Food for thought

Bar and catering experts reveal the latest food and drink trends to impact the world of events and festivals initiative. In total, the team worked with 315 food traders and measured the carbon footprint of 1,537 meals.

Chapman plans to do more work on food carbon footprints in 2023. She is not the only events professional looking at how their food and beverage operations can reduce environmental impact.

Shambala’s latest Impact Report details its sustainability initiatives and is transparent about its achievements as well as its areas of improvement. Like Festival Republic, Shambala worked with 52 food traders in 2022 to publish the carbon footprint of the food being served and label the environmental impact of meals at food stalls. Food traders were provided with a food carbon calculator in advance of the festival. This part of the initiative worked, but without a good signal on-site, people couldn’t access the information online via QR codes. Kambe Events, organiser of Shambala, is looking at ways to bring food impact labelling alive on-site for 2023 and is also looking to develop its regenerative food sourcing strategy.

Mindful Consumption

In 2016, Shambala banished meat and fish from the festival. At the time, it was considered a brave and bold move. But ticketholders (surveyed in 2022) have stated that they would like the festival to remain meat and fish free. Eventgoers making more informed food and drink choices is certainly a growing trend.

Adam Hempenstall, founder of Peppermint Events, and Sharon Lawrence, senior account manager, new business at Amadeus, both comment that health and wellbeing are at the top of the agenda, with both crew and festivalgoers wanting healthier options.

Hempenstall explained: “The Low and No category is talked about a lot in the on-trade where it is seeing exponential growth, but what about events?

“If you’re going to see Adele in Hyde Park for a once-in-a-lifetime show is there the argument that being ‘sensible’ goes out the window? Yes and no. We are seeing more and more attendees seeking out lower ABV products and not just Gen Z/Y. People are looking for products that are organic, naturally produced, and less artificial whilst also seeking out lower ABV to ensure they stay ‘in the moment’.

“The trend is definitely towards mindful consumption. We’ve worked this for events, including BST Hyde Park, Camp Bestival, Cheltenham Jazz, Lytham, Goodwood, and many more to provide a great, thoughtful range of Low and No products. A good example was our dedicated Low and No bar at CarFest called NOLO. It’s an event where a lot of people drive, it’s a big family crowd (but not many Gen Z/Y) and yet was still popular.”

Consumer Behaviour

Hempenstall’s observations are backed by Sodexo data, which shows a yearon-year increase in the proportion of vegetarian and vegan meals sold across 476 of its UK and Ireland client sites.

In 2022, 10 per cent of all meals sold were vegetarian or vegan, compared to eight per cent in 2021. It implies that meat-free eating is no longer a trend, it’s a consumer behaviour.

Freemans Event Partners has signed a multi-year strategic partnership with Quorn, the UK’s No. 1 meat-free brand. This new partnership sees Quorn Professionals – the brand’s foodservice development arm – join forces with Freemans Event Partners to roll out new meat-free menus across Freemans Event Partners’ event, venue, and concessionaire portfolios.

Stephen Freeman, CEO of Freemans Event Partners, said: “Through this partnership with Quorn we can explore and develop new additions to our menus giving eventgoers a greater level of choice and variety.”

Lawrence agrees. Organisers want fresh and healthy options and there is a larger demand for vegan options.

Amadeus – the catering arm of the NEC – provides catering services to events such as Farnborough International Airshow and is now looking to expand into the crew and artist catering market. Lawrence confirmed that the company has had many enquiries from festival organisers, with many looking to move away from “meat dominant” menus.

Food Fit For Its Audience

Yet, it’s not the only trend. As already discussed, sustainability is high on the agenda, but self-serve is growing too.

Peppermint Events, which supplies services to Cheltenham Gold Cup, All Points East, Big Feastival, BBC Radio 1 Big Weekend, BST Hyde Park, and Lytham Festival, says that is working on “exciting” bar innovation projects using some dispense/self-serve technology.

Jason Mumby, director of client development at Freemans Event Partners, concurred. Self-serve kiosks are on their way as eventgoers want quick and easy options, so they don’t miss any event action.

This year, Freemans Event Partners will be working at Victorious Festival, where in 2022 it built and managed 22 bars, including one 90-metre bar, and it will also be providing public catering concessions at the King’s Coronation and Royal Windsor Horse Show.

The Gloucester-based event specialist is now also the major provider of Badminton Horse Trials’ public catering, including food, ice cream, hot drinks, confectionery, and bars. Under the new partnership, the business will also be deploying POS payment solutions, seating, and dining infrastructures across the event’s food courts.

Jane Tuckwell, event director of Badminton Horse Trials, said: “The Freemans Event Partners team has proved time and time again that they can create bespoke food and beverage offerings which perfectly fit an event and its audience. This was a crucial factor for us when selecting a partner for the Badminton Horse Trials as we have a very specific demographic.

“Equally, we were impressed by their history of delivering high volume in live environments while maintaining exceptional quality and service levels. As we look ahead to what promises to be a momentous 2023, we’re incredibly happy to have Freemans Event Partners with us on this journey.”