A memorable dining experience has always centered around the meal, but increasingly the country’s tastes for a great dining experience has expanded to how the meal is produced, prepared, served and displayed, the ambiance and even entertainment for patrons to enjoy. In this article we will take a look to see what the $709 billion restaurant industry is doing to satisfy these desires.
Americans Want “-Free” Foods
Today’s dining experience starts before the food ever gets into the kitchen. More Americans want to be sure that the food they eat has been ethically produced, such as free-range and hormone-free chicken, or local, pesticide-free vegetables. This concept of “-free” foods (e.g., genetically modified organism (GMO-), gluten-, pesticide-, hormone-, among others) illustrates that many Americans’ perception is that natural is better. In fact, 84 percent of consumers say they prefer natural foods, reports Mintel Group, an international market research firm. Interestingly, 59 percent of consumers believes that fewer ingredients equals a healthier meal. Another 63 percent of consumers believe that GMOs are less safe to eat, says Health Focus International. There are conflicting reports on the validity of the benefits of certain “-free” foods, but there is little disputing their popularity.
[Chart: Top 10 Concerns Among Global Shoppers]
Percentage of shoppers extremely/very concerned about what’s in their food:
58% – Pesticides
58% – Contaminated ingredients
49% – Irradiation of fruits and vegetables
49% – Preservatives
48% – GMOs
48% – Contamination from packaging
47% – Growth hormones
46% – Antibiotics in dairy
45% – Artificial flavors
45% – Food colorings
Sources: Health Focus International.
What’s Driving Health-Conscious Food Choices? (perhaps bar graph)
Percentage of consumers citing each reason
Are locally grown/produced: 67%
Contain only recognizable ingredients: 65%
Are minimally processed: 65%
Are antibiotic-free: 58%
Are hormone-free: 58%
Source: Nation’s Restaurant News/The Hartman Group
Gluten-free food and beverages sales rose from $5.4 billion to $8.8 billion from 2012 to 2014 and are expected to rise 20 percent in 2015 and another 61 percent by 2017, reports Mintel Group. The organic industry generated $39 billion in revenue in 2015, up 11.3 percent from 2014, according to the Organic Trade Association. Data from market research firm IRI indicates that antibiotic-free chicken sales increased 25 percent last year.
Restaurants have listened, too. Chipotle and Panera, among the booming “-free” restaurant chains, have prided themselves on serving ethically raised ingredients like antibiotic-free chicken. Even long-time fast food giant McDonald’s is jumping on this trend amidst plummeting revenue. McDonald’s has adopted a 100 percent cage-free policy for its eggs and will serve chicken products without antibiotics. And Tyson Food, the country’s largest chicken seller, announced earlier this year that it will stop using antibiotics in its chicken by 2017. Artificial food colorants are also being replaced by natural colorants by food chains like Subway and Panera in response to the “-free” trend.
Locally Sourced and Sustainable
According to the National Restaurant Association’s (NRA’s), “What’s Hot 2015 Culinary Forecast,” the top two trends are locally sourced meats and seafood as well as produce. Perceived freshness, healthiness, environmental friendliness and support for the local economy and farmers are among the many reasons why people want local ingredients. And as more Americans want responsibly raised ingredients, we can expect that trend to grow in years to come.
Last year locally sourced food sales totaled $11.7 billion, more than double that in 2008, says the U.S. Department of Agriculture. NRA research shows that eight out of 10 tableservice operators say customers are more interested in locally sourced items this year, while the same could be said by seven out of 10 last year. More than two-thirds of customers (69%) say that they will be more likely to go to a restaurant that serves locally sourced items on their menu—up 5 percent from a year before.
We can also expect sustainable foods to become more significant. NRA data reveals that 60 percent of consumers are likely to eat at a restaurant that uses environmentally friendly ingredients. Forty-two percent of North American consumers are willing to pay more money for sustainable products as well, according to Statista.
The American Diner
Consumers want more than just ethically produced ingredients. They expect just as much from the quality of the ingredients as how they are produced. Polling by Zagat finds that 94 percent of diners rank food quality as the most important aspect of a fast-casual restaurant, and 65 percent are more likely to choose a fast-casual restaurant that is considered gourmet or chef-driven. This trend has given rise to “fine casual” dining (see “Spotlight on Food Industry Innovator Danny Meyer”). Let’s take a look at some of these menu preferences that consumers desire.
What’s on Today’s Menu
The idea of menu planning has really started to take shape for all types of food and beverage operations. NRA keeps culinary operators abreast of the trends happening in all facets of the food and beverage experience. They highlight the following menu trends for this year:
· Waste Not, Want Not: More and more people today are conscious about wasting food and want to make sure that restaurants are doing their best to manage this growing concern.
· Our House: This takes that idea further with restaurants using home-grown food and then making signature branded items from drinks to desserts.
· In a Pickle: Pickling and fermenting is coming back. However, now chefs are mixing in flavors to provide real unique dishes.
· Going (More) Global: More and more ethnic cuisines are finding a location on menus as we crave to taste the flavors from all across the world.
