NEWS
Our final round-up of 2024 looks at the latest key industry data, a revolution in smart kiosk offering and the world’s first pizza taco!
HRC adds Pizza & Pasta section for 2025 edition HRC, part of Food, Drink & Hospitality Week, has announced a new Pizza & Pasta section for its 2025 event, taking place on 17-19 March at Excel London. HRC showcases the latest products, services and innovations for hotels, restaurants and caterers. This addition will allow visiting hospitality buyers to explore a wide range of equipment and ingredients dedicated to this specific sector. Jo Farish, HRC event manager, said: “Pizza and pasta are cornerstones of global food, and this section will allow us to showcase innovation and expertise in this vibrant sector.” Stanislava Blagoeva,
Image credit Narda Yescas
co-founder of the European Pizza & Pasta Show, will join HRC as an ambassador. She said: “I am thrilled to serve as an ambassador and help launch the Pizza & Pasta Section at the prestigious Food, Drink & Hospitality Week 2025. “This initiative will bring together key players from
across the global pizza and pasta industry – from leading equipment manufacturers and specialist food suppliers to chefs and restaurateurs – fostering innovation and collaboration throughout Europe’s culinary landscape.” The Pizza & Pasta section will offer a dedicated platform for businesses.
Alongside live cooking demonstrations and industry-specific networking opportunities, visitors can engage with exhibitors presenting the best in pizza and pasta production. This underscores HRC’s ongoing commitment to supporting the hospitality sector by offering diverse and engaging content, reinforcing its status as a key destination for the industry to meet, learn and do business. Food, Drink & Hospitality Week, including IFE Manufacturing, IFE, The Pub Show, HRC, and International Salon Culinaire, is on 17-19 March 2025 at Excel London. For more information, visit hrc.co.uk
Encouraging data for October takeaways Britain’s leading restaurant groups have extended a long run of inflation-beating growth in delivery and takeaway sales with a like-for-like (LFL) increase of 4.8% in October, CGA by NIQ’s Hospitality at Home Tracker shows. Year-on-year trading has been well above the rate of inflation as measured by the Consumer Prices Index in every month of 2024 so far, although October’s figure is a slight softening from 6.0% in September. Total delivery and takeaway sales – including from sites opened in the last 12 months – rose by 14.2%. The latest edition of the Tracker also highlights a modest revival in the value of takeaway and click-and-collect sales, which have been on a downward trend for several years as more consumers opt for delivery. They rose 1.4% in 4 P&P_225_Dec24_p04-13_News_JB.AB.indd 4
October – a third consecutive month of LFL growth. Nevertheless, deliveries continue to outpace pick-up sales, with a 6.5% increase last month. While at-home revenue growth is partly driven by increased prices, the Tracker shows an uptick in the volume of orders. Restaurants’ total October delivery orders were 9.2% higher than in October 2023, while takeaway and click and collect orders climbed 11.8%. Karl Chessell, CGA by NIQ’s director – hospitality operators and food, EMEA, said: “October’s figures continue a strong 2024 for restaurants’ at-home trading, and momentum for pick-up orders is particularly encouraging. Growth has been running well above the rate of on-site sales throughout the year, suggesting consumers are seeking to
save money by ordering in rather than going out. Their confidence is likely to remain under pressure, and the Budget has delivered a major blow to optimism in hospitality – but restaurants will be keeping everything crossed that festive celebrations unlock much-needed extra spending in both channels in the crucial final weeks of the year.” The CGA by NIQ Hospitality at Home Tracker provides monthly reports on the value and volume of sales, with year-onyear comparisons and splits between food and drink revenue. www.pizzapastamagazine.co.uk 13/12/2024 14:10