The foodservice market is highly competitive and ever-evolving, requiring a continuous level of data solutions and trend analysis to remain competitive. From sales prospecting through to kitchen expansion and data enrichment, the potential of greater insight in the foodservice market is a need that must continually be solved. Data-driven analytics and insights can penetrate multiple layers of the food industry, providing keen understandings of industries such as restaurants, caterers, and food manufacturers. By collecting, analyzing, and disseminating this information to the right channels, food manufacturing, catering, and restaurant partners can remain in the know regarding common trends, consumer behavioirs, and maximizing business performance.
At Brizo, we provide a broad range of data solutions for deeper market understanding and analysis. Our resources and data fields are unique to the foodservice industry and equip sales and marketing teams with targeted data and insights. Naturally, we wanted to explore the current and future trends of the foodservice market, to provide our clients and partners a better understanding of what to keep an eye on for 2023 and beyond.
Trends in restaurant technology
A trend that has been gathering momentum recently revolves around restaurant technology. Restaurant technology has become increasingly popular amongst restaurant and foodservice operators, especially in light of the pandemic. With streamlined restaurant solutions, restaurant staff can manage the entire restaurant process more efficiently – from ordering, food delivery, payment, marketing, and customer service. These restaurant solutions provide an integrative approach that reduces manual-work, creating a highly organized eatery experience. Other restaurant technology services also provide insights into customer analytics and business observations, allowing restaurant operators to build tailored customer experiences and better engage with customers. Overall, this technology offers a comprehensive and unified approach to the restaurant business, and its continued progression is a very noticeable foodservice trend for the coming years.
Growth in Meal Delivery Services
Meal delivery services are also markedly increasing in popularity and are predicted to grow even further as a larger number of people become reliant on its convenience. As a result, restaurant delivery services have seen a rapid surge, as restaurants are diversifying their delivery services based on customer needs. These services offer valuable convenience to customers, allowing them to have their favorite meals delivered to their doorstep with great efficiency. The delivery model also further extends the reach of restaurant services, allowing restaurants to receive orders from further away and reach customers they may have been previously unable to. This goes for specialised restaurants, which may have customers that are more willing to order delivery for rare or hard-to-find items. As a whole, this shows the importance of optimising delivery services and adopting user-friendly platforms in order to increase the potential growth rate and customer satisfaction.
Growth in Plant-based Meals and Ingredients
Given increasing concerns towards traditional meat consumption, and growing awareness of the tendency towards plant-based diets, the foodservice market is rapidly expanding on plant-based alternatives and ingredients. Plant-based products have become especially popular over the past few years, with more brands and restaurants providing these alternatives to meat. Such products are redefining the food industry, allowing for meat substitutes and more nutritious, sustainable plant-based options for restaurant menus and dishes. There is also increased demand for plant-based products in the catering segment, as vegetarian and vegan diets become more commonplace. The growing acceptance and preference for plant-based products is likely to continue gathering steam in the coming years, making it a key trend for the foodservice market.
Menu Expansion and Modification
Businesses have been prompted to expand, modify, or replace existing menus with Covid-19 restrictions limiting what can be served and sold. Even with the loosening of government guidelines, businesses will continue to make changes to optimize their operations. Restaurants are beginning to make more permanent changes to their menus as they evaluate what sells successfully under modified circumstances. Similarly, some restaurants are focusing more on entree sales than appetizers, as customers order less due to dine-in restrictions. Alternatively, catering operations are reverting towards pre-packaged food, as whole-sale plating has been temporarily halted in most areas due to safety or space concerns. Even with catering, there is evidence of increased flexibility for event types, such as allowing instore pick-ups to facilitate take-home meals and curbside orders. Moreover, many restaurants have incorporated delivery services into their operations to further increase revenue.
Focus on Capturing Trends Early
Due to the key trends highlighted above, there is an intensifying need for restaurants to evaluate these trends and capture insights sooner. With a greater understanding of the consumer landscape, restaurant owners can modify their offerings and strategies to meet customer demands. To ensure this, restaurant technology providers must ensure that they are equipped with the necessary insights and trends to provide concise and effective solutions to restaurants. Data enrichment should be a key feature of any suite of restaurant services, to ensure accurate and detailed results that help restaurant owners prioritize insight and action.
