Trends are no longer limited to the cuisines on offer or the style of service. The ‘whole experience’ is what matters. Future Food is the global leader in food, restaurant and hospitality consulting having partnered with hundreds of clients over six different continents. The Retail People Magazine spoke with Francis Loughran, Managing Director of Future Food, who shares his insights on the exciting food trends in 2020. FOOD •
Alternative eating is becoming mainstream. The evolution, financial viability and marketability of plant-based menu options. This space is receiving an enormous focus and financial commitment in the field of continuous product development and innovation.
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The welcoming of the Meat-Free terminology will be used to entice customers; rather than words like Vegetarian and / or Vegan.
THE CUSTOMER
Influencing the vegan pallet – extending plant-based meat replacement flavours and textures beyond “facon” to entice and further encourage the flexitarian movement away from meat. Menu shapers will become seriously experimental with the flexitarian crowd in 2020.
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Customer Insight will grow in importance as operators will need to have open and reliable channels by which twoway communications with customers can be facilitated.
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Menu prices do not have to fall, but the perceived value has to rise: Just because your pricing is in line with others around you doesn’t mean that your Biryani is worth it – because it’s not the price point that matters, but what’s on the plate.
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RE-IMAGINING FOOD & BEVERAGE
Motta, Crumpets and Southern Ocean
THE ENVIRONMENT •
Service-Sustainable-Sales - Accountability of food and hospitality venue design will remain critical in delivering components that continue to drive sales. Beautiful spaces must deliver joy in every aspect. The quality of food, beverage & service must evolve together with an environmentallysustainable perspective - from responsibly sourced materials, compostable packaging, “smart” designed equipment and paperless menus. The future of eating out is greener.
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More environmentally-focused rewards such as trees planted to help reduce the carbon footprint of the business you are purchasing coffee from, rather than receiving every 10th coffee free.
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Sustainable food retailing beyond packaging; SMART food establishments, C02 optimized refrigeration and environmental initiatives in construction to reduce the carbon footprint. Large scale food storage technologies extending further into smaller operational setups (cafés & restaurants) in 2020.
Starbucks Shanghai
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Design-Food-People - This trio of terms will merge to deliver living-spaces that embrace human feelings. The integration of these elements will shape the design briefs of 2020 and beyond. The design will focus heavily on people’s desire to slow-down, to be immersed in space and to feel welcome because holistic food and beverage is more than healthy eating; it’s aligned to feelings of experience and mindfulness through design, food, technologies, marketing, socialization and interconnectedness.
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Brands will develop their concepts, offer and positioning for greater reach. The Starbucks Reserve is an example of this emerging trend in flagship food stores.
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The drive to reinvent food is continuing with the development; robots that make pizza, food stores without cashiers.
RETAIL PEOPLE . JAN-MAR 2020 .51
ALL ABOUT F&B
The Future of Food is Exciting: Trends for 2020
