The 7 Foodservice Trends to Watch In 2016

The 7 Foodservice Trends to Watch In 2016
By Dwayne Reno

Food Trend: Is the general direction in which ideas surrounding food are developing or changing.

Some trends are here to stay, while others are here for a moment. This weeks article will take a look at the emerging foodservice trends that will continue in 2016.The BBA team has carefully reviewed our online foodservice e-News submissions of 2015. These submissions are taking from foodservice operators and other foodservice businesses.

We would like to share the trends we feel will have an impact on the Canadian foodservice industry in 2016. Here are the 7 foodservice trends to watch in 2016.

1. Celebrity Chefs Opening Restaurants
It seems that more and more celebrity chefs are trying to capitalize on their success, can you really blame them? In 2015 we saw celebrity chef Jamie Oliver open his first restaurant in Toronto, here. The superstar chef is also getting ready to open another restaurant in Mississauga for 2016, here.  

Although Masaharu Morimoto of Iron Chef recently cancelled his Toronto restaurant plans for 2016 due to construction delays, you can bet other top chefs will be watching the food scene in Toronto very closely. 
 
2. Spicy/Ethnic Food Revolution
With the GTA being such a melting pot of cultures, it’s no wonder that spice was king in 2015! We got to see many great ethnic flavours added to restaurant menus. We also saw many ethnic food themed restaurants open across the GTA.

Taco bell jumped on the spicy food band wagon with their Sriracha/ghost pepper based menu items. In 2016, expect to see many other spicy/ethnic menu variations of different spicy ingredients from around the world, including the Korean pepper paste Gochujang, Trinidadian ghost peppers and yes, more Sriracha. 

3. Rising Food Costs
This comes at no surprise to Canadian foodservice operators, food costs have been raising for the past couple years and is set to go up again in 2016. A study done by the university of Guelph Food Institute shows that the cost of meat (which went up by 5% in 2015) is expected to increase again by 4.5% in 2016, here.

Food costs will continue to be an ongoing issue for the Canadian foodservice industry in 2016, and years to come. If you need help managing your food costs, here.

4. Food Safety/Sustainability
The new market demands for animal welfare/humane treatment along with local sourcing, product/ingredient safety and traceability will continue in 2016. In 2015 we saw McDonald’s announce that they will be introducing new antibiotics policies for their chicken, here.  

Furthermore, we also saw a serious E.coli outbreak that sent Chipotle’s customers to the hospital, here. You better believe that customers will be more interested in the ‘where’ and ‘how’ the food got on to their plates.

5. Popup Restaurants & Other Food Events
Food events and festivals will continue to bring food lovers together in 2016. In 2015 we saw popup restaurants literally popup all across the GTA. With attendance for popups, festivals and other food events on the rise, you can bet that more and more food events and festivals will continue to popup in 2016.

6. FSR taking from QSR & QSR taking from FSR
In 2015 we saw Cara Operations LTD. a Canadian FSR operator purchase New York Fries, a Canadian QSR chain, here. This trend will continue in 2016 as many FSR start to apply QSR type services to their operations. McDonald’s is a well-known QSR, and they announced in 2015 that their Canadian locations will start to offer table service to customers, here.

7. Restaurant Technology
Restaurant technology will continue to give foodservice operators the upper hand they need to handle the changing customer base. Many large chains such as Dunkin Donuts, Chipotle and McDonald’s have started offering their tech savvy customers mobile payment solutions and in-store food customization apps.

I also did a recent article about restaurant technology and how it can help your foodservice business, here. Building Block Associates will also be releasing our foodservice management app in 2016. To join our waiting list, here.

Until next time your customers want to know why they should spend money at your restaurant, bar or cafe. So give them the goods!

Need inspiration? Checkout some of our services.