Restaurant sales grew by more than 3 percent between 2018 and 2019, and that growth is expected to continue as we enter the new decade. In order to keep up with growing customer demand, there are several trends restaurant owners will want to keep up on, including:
- The demand for more plant-based options
- The rise of ghost kitchens
- Customer-facing tech options
Download this free e-book today to learn what will be hot in 2020, and how to ensure your restaurant will be ready to capitalize on these trends.
Excerpt from Chapter 2:
Go Even Greener
Consumer awareness surrounding sustainable and environmentally friendly practices in the restaurant industry is continuing to grow exponentially. When choosing a place to dine, customers are doing their homework and looking into how restaurants reduce waste and maximize use of resources. According to a recent study done by Feeding America, $218 billion worth of food is being thrown away each year in the United States, so it’s no wonder that sustainability and conservation are top values for both guests and restaurant owners.
Look out for these green-living trends in 2020:
- Local sourcing of ingredients, especially seasonal produce, will be a trending practice and, quite frankly, a guest expectation this year. Supporting local farmers and the move toward locavore eating is a defining characteristic of consumers that also fosters a sense of community.
- Responsibly grown, harvested, and prepared food is also becoming a requirement. It’s farm-to-table with the highest environmental and sustainability standards.
- Be transparent on how your restaurant is effectively minimizing waste and maximizing your use of food and beverage ingredients. Guests want to see how you’re actively combating negative environmental issues to do your part. Social media and digital communication are excellent ways to jumpstart this conversation with your patrons.
- The most literal way to be transparent with your diners is to have an open-concept kitchen. Customers want to see how clean and efficient the kitchen is along with the expertise of your chefs and the quality of ingredients being used.
- Reusable versions of restaurant staples like plastic straws, plastic cups/lids, and takeout containers and bags will swell in popularity during 2020. Biodegradable wares such as paper straws, wax paper cups, and compostable to-go containers are sure to be crowd pleasers.
- Zero-waste, composting and avoiding buying foods/ingredients with excess and wasteful packaging, is expected to be a big buzzword for this year. Research done by Unilever revealed that 72 percent of U.S. diners care about how restaurants handle food waste and 47 percent would be willing to spend more to eat at a restaurant with an active food recovery program. Diners will want to know how you’re transforming food scraps, damaged produce, and leftovers into killer dishes.
- Some establishments will take this movement a big step further with hydroponic vegetable production — growing their own vegetables in a closed system with liquid solution that contains all the minerals the plant needs to thrive. The water used can be recycled through the system, creating no waste.