batch of meat shows excessive wastage or by-products, the supplier will be called upon to work out a solution.

Previously, the production line managers would only become aware of the output volume later in the day, as they do not know the production progress in real-time. Now, they can know if production is falling behind schedule and take action, such as deploying additional staff, because of real-time visibility. By tracking the employees’ daily productivity (e.g. making 1,000 wontons per day), the supervisors can have immediate insight into individual progress, enabling more flexible staff arrangement and management.

These measures has helped reduce food loss by 5-10%, which is key to the CdC Group as it produces hundreds of thousands of meals each day, culminating small savings to substantial wastage reduction. The company estimates a roughly 20% increase in efficiency of the production lines, bringing in considerable cost-cut and productivity. The measures also allow for more accurate assessment of each supplier's quality, ensuring consistent quality that meets customer expectations.

Staff used to visit the walk-in freezers on different floors regularly at the CdC headquarters building, to manually record temperature and humidity levels to ensure food quality. Following GS1 HK's recommendation, the Group installed sensors that not only record data but also upload the data in real-time to GS1 HK's ezTRACK traceability cloud platform. If any anomaly occurs, such as a freezer door was left open causing temperature upsurge, the system immediately issues an alert to the personnel, mitigating the risk of food spoilage and keep the foods safe.

By monitoring the environmental data at all times, the solution helps reduce energy consumption and promotes greener operations. It eliminates the need for manual check and record 3 times a day, and supports compiling report of all temperature and humidity data from the freezers, which saves about 30 minutes of labor each day. The company is able to comply with the reporting requirements for food warehouse storage, which is one of the quality standards required by the likes of ISO 22000.

By working with GS1 HK Smart Service team and adopting "Smart Operations", CdC can achieve:

• Up to 10% reduction in food loss with standardised food production processes
• A 20% increase in productivity through enhanced documentation
• 24/7 real-time environmental monitoring that ensures food safety

Incorporated in 1968 and listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange since July 1986, Café de Coral Group is one of Asia’s largest publicly-listed restaurant and catering groups. With deep roots in Hong Kong, the Group has established its position as a market leader in the fast food industry over the past 50 years.