As a club’s primary function, food-and-beverage programs continuously need to provide both reliable quality and service while seamlessly evolving. Appealing to members’ comforts and traditions while remaining competitive outside the club space offers significant challenges to clubs; however, they can stay ahead of the curve by tracking what’s going on around them. Here are trends that will provide key insights into F&B programs nationally.
The F&B Landscape
Coming out of the pandemic, restaurants emerged with different expectations from patrons and new challenges. Here are some of the top forecasts for the restaurant industry this year.
- Growth to continue: The foodservice industry is forecasted to reach $997 billion in sales in 2023, driven in part by higher menu prices.
- Help wanted: The foodservice industry workforce is projected to grow by 500,000 jobs, for total industry employment of 15.5 million by the end of 2023, surpassing pre-pandemic levels.
- Rising costs: 92% of operators say food costs is a significant issue for their restaurants.
- More competition: In 2023, 47% of operators expect competition to be more intense than last year.
- Restaurant experiences: 84% of consumers say going out to a restaurant with family and friends is a better use of their leisure time than cooking and cleaning up.
- Lifestyle: 64% of consumers consider restaurants to be essential to their lifestyle.
- Takeout bump: 66% of consumers are more likely to order food for takeout than they were in 2019.
Source: National Restaurant Association 2023 State of the Restaurant Industry report.
Michelin Top Trends
High-end restaurants are experiencing new trends in their segment. Michelin surveyed chefs and owners of Michelin-starred restaurants for their takes on industry trends for 2023.
- Global collaborations: Restaurants are becoming more global and increasingly “sociable.” Expect more cross-cultural cuisines like Thai-Spanish and Japanese-Italian in high-end restaurants.
- Solving staffing shortage via technology: As restaurants continue to struggle to find labor, expect smaller restaurants, more technology, shorter menus and other solutions to mitigate smaller staffs.
- Back-to-basics: Restaurants will emphasize local experiences and traditional cultural cuisines.
- More inclusive menus: More gluten-free plant- based, vegetarian and vegan options will appear on menus along with alcohol alternatives like non-alcoholic beverages and other creative drinks
- Sustainability is necessary: Supply chain and inflation issues have compelled restaurants to explore more sustainable sourcing, ways to minimize food waste and reliance on local food suppliers.
Outdoor Dining Up in the Air
The COVID-19 pandemic necessitated outdoor restaurants that occupy sidewalks and street parking spots, giving diners a safe place to eat.
With emergency regulations going away, these makeshift and semi- permanent structures are facing new regulations to stay in operation. In places like New York City, Philadelphia and Los Angeles, restaurant owners are having to reapply for their outdoor permits that, without lenient emergency ordinances, require higher fees and include more stipulations. In many instances, the structures have been brought down or their applications rejected.
Proponents of the increased regulations contend that important facets of city life like parking, trash pickup and traffic have been made worse by the street eateries. Additionally, some structures have been vandalized and abandoned. Restaurant owners contend that the outdoor dining options have boosted revenue, offer valuable space for diners and were expensive to build, and that the new rules are too strict or unclear.
Club Question: Can city clubs capitalize on more restrictive outdoor dining options in cities?
Generational Eats
As with many areas of life, generations have varying preferences and do things differently. Here are generational dining differences from Gen Z to Baby Boomers:
- Partners in meal prep: 70% of Gen Z and millennials say they are relying more on mixing restaurant ingredients and home-prepped ingredients in their meals. 50% of all adults say the same.
Gen Z and millennials are also more likely (80%) to purchase meal kits offered by their favorite restaurants than Gen Xers (47%) and baby boomers (33%).
2. To-go takeover: 66% of Gen Z and 72% of millennials call takeout and delivery “essential” to their lifestyle, with most of Gen Z (85%) using third- party apps for ordering compared to just 38% of boomers.
94% of millennials say they would likely order a wider variety of to-go foods if improved packaging to better maintain temperature, taste and quality was offered (compared to 47% of boomers).
3. New sales models: About 80% of Gen Z and millennials would likely buy a restaurant subscription for a specified number of meals a month if their favorite restaurant offered it.
Only 37% of boomers report that they’re likely to purchase a subscription.
