It’s no secret that the American fast food industry is continually evolving. While major trends like plant-based products, online ordering, and delivery services are popular right now, there are other trends that have the potential to revolutionize the restaurant industry further. And that’s where understanding the pros and cons of any foodservice trend matters.
In the past, making strategic decisions for the long-term was a challenge, inefficient, or even daunting. To make the most of the current food trends, there’s a need for enhanced research and data analytics.
In this article, we’ll discuss the key points to consider when evaluating foodservice trends. We’ll also take a look at how the use of food service market intelligence can create a competitive advantage and help businesses scale—regardless of size. We’ll also explore how sales and marketing teams can use data-driven insights to make confident decisions, and how operations teams can use foodservice market intelligence to strategically expand their brand.
Analyzing Trends with Targeted Research
Before considering a new food service trend, a thorough research and analysis must be done. This includes understanding the type of customers it’s intended to serve and their motivations. This allows a restaurant to make sure they’re keeping up with trends and meeting customer needs at the same time.
For example, analyzing customer feedback like type of menus and frequency of visits can help determine what works—and what doesn’t. Additionally, researching and understanding the area’s competitive landscape can help identify areas of improvement to stand out.
One of the best ways to do this is to use a data platform like Brizo. With Brizo, restaurant owners, operators, and marketers can do detailed customer research, such as menus and popular items. They can also use data to find the best restaurants to target, assess competitor strength and gain insights to find untapped market opportunities.
Competitive Advantage with Foodservice Market Intelligence
The foodservice industry is highly competitive. With the use of market intelligence, restaurants, franchisors, chain restaurants, and start-ups can gain a competitive advantage. Foodservice market intelligence allows companies to identify and capitalize on market trends and consumer behavior more quickly and efficiently than ever before.
With the right data, companies can detect potential customer preferences, explore new product ideas, and identify competitors’ weaknesses to gain a competitive edge. Additionally, companies can extract customer insights, identify trends, and explore opportunities for growth and expansion.
However, it’s important to note that the use of foodservice market intelligence isn’t only beneficial for large companies with multiple locations. Small businesses and startup restaurants can benefit as well by incorporating data-driven insights into their strategic decisions.
Using Intelligence for Sales and Marketing
Sales and marketing professionals in the restaurant industry should also leverage foodservice market intelligence to gain a competitive advantage. With data-driven insights, they can make more informed decisions that will translate into more sales and higher customer loyalty.
For example, sales and marketing teams can identify target customers for their product or service by using foodservice market insights. For instance, leveraging data can help sales teams identify restaurants that are likely to purchase a franchise or new restaurant locations. It can also help them target high-value customers with specific offers or promotions.
In addition, insights into customer behavior can help marketing channels tailor their content to their specific audience. This will help drive more engagement and better conversion rates.
Expanding with Foodservice Market Intelligence
Foodservice market intelligence can also help restaurants streamline production and expand their business. With the right data in place, restaurants can identify where to set up new kitchens and plan for larger production.
Insights like customer preferences and buying behavior can help restaurants understand which products are most successful—and where to open new restaurants to reach more customers.
Additionally, insights into customer reviews can help restaurants understand and improve their service and find ways to stand out among competitors.
Enriching Data Systems with Foodservice Market Intelligence
The most successful companies use comprehensive market insights to make decisions with confidence. When it comes to the restaurant industry, this means having the most up-to-date data on customer preferences, menu items, and trends.
Foodservice market intelligence can help enhance data systems with more comprehensive insights and trends. Companies can then use this data to make more confident decisions and stay one step ahead of competitors.
Final thoughts
Understanding foodservice trends is vital for companies to stay competitive in the restaurant business. With the right data-driven insights, restaurants can identify customer needs, expand their brand, and gain a competitive advantage. Foodservice market intelligence can also help equip sales and marketing teams with data-driven insights and help operations teams streamline production and find new growth opportunities.
