Why your buffet breakfast croissant is getting smaller: How hotels are using AI bins to slash food waste
The pastries have been reduced to a petite 28g portion as part of a wider effort by Hilton to tackle food waste with the help of AI powered smart bins.
Recognising that food waste is a significant problem in the hotel industry, Hilton has deployed a waste-tracking system created by British technology company Winnow in nearly 200 hotels.
The smart bins—equipped with cameras and weighing scales—monitors what guests throw away tracking everything from leftover scrambled eggs to half-eaten melons.
The bins photograph the waste each time food is discarded, identifying the type and quantity.
Real-time data can be viewed by kitchen staff while a detailed report on food waste is compiled for the next day.
The data collected helps hotel kitchens identify problem areas and allows chefs to adjust portions sizes and prepare accordingly.
'We discovered the biggest culprits were exactly what you'd expect—pastries, bread, and the fruit ends,' said Niki Walsh, a senior director of food and beverage marketing at Hilton.
'So, we started adjusting. Croissants are now smaller. Fruit is cut differently, more artfully, to reduce leftovers. Even the plates are smaller to encourage mindful serving.'
Data highlights that plate waste mainly consists of bread, pastries, beans, grains, vegetables and fruit ends.
As a result, the chain has reduced pastries to 28g portion sizes – a drastic reduction on the larger options which can weigh as much as 90g.
Other changes include smaller serving pots for offerings such a yoghurt, more cook to order stations and stopping pre-mixed salad waste by dressing them only at service.
Hilton is now also offering doggy bags in some hotels to encourage guests to take leftover pastry items away with them to eat later in the day.
One resort - the Hilton Dubai Jumeirah and Hilton Dubai The Walk – has seen a 70 per cent reduction on waste after embracing the Winnow technology.
The AI data has also revealed seasonal trends with food waste spiking sharply during Ramadan and Christmas.
Through campaigns such as Green Breakfast and Green Ramadan, Hilton has already seen huge reductions in waste at the buffets.
The Green Ramadan initiative saw 26 per cent reduction in post-consumer plate waste this year from 102g to 64g per cover in just 4 weeks.
The month-long effort helped avoid more than 2.6 tonnes of food waste, the equivalent of more than 6,000 meals.
Building on the momentum of previous years, the programme marked the initiative's biggest rollout yet, scaled across 45 hotels in 14 countries in EMEA and APAC.
Emma Banks, vice president, food and drink strategy and development, Hilton, EMEA said: 'At Hilton, we are actively reducing food waste across our portfolio and are proud of the progress made through our Green Ramadan and Green Breakfast initiatives.
'From testing behavioural nudges and analysing waste trends to holding regular coaching sessions with our kitchen teams during these campaigns, we've put sustainability at the forefront of our operations and have gathered data which will empower us to take meaningful, scalable action across our hotels, without compromising on guest experience.'
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