Vista recognises that dining and entertainment are fundamental parts of traditional cinema now. With premiumisation and family entertainment centres steadily growing over the years, food and beverage operations are key to the ideal modern moviegoer experience. We acknowledge that Vista Group has not always focused attentions on this area, but over the past two years we have redefined our organization and our strategies, and remain dedicated to developing effective and innovative F&B solutions.

With a rolling two-year roadmap available to all our clients, we can showcase our ongoing work across all our developments, and no part of cinema operations has more ongoing developments than F&B, dining, and entertainment. Our developments of F&B solutions and enhancements encompass self-service, front of house, and kitchen operations, as well as a focus on extensibility though our APIs.

Our team was thrilled to attend this year's Dine-In Summit, where we shared some of our developments and insights into our ongoing work as we continue to innovate in the F&B space.

Solutions that suit your cinema operations

Every cinema’s F&B needs and specifications are unique, whether determined by scale, market, or service model, and so we ensure our solutions and approach cater to a range of different areas and priorities to match a cinema’s business needs.

All features below are available on the Vista Roadmap. Explore our strategic F&B areas with the keywords #selfservice, #frontofhouse and #kitchenoperations.

Kitchen operations

Many cinemas run large commercial kitchens, and as such, require solutions that aid in streamlining and supporting those kitchen operations. Our solutions aid in the management of multiple kitchens, prep stations, and concepts with functionality such as specific food routing, stock control, order/item priority, clear prep times, and meal pacing. As highlighted on our roadmap, we have several enhancements releasing in this space soon, including KDS rush orders and Meal Pacing.

Front of house

Other cinemas may wish to prioritise their front of house operations, either for basic concessions or a complete dining experience. Our comprehensive Point of Sale solution supports both by amplifying and speeding up sales, from concessions to complex food orders.

Serve, our mobile solution for server-led restaurant and in-cinema dining, also streamlines complete dining experiences with efficient order-taking, and matches each cinema’s layout and seating considerations.

Self-service

Offering efficient self-service options is key for cinemas invested in F&B, both to enhance the guest experience and to streamline labour costs. Lumos Web, Mobile, Kiosk, and the new Lumos Order allow guests to order and customise their food digitally using a simple scan-to-order approach. This avoids any barrier of sign-ups, sign-ins, or downloads. Likewise, our Living Ticket supports F&B experiences by empowering guest self-service and streamlining F&B operations with features like Add food to existing ticket and Start my order (in-seat delivery).

Expanding our Vista ecosystem

Vista Group’s commitment to F&B is further reflected in our expansion of the Vista ecosystem. By offering integrations that enable cinemas to use third party providers for further requirements, we offer flexibility to meet the unique needs of our clients.

For example, we were thrilled to announce last year our expansion of Serve device support through our partnership with Adyen. By integrating our Serve software with their robust, compact, and cost-effective S1E2L and AMS1 devices and payment processing, staff can deliver seamless guest experiences.

Extensibility in the F&B space remains a priority for us — stay tuned for an upcoming announcement about a new partnership to provide more options to meet your unique extended dining needs.

Vista Group’s continued focus on F&B development

Premium cinema experiences are a true cornerstone of entertainment, which we remain committed to empowering. With a roadmap packed with innovation for the next two years, we eagerly anticipate another year of development and discovery of new opportunities in this space. If you are interested in exploring our strategic F&B areas on the Vista Roadmap, don't forget to search with the keywords #selfservice, #frontofhouse and #kitchenoperations.

As this year’s Dine-In Summit concludes, we greatly look forward to ongoing discussions of how Vista Group can deliver the best F&B solutions for the cinema industry and match the needs of our clients.