Smart Cafeteria

Eliminate the lunchtime
“line.”

Image Recognition ｜ RFID ｜ Weight-based

1-Second Checkout Fewer Cashiers Less Food Waste

Try a Free POC ▼

0 JPY ｜ Validated in a real cafeteria ｜ Guideline: 100+ meals/day

Just 1 second. Cafeteria checkout, transformed.

Izumo Soan's smart cafeteria solution selects the best of three methods — AI image recognition, RFID and weight-based checkout — to solve queues and cashier staffing shortages in corporate, school, hospital and factory cafeterias. With facial-recognition payment, checkout completes in just 3–5 seconds per person. A free POC at 0 JPY is available in the Kanto area.

1s
Checkout Speed
2
Instant recognition & payment
80%
Cashier Reduction Rate
80%
Food Waste Reduction Rate

*Reduction rates vary by deployment conditions and operation. Reference values based on manufacturer data or validation cases.

Recommended for cafeterias like these

🏢

Corporate Cafeterias

Lines form at lunch and employee frustration builds up

🎓

School Cafeterias

Students crowd in, checkout jams, and lunch break runs short

🏥

Hospital & Facility Cafeterias

Reduce staff workload and run operations more efficiently

Does your lunchtime look like this?

🕐

10+ minute lines

Over 10 minutes of a 60-minute lunch break vanish into lines, building employee frustration.

💰

Extra cashiers for the lines

Add more counters, each with 1–2 cashiers — a vicious cycle of rising labor costs.

📊

No peak forecasting

You can’t tell how many meals sell and when, so prep runs over or short.

💳

Payment drags

Cash and meal-ticket handling is slow — 30+ seconds per person — worsening peak-time lines.

Comparing ways to eliminate the line

Time per person and the number of steps vary greatly by checkout method.

Method 1

Staffed Register

30–60 sec per person
5 steps of a staffed register

Manual checkout takes 30–60 seconds per person and requires 5 steps in total.

  • At Step 4, from getting out an employee card or credit card to completing payment can take 2–20+ seconds.
Method 2

Competitors’ Auto-Register

Same 5 steps as manual
5 steps of a competitor auto-register

It still takes the same 5 steps as manual checkout.

  • Because dishes are auto-recognized, Step 2 is faster than manual checkout.
  • However, the Step-4 payment time of 2–20 seconds cannot be cut.
Our Solution

Our Solution

Just 3–5 sec per person
Our 3-step high-speed checkout

We process Steps 2, 3 and 4 in parallel, cutting the total down to 3 steps.

  • Facial recognition is used for checkout, eliminating the time to pull a card from your pocket.
  • Checkout completes in just 3–5 seconds per person — far faster than competing products.

Three methods to make your cafeteria smart.

We recommend the best checkout method for your cafeteria’s format.

Image recognition checkout

Image Recognition Checkout

Just place the tray and the camera recognizes the dishes. No special tableware — use your existing dishes.

  • Automatic dish recognition in about 1 second
  • No special tableware — lower deployment cost
  • Recognizes 8+ items at once
  • Automatic nutrition analysis
  • Facial recognition, QR & IC-card payment
RFID checkout

RFID Checkout

Just place RFID tableware — read 30+ items in 1 second. Proven in cafeterias worldwide.

  • Reads 30+ dishes instantly at once
  • Reading accuracy over 99%
  • Tableware is washable and reusable
  • Lowest operational management effort
  • Facial recognition, QR & IC-card payment
Weight-based checkout

Weight-based Checkout

Fair charging by the gram. Helps cut food waste too. Ideal for buffet / self-service.

  • Gram-level weighing with a high-precision scale
  • Fair charging for exactly what you take
  • Cuts food waste by 80%+
  • No special tableware — use existing dishes
  • Facial recognition, QR & IC-card payment

Which one fits your cafeteria?

Choose the best method for your cafeteria’s format.

Cafeteria Type Recommended Method Reason
Large Cafeteria Image Recognition No special tableware — cuts tableware purchase costs by 85%
Large Cafeteria RFID Reads 30+ items instantly — mature technology with the highest accuracy
Buffet / Self-service Weight Gram-based charging greatly cuts food waste
Hybrid Combination Combine the best method for each corner

Why not start with a free trial?

0 JPY ｜ Validated in a real cafeteria ｜ For companies, schools & hospitals ｜ Kanto area

Try a Free POC ▼

Equipment Lineup

Image recognition checkout screen
Image Recognition Checkout Screen
AI dish-recognition checkout terminal (wide counter)
AI Dish-Recognition Terminal (Wide Counter)
AI dish-recognition checkout terminal (compact type)
AI Dish-Recognition Terminal (Compact Type)
RFID checkout counter
RFID Checkout Counter
Weighing terminal
Weighing Terminal
Weighing station
Weighing Station

4 Steps to Deployment

1

Consultation

We learn your cafeteria’s size, format and challenges.

2

Best-fit Proposal

We propose the optimal combination of the three methods.

3

Free POC

We run a trial in your real cafeteria environment.

4

Full Rollout

Go live with ongoing support.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which method is right for us?
After learning about your cafeteria’s size, format and operations, we recommend the best method. Image recognition or RFID suits set-meal styles, while weight-based checkout suits buffet styles. Combining multiple methods is also possible.
Can we keep using our existing tableware?
With image recognition you can keep using existing tableware. RFID requires dedicated RFID-embedded tableware. Weight-based checkout uses a dedicated tray.
Which payment methods are supported?
We support facial recognition, QR code, IC cards (including transit cards) and credit cards. Supported options vary by method, so please contact us for details.
How long does deployment take?
From initial consultation to POC start is roughly 1–2 months, and the POC period is roughly 1–3 months.
Can the three methods be combined?
Yes. Multiple checkout methods can be combined within the same cafeteria — for example, image recognition at the set-meal corner and weight-based checkout at the buffet corner.
What are the conditions for the free POC?
It is for cafeteria operators such as companies, schools and hospitals. Guideline: Kanto area, 100+ meals per day. Equipment loan, installation and support during the POC are all free.

Apply for a Free POC / Contact Us

【Free POC Overview】

  • ✅ Eligible: cafeteria operators such as companies, schools and hospitals
  • ✅ Period: by consultation
  • ✅ Cost: free during the POC (equipment loan, installation and support included)
  • ✅ Area: Kanto
  • ✅ Guideline: cafeterias serving 100+ meals per day

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Make your cafeteria faster. And smarter.

Experience the impact with a free pre-deployment trial.

Try a Free POC ▼

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