For businesses in the foodservice market, understanding the ever-evolving trends is essential for staying competitive. To better serve their customers and stay ahead of their competition, companies must keep track of innovative products and services, changes in customer behavior, and emerging technology. Keeping abreast of the most current data can be a difficult task, but powerful tools like Brizo can make it simpler. With unique data fields specific to the foodservice industry, Brizo delivers in-depth menu data and restaurant tech coverage for sales and marketing with up-to-date insight. With this article, we outline the top 10 trends in the foodservice industry that business owners must know.
1. Customer Expectations
Staying ahead of customer expectations means understanding what their demands will be. The trend of providing a more personalized and heightened level of service is one of the prevailing themes in the foodservice industry. Customers will expect to be welcomed with an individualized experience that caters to their needs, including streamlined delivery services when they’re eating at home and an easier-to-navigate menu when they’re dining in. Businesses must keep up with the changing needs of consumers if they want to stay relevant, especially now in the age of increased convenience.
2. Healthy & Allergen-Friendly Menus
With health and wellness being the go-to phrase of the decade, it’s no surprise that customers are looking for healthier menu options when dining in restaurants. Restaurants can benefit from offering healthy alternatives and catering to customers with dietary restrictions. It is essential to have a comprehensive understanding of what ingredients need to be avoided in order to ensure that your customers’ dietary requirements are met. For example, the Brizo platform can provide ongoing menu checks in food venues with daily allergen alerts.
3. Technology-Enabled Restaurants
As technology becomes further ingrained in our lives, customers now expect restaurants to be tech-savvy. With restaurant tech such as online ordering, automated payments, and even GPS-enabled order tracking, businesses can provide a seamless, efficient, and secure experience for their customers. Restaurants are adopting technology to the extent that some even offer kiosks and interactive menus. As technological advancements continue, understanding the updates in the industry and providing customer-centric experiences is essential.
4. Delivery Services
Delivery services are seeing a surge in demand due to the increasing popularity of ordering food online. Companies must understand the importance of their delivery networks as well as the needs of their customers. A large focus of companies must be to cut wait times and improve the delivery experience. Brizo enables businesses to view restaurant locations and optimize delivery areas to ensure the most efficient operation.
5. Plant-Based Products
Vegan and vegetarian options are growing in both popularity and demand in the foodservice industry, with the rise of plant-based diets in both the United States and Europe. Plant-based meals offer an environmentally friendly and healthier alternative to the usual meat-based dishes found on menus. In order to satisfy this demand, restaurants must make sure they have clear indications of what is vegan or vegetarian on their menus.
6. Locally-Sourced Ingredients
An increasing number of people are paying more attention to where their food comes from andso “locally-sourced” is a buzzword in the food industry. The trend of purchasing ingredients from local farmers has been skyrocketing in recent years. Restaurants are now emphasizing the local aspect of items on their menus. This trend is driven by customers seeking out fresher, higher quality ingredients with the added benefit of supporting local farmers and businesses.
7. Kitchen Automation & Robotics
Robotics and automation are becoming increasingly commonplace in the restaurant industry as businesses look for ways to streamline production. Kitchen automation and robotics help save on labor costs, streamline production processes, help with food portioning, and ensure consistency. Business owners must understand the opportunities associated with advanced technology and how to make the best use of the resources available.
8. Sustainable Packaging
As customers and governments become more concerned with the rising levels of waste associated with takeout orders, sustainability is becoming a priority when it comes to food packaging. This includes compostable and recyclable materials, as well as plant-based packaging that can biodegrade naturally. Restaurants must be aware of the types of materials they are using for their packaging and choose materials that are more environmentally friendly and sustainable.
9. Regional Dishes
Customers are increasingly looking for regional dishes when they dine in restaurants. Restaurants must keep up with the current food trends and be able to cater to the individual preferences of customers in different regions, which can be pre-determined with foodservice market intelligence. Restaurants must also keep up with regional flavor trends and enhance their existing menu assortment with dishes from other regions to build on their diners’ culinary experiences.
10. Food Waste & Loss
As climate change continues to loom in the background, minimizing food waste is a trend that is being taken a lot more seriously in the restaurant industry. Businesses must be aware of how their production processes impact the environment and how to make improvements to eliminate food waste. Restaurants are now investing in waste management systems to track their food waste and find more efficient ways of handling, reusing, or donating their excess food.