· Mini Gourmet: Kids’ menus are blossoming from the hot dogs, chicken fingers and mac and cheese standard items to more healthy and gourmet selections, but still fun for the kids.
· Shooting Menu Stars: Keeping up with trends and not relying on those items that are now losing steam in the marketplace like hybrid desserts and gluten-free options.
Course-by-Course Trends
NRA also publishes what’s hot in each food and beverage area. Below is a brief summary of some of the items. To see the full list of trends, visit www.restaurant.org/foodtrends. However, remember to be mindful of local trends. Managers and chefs should regularly eat out together at trendy places in their area.
|
Appetizers |
Main Dish |
Sides |
Desserts |
Alcoholic Drinks |
Cocktails |
Kids Meals |
|
· Vegetarian · House-cured meats · Ethnic/ street food · Seafood · Bite-sized |
· Locally sourced · New cuts of meat · Sustainable seafood · Non-traditional fish · Grass-fed beef |
· Non-wheat noodles · Ancient grains · Quinoa · Black rice · Pickled vegetables |
· House-made ice cream · Bite-sized · Savory desserts · Hybrid desserts · Smoked dessert ingredients |
· Micro-distilled spirits · Local · “New Make” whiskey · Food-beer pairings · House-brewed beer |
· Onsite barrel-aged · Regional · Food-cocktail pairings · Edible cocktails · Botanicals |
· Healthy · Whole grain items · Fruit/ vegetable sides · Entrée salads · Oven-baked items |
Source: National Restaurant Association’s “What’s Hot in 2015.”
Chart: Ethnic Food Survey
29% of all consumers have tried a new ethnic food within the last year
37% of people ages 25 to 34
48% of people ages 18 to 24
Source: NRA ethnic foods survey
Healthy Menus
It’s not just tasty, eco-friendly options that customers want—they also want healthy ones. The Hartman Group research finds that 65 percent of adults have made efforts to cut back on sugar and 64 percent are trying to cut back on fats. Diet Coke and Diet Pepsi sales have dropped almost 20 percent in the last decade, says Euromonitor. Restaurants have responded as Johns Hopkins reports that the number of calories on new menu items from 2012 to 2013 dropped by 12 percent.
Many Americans are becoming healthier, but parents are playing a significant role in driving the trend. Healthy kids’ menus are the fourth top food trend in 2015 as forecasted by NRA. Silver Diner, a full-service family chain, switched to a healthy kids’ menu in 2012. Since then, 46 percent of orders for children have come from the new menu, opposed to just 3 percent before the change. French fries orders dropped 32 percent and orders of strawberries jumped by 34 percent during this time. The emphasis on healthy childhood eating habits has been successful as the obesity rate for children ages two to five has dropped by 40 percent in recent years, reports the Center for Disease Control and Prevention.
Technology
Technology is reshaping the food industry. Behind the counter, new kitchen technologies are saving restaurants energy, money and time. In front of the counter, customers are sharing photos of their drinks and meals and indulging in the conveniences of simple ordering and payment processes. Here is a look at some of the latest tech trends in the food industry.
Behind the Counter
NRA’s 2015 Kitchen Innovations (KI) Awards showcased numerous kitchen technologies that reflect many of the most important foodservice trends to operators, such as saving time and energy, safety and sanitation, and smart technologies. One of the winners was a high-end dishwasher that eliminates the need to pre-scrub dishes, reduces tank refills to cut water usage and reuses heat to save energy.
Another KI Awards winner was a smart cooker that can analyze the ingredient that is being cooked based on its consistency, size, condition and other factors, and can even calculate the browning on a cut of meat. It also learns the chef’s preferences to more easily cook to his or her specifications.
Other award winners included a state-of-the-art hydrocarbon refrigerator that contains less propane than a lighter, a freezer that can send ice cubes to various parts of a building at a speed of 30-feet-per-second, and a chemical-free water conditioner that removes and prevents lime scale from accumulating on appliances and enhances water filtration efficiency.
In Front of the Counter
Tablets are emerging in restaurants to help patrons view the menu and place orders. This technology has been viewed positively according to NRA, with 79 percent of diners believing that technology increases convenience. Smartphones play a large part in this as well with 70 percent of smartphone users viewing a menu (at least a few times each year) on their phones. Roughly a third (32%) of smartphone users are willing to pay for meals with apps instead of traditional methods like cash or card.
Social media has helped change the food industry, too. More than 29 million Americans have posted a picture of restaurant food or beverages, estimates Mintel. This challenges kitchens around the country to prepare photogenic menu items.
Beyond the Table
Dining has expanded to more than sitting down for a nice meal, making going out for a bite an enjoyable experience for everyone in the family. At Pinewood Social in Nashville, Tenn., patrons can choose from a variety of activities from bowling or bocce to karaoke and other activities, all while being out for a meal. Other concepts like Top Golf have incorporated the dining and drinking experience with the game of golf, and Emporium Arcade Bar outside of Chicago offers video games and a plethora of local food trucks for customers enjoy. At JDubs Brewing Company & Taproom in Sarasota, Fla., patrons can take part in “Craft Beer & Yoga Wednesdays” out on the newly renovated deck and beer garden.
