The first quarter of 2021 has already passed, so it is interesting to ask about the evolution of the restaurant sector and these new trends planned for 2021 and 2022. Make sure your restaurant stays in the game by embracing the right trends and innovations this year.
Catering and restaurant trends for 2021-2022
- The rise of ghost restaurants also known as “dark kitchens”
Whether due to reduced budgets or simply a lack of time, restaurant outings are less popular than before. To cope with such a change in eating habits, ghost restaurants were born. The so-called “ghost” restaurants operate from dark kitchens: spaces specially designed for preparing meals for delivery.
Despite the name sounds a bit sinister, dark kitchens offer some economic benefits for restaurateurs. Because there are less locations and furnishings, they can take advantage of small spaces and cheap rent, which reduces costs.
The market for ghost restaurants has exploded in Europe in 2019 and is expected to reach $656 billion by 2026.
- Plant-based products are gaining more and more ground
The market for plant-based products has been booming for several years, but by 2021, the supply of plant alternatives will grow even more. An article in the Het Financieele Dagblad shows that the growth of the market is so rapid that producers can barely keep up.
Globally, sales of meat substitutes will reach $140 billion in 10 years, according to investment bank Barclays, a tenfold increase. In the US and Canada, the market will grow by 10% this year, ABN Amro predicts. More than half of North Americans eat fruits and vegetables several times a week.
2019 was the year of McDonald’s vegan nuggets and Beyond Meat Burgers. By 2020, the vegetable trend will no longer be limited to meat substitutes, such as vegetable eggs, cheese, dairy products, and sauces. Even companies that used to produce meat, such as Brabantse Vion, now choose to produce meat substitutes.
- Self-service control systems
Self-service checkers reduce queues and offer many advantages, especially for fast-food restaurants. This is another innovation that meets the demand for convenience and speed.
Guests can place their own orders via touch screens, giving them more control over what they order and allowing them to customize their meal as they wish. According to one study, sales increased by 6% in the first year following the introduction of free control terminals.
The global market for self-service orders is expected to reach $45.7 billion by 2026.
- Fast-casual restaurants are becoming increasingly popular
Fast-casual restaurants are booming, think of Chipotle, for example. With three important factors — taste, value for money, and convenience — consumers regularly eat in fast and casual restaurants. Consumers often decide to go out for dinner at the last minute, which is also one of the reasons why fast food diners — which focus on convenience — have grown tremendously in recent years.
- Transparency and sustainability
Transparency is one of the main factors influencing consumer purchasing behavior today. Consumers want clear price information and know where the ingredients come from and how the products are made. They now think much more about the impact of the products they buy and also expect companies to be 100% transparent and honest.
Sustainability is a top priority for consumers, resulting in a 20% increase in sustainable food sales since 2014. Plastic straws have been completely banned in the restaurant industry in 2019. Then the plastic packaging and Styrofoam. 2021 will be the year of “zero waste” kitchens, where restaurants will strive to produce as little waste as possible (preferably none), which is sustainable and saves costs.
- Natural wines
Natural wine is a trend that has existed for years in major cities such as New York and Paris, and is now increasingly present on the menu in Belgium and the Netherlands; especially in trendy young restaurants. This wine is produced without the addition of pesticides, sulfites, or other non-natural chemicals.
What many people do not know is that conventional wines have to comply with many rules established by the French wine authority. This regulation does not apply to natural wines, which means that wine can be produced with as little technological or chemical intervention as possible. This is also why there are two camps for natural wines: amateurs and protesters.
- Meal delivery becomes more innovative
Meal delivery is a rapidly evolving segment in the food industry. According to The NPD Group, the number of online orders has increased by 23% per year since 2013, a figure that is expected to triple by 2021. The increase in the reach and efficiency of meal delivery services such as Just Eat, Deliveroo, and UberEats is partly responsible for this growth.
Restaurants are responding to this trend by developing special delivery menus with meals tailored to the limits of meal delivery.
In the meal delivery sector, in addition to the aforementioned dark kitchens, new trends are emerging, such as the implementation of new technologies and delivery by drones.
- Robots in the kitchen
The way meals are prepared will also change in 2021. Thanks to AI and robots, some processes in the kitchen can be fully automated. This revolutionary concept is designed to prepare meals quickly, without the need for manual labor. These are some of the advantages of robot chefs:
Robots use automated cooking technology to cook faster and more efficiently and to perform other tasks in the kitchen, such as dishes.
They can cook with great precision, quality of taste, and cleanliness.
These AI-driven robots offer many advantages that make them practical for commercial use.
In California, for example, there is a robot called Creator that can assemble up to 4,000 hamburgers in an hour — completely uniform in taste and appearance. In addition to reducing costs, it allows restaurants to use their staff to provide better personalized service and experience to customers.
- Soft drinks and fermented
The emergence of soft drinks has been a reality for several years, and will also be one of the biggest trends in HORECA in 2020. Consumers are making more conscious choices about their alcohol consumption, so there are more and more non-alcoholic choices on beverage cards. In addition to mocktails and non-alcoholic beers, kombucha and fermented beverages are also becoming more common. The aim of beverage producers is to produce low-alcohol beverages, without compromising on taste, aroma, mouth sensation, and quality.
- Unique Experiences
When consumers choose to eat in restaurants, a simple tasty meal is no longer enough. As the popularity of meal delivery has increased dramatically, consumers can enjoy full meals at the restaurant as well as at home. As soon as guests visit the restaurant, they expect a special experience, whether it’s themed décor, unique dishes, or interactive meals. As a result, more and more restaurants are using new concepts and technologies to differentiate themselves.