The food industry is quickly transforming with new technologies, data-driven menus, and customer demands. It’s imperative for those in the food service industry – from restaurant owners to tech vendors – to understand the food trends of today and how they will shape the industry for years to come.
The ever-changing landscape of food tech, menu offerings, and regional differences can make data analysis and prospecting a daunting task. Thankfully, tools such as Brizo provide comprehensive food service market data, allowing you to make highly targeted research and data-driven decisions.
In this article, we will explore what food trends are, how they vary within the foodservice market, and the effective use of data for sales prospecting, marketing, and mining customer insights. By the end of it, you should have a deeper understanding of the food industry and the ability to leverage data for your business needs.
What are Food Trends?
Food trends are defined as the patterns that come and go within the foodservice market, based on current consumer desires and preferences. They usually involve current consumption patterns, popular dishes, ingredients, drinks, technology used, and customer expectations.
The food service industry is highly impacted by food trends due to its ever-changing nature. It requires consistently keeping up with customer tastes, preferences, and technology for efficient production and service. Additionally, regional and seasonal trends will also play a role in the menu selection as well as the concept of a restaurant.
How Food Trends Vary
Food trends differ from region to region, sector to sector, and from season to season. For instance, the regional Southwestern flavor of food is considered a popular trend in New Mexico, but a regional or novelty item in rural Idaho. Similarly, plant-based diets have seen an increase in popularity among health-christened millennials, though may not appeal to baby-boomers.
Regardless of the differences, it’s important to stay abreast of all trends to understand the customer base in various sectors and regions. This will help to personalize and curate your offerings, menu, and services and ensure you’re meeting customer demands.
Data-Driven Insight for Prospecting, Marketing, and Enrichment
Data provides organizations with unique insights into target markets, allowing them to align their strategy, sales efforts, and marketing messages in a more tailored manner.
For example, a restaurant technology provider can use data to identify which industries and business types are buying the most technology and use those insights to customize their sales and marketing efforts. With this knowledge, they can target their messages to the correct customer to increase the chances of a successful close.
Data-driven research can also help organizations understand customer preferences and behavior, as well as help inform menu items based on trends. By having access to various data points such as menu offerings, cuisine types, customer ratings, and more, organizations can gain valuable insights on high-performing dishes, pinpoint customer favorites, and leverage that to increase profits.
Fostering a data-driven culture from the top of the organization down can be extremely beneficial for managers, owners, and C-level executives. By taking the time to understand the landscape of food service data, a more comprehensive strategy can be created to drive growth, increase efficiency, and capitalize on opportunities.
Last ideas
It’s becoming increasingly important for organizations within the food service industry to understand the data landscape and the trends that dictate consumer preferences. It’s critical to analyze the data extensively and leverage it to make informed decisions.
Organizations such as Brizo are helping those from the restaurant industry to food tech vendors understand and use data to their advantage. By collecting and analyzing data, it’s possible to better understand customers, make more data-driven decisions, and increase your chances of success.
