Showing posts with label North American food service. Show all posts

Wednesday, 25 December 2013

FOOD SERVICE: 5 TRENDS TO SPUR FOOD SERVICE GROWTH IN 2014

5 TRENDS TO SPUR FOOD SERVICE GROWTH IN 2014

Published December 23, 2013 in Food Product Design

Posted in News, Market Research, Market Trends, Foodservice, Restaurant, Fast Casual, Menu, Healthy,Financial Reports, Mintel, Costs, Quality, Pizza, Taste, Flavor, Technology, Sustainability, Demographic,Hispanic

CHICAGO—The U.S. restaurant industry can expect a 5.9% increase in sales in 2014, from $438 billion in 2013, spurred by five trends to hit food service in the coming year, according to Mintel.

The trends, identified by Julia Gallo-Torres, category manager, U.S. foodservice reports at Mintel, predict:
1.  Fast Casual Pulls Ahead—The impressive growth of the fast casual segment demonstrates consumers, who are still focused on price, are willing to pay more for foods they consider to be of better quality or healthier. A slew of new concepts focusing on customization, speed of service and convenience, have sprouted. These include higher quality burger chains; concepts more firmly focused on health and a rash of pizza restaurants that can deliver a fully-cooked, customized pizza in a matter of minutes.

2.  Premium Proves Practical—Not to be left behind, full-service concepts are mimicking the winning ways of fast casual restaurants. For example, several full-service brands are testing or have launched concepts that utilize the speedier fast casual service model. This is important especially during the lunch rush, when consumers don't have the time to wait. Other tactics include launching healthier, more flavorful menu items and employing technology to speed up the dining experience.

3.  Open Book Business Practices—More than ever, foodservice consumers are questioning the origin of their foods and they are demanding transparency not only in ingredient sourcing, but in general business practices, including the treatment of animals and employees. Consumers are interested in patronizing restaurants and buying brands that reflect their own values. Concepts that understand this and offer more information about their green practices or the causes they support stand to reap the rewards of increased loyalty.

4.  Due Demographic Diligence—Operators have been obsessed with Millennials. It's understandable, as they are the ones most likely to dine out in almost every restaurant segment. However, other demographics also present growing opportunities:

Hispanics tend to dine out in larger groups and their population is increasing. Their spending power is expected to reach nearly $1.7 trillion by 2017, meaning serving this rapidly expanding community will be key to growth.
Women visit restaurants less than men and this is likely due to their being more health- and budget-conscious. This indicates restaurants need to do more in terms of pricing, atmosphere and menu to gain momentum with this group.
Baby Boomers enjoy dining out and have more disposable income than other demographics, but few marketing campaigns specifically target them.

5. Technology Interface Revolution—Restaurants are increasingly using technology to cut service times, and to offer loyalty programs, promotions and discounts electronically. Furthermore, in-store tabletop tablets and menu boards offer nutritional and other information, while reducing order, wait and check out times. Brands are redesigning their websites to allow consumers to gain all the information they want with as few clicks as possible. This includes making their sites more attractive and useful via smartphones, which consumers rely on more and more for staying organized and gaining information.

Sources:

PR Newswire: Mintel announces five key US foodservice trends for 2014

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Tuesday, 24 December 2013

CONVENIENCE STORES MOVE IN ON FOODSERVICE

Published December 20, 2013 in Food Product Design

Posted in News, Market Trends, Market Research, Consumer Panels, Consumer Preference,Foodservice, Restaurant, Fast Casual, QSR, Fried Foods, Snack Foods, Convenience Foods, Retail,Quality, Taste, Menu

The report, "Consumer Brand Metrics - Convenience Store Foodservice Shopper Insights," surveyed an online panel of more than 4,000 convenience store shoppers to gain consumers' insights and better understand factors driving convenience-store food service buying behavior.
Results showed 34% of consumers said they would have visited a restaurant if they had not purchased prepared foods from a convenience store on their most recent visit; 26% said they would have visited a fast-food restaurant.

"Due to location and speed of service, c-stores are always going to be a dining option," said Darren Tristano, executive vice president, Technomic. "Recently, however, we've seen a concerted effort to improve the quality of food and service provided at these locations. If c-stores can continue enhancing these areas, they can look to drive traffic from restaurants."

Food quality and taste are just as important as convenience. Nine out of 10 convenience store foodservice users say the quality and taste of the food are among the important factors when deciding which convenience store to visit. Consumers were also swayed by pleasant, friendly service and a convenient location.

