A transforming landscape
When we embarked on a new year in 2019, little did we know that we would still be waiting for Brexit to complete by the end of the year. As it stands, the deadline has now moved to 2020 and our industry is facing more uncertainty for the year ahead as costs rise and the talent pool starts to shrink.
Although this uncertainty leaves caterers feeling unsure of the months ahead, it also provides the food industry with an opportunity. We’re in a time of change, and this encourages us to expand our thinking; challenging us to increase our perspective and ‘old ways’ of working to open the flow of communication between industries, sectors and communities so that we can all work together towards a more positive and sustainable future.
There are many factors that are influencing the way that consumers spend and eat out-of-home whether that is what a pupil chooses to eat at lunchtime, the way a person selects a care home for themselves or a family member or how consumers decide where to visit for a on-the-go snack.
Sustainability and reducing our own impact on the world around us has become such a huge influence on the way we behave across all areas of our daily lives, and the effects of this are being seen across all sectors of the foodservice industry. Constantly reinventing itself as the momentum of activities increase in pace and we bear witness to innovations in growing techniques, products and services, there will never be a trend so widely dopted and important as this one in our lifetime, which is why we have dedicated two chapters in this year’s guide to the subject – ‘Children of the Revolution’ and ‘Sustain, Regain & Reconnect’.
Within all sectors across the foodservice marketplace there are a number of notable highlights, vegan options are increasingly popular; Deliveroo reported that the number of vegan orders had risen by 330% in the past two years with many of their customers opting for a part-time vegan diet. This increase has been seen not only in cafés and restaurants, but throughout the education sector and is now moving into the care home sector too. Street food continues to be popular, consumed by 2.5 billion people each day worldwide.
For those of you who missed our mid-year Street Food Trend Guide, visit https://stiritupmagazine.co.uk/2020-2021-trend-guide/to download your copy.