These activities are all apart of growing trend that is redefining the dining experience into a fun, social activity. As more organizations enter this market, expect a wider range of activities at restaurants and food halls.
Zero Food Waste
Forty percent of U.S. food waste goes into landfills, reports the National Resources Defense Council. As we’ve seen already, Americans are becoming more sensitive to statistics like this as they become more aware of the footprint they leave on the environment.
Leftover recycling and compost programs are popping up around the country in response. Several cities now have ordinances to encourage their residents to recycles as well. For example, San Francisco has a plan to divert all of its waste from landfills by 2020 and Austin, Texas hopes to divert 90 percent of its waste by 2040.
Chefs and dining programs are doing their part to cut down on wastefulness. Manhattan’s famed Blue Hills chef, Dan Barber, showed off how far recycling food can go in his 2015 event, “wastED” in which he transformed leftovers into high quality dishes, such as veggie burgers that had patties made of juicing machine pulp. Some organizations that have used zero waste programs have seen increased savings by switching to more reusable equipment such as metal utensils instead of plastic, and others report higher profits as customers favorably view their efforts.
Conclusion
The dining experience has been redefined. Diners have become more socially and health conscious and expect restaurants to do the same. Although commercial restaurants have outpaced club dining programs in several of these categories, clubs can stay competitive by understanding that the meal is just a portion of the entire dining experience.
Sidebar
Top 20 Food Trends (could be 10 to save space)
1. Locally sourced meats and seafood
2. Locally grown produce.
3. Environmental Sustainability
4. Healthful kids’ meals
5. Natural ingredients/minimally processed food
6. New cuts of meat
7. Hyper-local sourcing
8. Sustainable seafood
9. Food waste reduction/management
10. Farm/estate branded items
11. Non-wheat noodles/pasta
12. Gluten-free cuisine
13. Ancient grains
14. Whole grain items in kids’ meals
15. Non-traditional fish
16. Ethnic-inspired breakfast
17. Nutrition
18. House-made/artisan ice cream
19. Fruit/vegetable kids’ side items
20. Artisan cheese
Source: National Restaurant Association
Sidebar
Spotlight on Food Industry Innovator Danny Meyer
Daniel “Danny” Meyer, restaurateur and founder of Shake Shack, has been able to successfully identify and incorporate new industry trends into his restaurants while maintaining a consistent business strategy and culture. His success was recently profiled in The Wall Street Journal.
In 2001 Meyer founded Shake Shack, which started as just a hot dog cart and gradually grew its menu to include hamburgers, fries and frozen custard. Today, Shake Shack has more than 70 restaurants throughout the world, serving high-quality ingredients in a fast-casual setting. Meyer sees Shake Shack’s success as part of the emerging trend of “fine casual” dining. This genre has broken down the barriers between high-end customers and chain customers that were prevalent years ago. Famed chefs, Tom Colicchio and Rick Bayless, among others, have also jumped into this growing market.
Meyer sticks to many tried-and-true tactics despite being a trendsetter. To stand out, his restaurants focus on consistency and common best practices, such as hospitality and serving good food and beverages, rather than focusing on industry minutia. In doing so, Meyer’s restaurants achieve a comfortable ambiance with a high quality staff who have a healthy balance of technical and personal skills.
Meyer’s restaurants embrace their motto, “constant, gentle pressure,” which helps his businesses keep their continuity in an industry that is often unpredictable. This continuity can also be found in the way he manages his staff. He is a strong proponent of promoting from within. A former general manager at Meyer’s Blue Smoke recently opened a new Meyer restaurant in New York, and Shake Shack’s current CEO, Randy Garutti, is a former general manager at Meyer’s first restaurant, Union Square Café. Meyer fondly calls each of his staff that works in restaurants’ cramped environments a “hospitality athlete.”
What some would consider a setback is an opportunity to embrace another trend. Last year, Union Square Café closed down due to high rent. It will reopen a few blocks away in 2016. Meyer does not worry about the change in scenery, as location is not as critical as it used to be, he says. He believes that it is not where the restaurant is located, but how the location shapes the restaurant.
Meyer also sees the promise of technology. He has invested in and sat on the board of OpenTable, an online service that helps restaurants book and track reservations, which in turn gives managers more time to manage. Seeing the potential of “foodies” sharing photos online and other tech trends, Meyer’s consulting firm, Union Square Hospitality Group, hosted TechTable in September. This conference discussed how technology can improve the dining experience for both consumers and the restaurant industry. Topics included technologies such as mobile payment systems, restaurant-rating apps and even a service that can show restaurants a diner’s preferences, spending habits and experiences during previous visits.
Meyer has also invested in healthy fast casual chains like Sweetgreen and California’s Tender Greens. Regardless of the changes in the food industry, Meyer keeps his focus on his one goal—making diners feel at home.
Club Trends Fall 2015