4. Portable potent potables: Many jurisdictions legalized alcohol-to-go options following the pandemic, which appealed to younger generations. More than 75% of Gen Z adults and 58% of millennials have included an alcoholic beverage with a to-go order in the past six months, compared to just 10% of boomers.
70% of Gen Z adults and 62% of millennials say the option of including alcohol with a takeout or delivery order would make them more inclined to choose one restaurant over another similar restaurant compared to just 12% of boomers.
5. High-tech transactions: Tech ordering is becoming commonplace. A growing number of boomers (61%) said they have ordered and paid for food online, and 69% of Gen Z said they would order through voice technology like Alexa or Siri, compared to 26% of boomers.
80% of Gen Z and millennials would be likely to use a tablet for tableside ordering. And slightly more than half of Gen Z prefer ordering via tablet/smartphone compared to traditional ordering with wait staff.
Club Question: What can your club do to appeal to various generations of eaters?
QR Codes Still Leave Some Diners Wanting a Different Experience
According to a recent survey by financial services company William Blair, around 45% of consumers said they aren’t comfortable using QB codes via their phone to view menus, order and pay. Those most uncomfortable are consumers over 60 years of age, as 65% of this group said they weren’t comfortable with the technology at restaurants.
Business Dining Rebound
Business dining is a mainstay for many clubs, especially city clubs. Recent data shows business dining has greatly rebounded since the pandemic’s depths, largely because of more in-person meetings and events.
Bouncing Back
- Business dining bounced back last year. By Q4 2022, the business dining spend was 91% of what it was during Q4 2019.
- Business dining spending continued to grow in Q4 2022 compared to consumer dining as business travel increased.
In-person Back in Session
- For the first time since the pandemic began, the average office occupancy surpassed 50% in January 2023, reported Kastle’s Back to Work Barometer.
- Virtual and hybrid meetings decreased by 70% from 2021 to 2022.
- In-person meetings increased 65% from 2021 to 2022, which may drive demand for private dining and corporate catering.
- Corporate meetings are trending up. Sixty-five percent of event professionals said they are spending more on meetings, reported a recent AmEx Meetings & Events Forecast.
- In Q4 2022, meetings activity outperformed forecasts by 8.4%.
- Meetings activity outperformed forecasts with an additional 10% growth in 2023.
Business Dining Recovery By Category
Top Limited-Service Restaurant
- Coffee
- Mexican
- Chicken
- Bakery
- Family Casual
Top Full-Service Restaurants
- Seafood
- Steak
- Asian Noodle
- Italian/Pizza
- Varied Menu
Top Restaurant Types
- Fine Dining
- Midscale
- Casual Dining
- Quick Service Restaurants
- Fast Casual
Source: Dinova and Technomic’s State of Business Dining Report 2023/First Quarter
Staffing Issue Putting Quality at Risk
Nationwide, clubs and restaurants have dealt with the frustrating challenge of keeping their staff rosters full. A recent survey from HungerRush, a restaurant POS system provider, found that customers believe the dining experience is declining due to labor shortages. Here are the main takeaways:
51% of consumers said they felt independent restaurants have been affected most by staffing shortages compared to major chains and
regional restaurants.
57% of consumers aren’t confident a restaurant will take their order correctly during busy hours.
72% of consumers would use an automated phone bot to order based on the situation.
39% of consumers are likely to write a negative review after going to a restaurant suffering from staffing issues, long wait times and
order inaccuracy.
Top Pain Points
33% of consumers said they’ve experienced longer wait times to receive food.
32% of consumers said their experiences have diminished due to overstressed staff.
17% of consumers said they’ve experienced longer wait times to place an order.
Club Question: Have you seen your F&B service diminish due to staffing challenges?
POTENTIAL SOLUTIONS: Technology that reduces order times such as kiosks or even AI-powered phone bots may reduce consumer headaches. Consumers have also noted that the ebb and flow of seasonal staffing can exacerbate ordering issues (28%), longer wait times to order food (24%) and loss of personal connection with staff (12%). However, it is important to note that seasonal workers can provide much needed staffing and the EB-3 green card visa program can be a valuable tool to provide long-term qualified workers.