Table of Contents
Executive Summary
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- Market factors
- Flavour trends
- Healthy eating trends
- Vegetable trends
- Fish and seafood trends
- Drink trends
- The consumer
- Frequency of eating out
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- Figure 1: Frequency of eating out, November 2014
- Perceptions of ingredients
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- Figure 2: Consumer perceptions of selected ingredients, November 2014
- Willingness to pay more for ethical ingredients
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- Figure 3: Willingness to pay more for ethical ingredients, November 2014
- Willingness to order and pay more for dishes based on selected qualities
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- Figure 4: Willingness to order and pay more for dishes based on selected qualities, November 2014
- Interest in food and drink enticements
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- Figure 5: Menu enticements, November 2014
- Attitudes towards eating out
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- Figure 6: Attitudes towards eating out, November 2014
- What we think
Issues and Insights
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- Tasting plates offer operators a way to create standout and add interest to pork dishes
- The facts
- The implications
- Standout dishes offer a means for brands to drive buzz and drive up spend per head
- The facts
- The implications
- Cocktail innovation is high on the agenda as operators look to offer something different
- The facts
- The implications
Trend Application
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- Return to the Experts
- Prove It
- Brand Intervention
Market Drivers
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- Key points
- Squeezed incomes have continued to affect spending behaviour
- Consumers’ incomes should rise and stretch further in 2015
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- Figure 7: Consumer spending priorities (after bills), January 2011-January 2015
- Using ‘fun’ to distract from frugal considerations
Flavour Trends
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- Key points
- From single-focus venues to ingredient champions
- Other trends
- Smoked meat
- Smoky flavours feature across the menu
- Flavoured salts and butters
- Meat jams and spreads
- Bacon jam
- Nduja
Healthy Eating Trends
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- Key points
- Healthy dining trends
- Lunch
- Vegetables as carb alternatives
- Vegetable and fruit juices
- Cold pressed and made in-house should boost quality perceptions
- Smaller size can cater to trial
- Coconut as an ingredient
- Cow’s milk alternatives
- Alternative grains (eg quinoa)
- US trends suggest potential for wider use of quinoa
- From protein to paleo diets
- High-protein labels on the rise particularly in the snacking segment
- Palaeolithic dining
- Paleo snacks on the rise
- Paleo restaurants and food stalls
- ‘Clean eating’ trends
Vegetable Trends
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- Key points
- Vegetable trends
- Kale and cauliflower
- Kale
- Cauliflower
- Beetroot
- US influences
- Corn on the cob
- Pickled and fermented vegetables
- Pickled vegetables gain from the BBQ trend
- Ethnic cuisines boost fermented vegetables
- In-house pickling can offer a USP
- Sour drinks
Fish and Seafood Trends
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- Key points
- Fish
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- Figure 8: Consumer perceptions of fish, November 2014
- Ethnic pairings can show fish as exciting
- Interest in ethnic flavours may help raise the profile of seafood further
- A modern take on seafood
- Lobster
- Lobster specialists
- Lobster subs
- Crab
Drinks Trends
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- Key points
- Long-term decline in out-of-home drinking is pushing operators to create more dynamic beverage ranges
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- Figure 9: Menu enticements related to cocktails, November 2014
- Play Ethic extends to drinks
- Drinks presentation trends continue unabated
- Sense of the Intense
- Wild cocktails/hedgerow cocktails have fresh appeal
- Freshness and in-house infusing should lend longevity to hedgerow cocktails
- Shandy cocktails benefiting from the growth in craft ales and sodas
- Mix-your-own cocktail – Big-ticket options
- Classics with ever more dramatic twists
- Pre-made cocktails look to shake off their inferior image
- Aged cocktails and vintage spirits
- Craft and canned beer
- Craft beer can play to a venue’s themes
- Handcrafted sodas
The Consumer – Frequency of Eating Out
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- Key points
- Nearly a third of diners eat out once a week or more
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- Figure 10: Frequency of eating out, November 2014
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- Figure 11: Frequency of eating out, November 2013 and November 2014
- The role of small plates on flexible dining menus
The Consumer – Perceptions of Ingredients
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- Key points
- Perceptions of ingredients
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- Figure 12: Consumer perceptions of selected ingredients, November 2014
- Chicken enjoys strong links to value for money
- Demonstrating the versatility of pork
- Using tasting dishes to introduce less familiar ingredients and cooking techniques
- Beef still has to work to prove its added value
- Game is seen as indulgent, special and sophisticated
- Could duck tap into premiumised fast food trends too?
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- Figure 13: Consumer perceptions of ingredients, November 2014
The Consumer – Willingness to Pay More for Dishes
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- Key points
- Ethical ingredients
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- Figure 14: Willingness to pay more for ethical ingredients, November 2014
- Local sourcing can be used to build brand trust as well as increase the appeal of individual dishes
- Has globalisation killed off the notion of seasonal ingredients?
- Organic labels resonate with younger consumers, whilst local products appeal to over-55s
- Creating standout dishes to drive buzz and/or drive up spend per head
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- Figure 15: Willingness to order and pay more for dishes based on selected qualities, November 2014
- Younger consumers are particularly drawn to menu innovation
- Media-worthy dishes appeal to more than half of diners
- ‘Stunt’ food
- In-home NPD is increasingly novel too
- US examples
- Secret menus/‘hack the menu’ items
The Consumer – Interest in Food and Drink Menu Enticements
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- Key points
- World cuisine opportunities
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- Figure 16: Menu enticements, November 2014
- Bunny chow
- Asian steamed bread buns
- Arepas
- Next steps for Americana Mania
- Pulled pork/chicken is now an established mainstream food trend
- There is an increasing focus on American regional styles
- Chicken & waffles can help to create standout
- Aligning chicken & waffle with other ‘brinner’ dishes
- There’s more to American side dishes than just mac ‘n cheese
- Mac ‘n cheese
- Cornbread
- Canadian Poutine
The Consumer – Attitudes towards Eating Out
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- Key points
- Menu innovation and social media developments have helped to cultivate everyday ‘foodies’
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- Figure 17: Attitudes towards eating out, November 2014
- Blurring the lines between everyday and special-occasion dining
- ‘Safe adventure’ is a key driver for younger diners
- Looking to customisation for ‘safe adventure’
- Older diners hold true to more traditional dining constructs
- Localism is a key selling point for older diners
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