As the foodservice industry gets ready to enter a new year – 2021 is nearly at its close – it is important for franchise owners, restaurateurs, and business leaders to start understanding the upcoming food trends that they must consider for their operations in 2023. With insights pulled from market data, review menus, and restaurant technology trends, it can be challenging to pinpoint which trends will be most influential for the foodservice industry in the year ahead.
Fortunately, understanding the food and restaurant trends of the upcoming year can be easier with the right data and insights. With Brizo market intelligence, finding comprehensive and data-driven insights to prepare a business for the year ahead is simpler than ever. Not only does this data include in-depth menu and restaurant tech coverage, but it also helps provide a sales team with data-driven insights to differentiate one’s franchise from the competition. Furthermore, this intelligence also helps streamline production innovation, enrich systems with more comprehensive market insights, and expand a brand’s reach.
Therefore, what follows is the top 10 things to consider when looking at the upcoming food trends for 2023:
1. Plant-Based Food Items: Vegetarian and vegan options continue to be one of the most popular food trends each year and this will continue into 2023. It is important for business owners to properly consider their vegetarian and vegan dishes and source the rights ingredients to meet the consumer demand.
2. Street Food Inspired Cuisine: Consumers are driven to the convenience and daringness of street food – its unique flavors and stories – when they look for a food option. Therefore, one must consider offering certain menu items that present flavors and textures of street food.
3. Sustainable and Eco-Friendly Menus: Companies have become more aware of the environmental impacts of their day-to-day operations, such as the consumption of particular ingredients, packaging materials, and more. Businesses should look to offer more sustainable and eco-friendly menu items that reduce their environmental footprints.
4. Delivery-Friendly Food Formatting: With the ubiquity of delivery services, restaurant and franchise owners need to consider designing their menu items to work in harmony with the constraints of delivery services, including preparing dishes that are easy to transport, presentable upon arrival, and with sauces and other condiments that are packaged and ready-to-eat.
5. Fresh Flavors: Consumers are more interested in food that plays on traditional flavor profiles but with fresh ingredients. This means creating more globally-inspired dishes, incorporating the use of fresh herbs, and offering a wide variety of flavors to tantalize taste buds.
6. Minimalist Cuisine: Consumers have become increasingly savvy in recent years and are more aware of the menus they are consuming. Restaurants should think of offering dishes that offer simple, yet quality ingredients with minimal but interesting items that maximizes flavor impact.
7. Open Kitchens: Open walls are becoming increasingly popular, allowing consumers to observe the creation of their meals directly and truly understand their dishes. Business owners should consider having an open kitchen to directly interact with their guests, creating an interactive atmosphere, as well as upping the presentation for their menu items.
8. Creative Use of Errand Spaces: One of the most important aspects of any restaurant is how it will be used. Entrepreneurs should focus on finding creative ways to utilize errand spaces and give their guests unique experiences. This could include unique seating arrangements, interactive game nights or movie night for example.
9. Specialty Ingredients: Specialty ingredients are becoming increasingly popular in the restaurant industry and it is important for businesses to consider such ingredients – from uncommon cheeses to unusual spices – to attract new customers and provide interesting dishes.
10. Technology: Restaurant owners should also consider leveraging restaurant-industry-specific technology that can help them identify trends in customer behaviour, data on food consumption, inventory, orders, and more.
These are just ten of the things that restaurant and franchise owners should consider in 2023. By leveraging the right data and insights, business owners are now better equipped to stay on top of food trends and preferences that will help drive their success in the upcoming year. Ultimately, whether it’s incorporating specialty ingredients, creating eco-friendly menus, or utilizing data-driven insights when looking at the top food trends in 2023, utilizing the right strategies will make sure that franchise and restaurant owners are meeting customer expectations with the most dynamic offerings.
