Based on totally unscientific research at The Restaurant Show (Olympia) and Casual Dining, Commercial Kitchen and Lunch! (ExCel) during September, here are my five key takeaways…
- The vegan market has gone insane (including some marketing budgets)
The big boys have moved into this already crowded space although not always entirely convincingly. Brands like THIS, The Vegetarian butcher, Moving Mountains and Meatless Farm had a huge presence at the shows. Although, personally, smaller outfits like Biff’s (and their crispy fried jackfruit wingz) stood out for authenticity – and flavour!
- Functional drinks are upping their game
Energy drinks have a bad name but some really innovative brands are creating functional drinks with interesting ingredients that actually offer a boost (without the usual caffeine and sugar combo) – check out Humble Warrior’s mango turmeric sparkling botanical or the natural nootropic drinks from super-minimalist Brite Drinks.
- “Social eating” at home
This is definitely a thing, based on Deliveroo and Uber Eats metrics revealed at The Restaurant Show. It means that families and friends are curating their own feasts in their own homes with huge orders – for instance, cult takeaway King of Wingz reported regularly seeing 100+-wing orders flying around South London!
- Consistency is the key (still)
Boring but nevertheless true, many hospitality leaders at the shows were saying that customers (as much as ever) expect the exact same standards and experiences at each visit. BUT maintaining them is so much harder right now due to the real shortages of staff and numerous supply chain issues.
- The food industry will NEVER run out of ideas
The reason many of us love our industry so much is because of its invention. Walking around Casual Dining is a constant ‘why didn’t I think of that?’ experience: from sweet potato gins to bloody marys in a can, savoury energy bars, black sesame seed ice cream, hard seltzers, and way too many unique taste sensations to remember…