7-Eleven leads all chains measured for foodservice patronage. Two-fifths (39%) of convenience store foodservice users have purchased a foodservice item from 7-Eleven in the past two months.
Wawa's food and beverage earned highest ratings. Wawa's program received the highest composite scores across 11 food and beverage attributes, such as food quality, foodservice variety and the craveability of its menu items. Quik Trip, Sheetz, Stripes and Kwik Trip also earned high marks from consumers for these attributes.

Sources:

Technomic: Technomic Report Reveals Foodservice Ratings for Leading Convenience-Store Chains

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Friday, 20 December 2013

Food Service Sector Analysis: Part 1 A Global Perspective

Food Service Sector Analysis: Part 1 A Global Perspective

Global Markets:

As Nation’s Restaurant News introduces this year’s International Top 25, it is against a backdrop of a global food service market set to gain serious ground during the next five years, with sales expected to jump 32.3 percent to more than $3 trillion. The flowing slide captures the total market globally.

Through 2017, the Asia-Pacific region will be the hottest food service sales growth market in the world in terms of net increase in total sales volume with Latin America a distant but still significant second, Research from Euromonitor International indicates Food service sales are expected to rise by $414.6 billion, or 39.1 percent, to $1.5 trillion between the end of 2012 and 2017 in the Asia-Pacific region,

Economic conditions in Japan appear to have stabilized and continue to improve, and further growth will be fueled by emerging markets, including China and India, that are creating larger classes of consumers who can afford to dine out.

Latin America, meanwhile, is expected to add $175.3 billion in food service sales — an increase of 62.1 percent — during that same five-year period. The anticipated levels of sales growth in the Asia-Pacific and Latin America markets are approximately seven times and three times, respectively, that forecast by Euromonitor for the U.S.-Canada region, where sales are expected to climb by $59.8 billion, or 11.6 percent, to $577.1 billion. Restaurant brands operating in the more mature U.S.-Canada region are expected to experience small to moderate annual incremental gains amid fierce competition for share of the existing market.

Though the Middle East-Africa and Eastern Europe regions are expected to lag the U.S.-Canada market in terms of change in net sales during the five years ending in 2017, at $43.9 billion and $27.6 billion, respectively, they will have better year-over-year percentage growth than their North American counterparts. The Middle East-Africa region is projected to see an increase of 58.2 percent in total food service sales by 2017, and Eastern Europe is expected to see a gain of 46.3 percent in the same period, according to Euromonitor.

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Tuesday, 19 November 2013

NORTH AMERICAN FOOD SERVICE: CONSUMERS UNDERESTIMATE CALORIES IN FAST FOOD BY 34%

CONSUMERS UNDERESTIMATE CALORIES IN FAST FOOD BY 34%

Published November 18, 2013 in Food Product Design

Posted in News, Foodservice, QSR, Fried Foods, Calorie, Calorie Reduction, Obesity, Weight Management, Nutrition, Diet, Science & Research, Demographic, Children, Healthy, Healthy Foods, Daily Value (DV), Convenience Foods, Snack Foods, Consumer Panels, Menu, International

BOSTON—Diners at fast-food restaurants significantly underestimate the number of calories in their meals, by as much as 34%, according to a study published in the journal BMJ.

Harvard researchers, along with leaders of the Massachusetts and Connecticut Departments of Public Health, surveyed nearly 3,400 adults, teens and school-age children in 2010 and 2011 at 89 fast-food restaurants in four New England cities to examine the difference between the estimated and actual calorie content of foods purchased at fast-food restaurants.

Teens underestimated the most, believing that their orders had more than one-third fewer calories than the meals actually contained. Parents of school-age children underestimated by as much as 23% and other adults by as much as 20%.

“We found that people, especially teens, are consuming more calories than they think they’re getting when they eat fast food," said lead researcher Jason Block, assistant professor, population medicine, Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Institute.

Teens underestimated the number of calories in their average order, which contained 756 calories, by 259 calories. The researchers found adults ordered meals containing 836 calories on average, but typically underestimated the calorie content of those meals by 175 calories. Parents of school-age children underestimated their own orders, which contained an average of 733 calories, by 175 calories overall. Notably, one-quarter of all participants underestimated the calorie content of their meals by at least 500 calories.

“We also saw differences by food chain," said Block. Subway patrons underestimated the number of calories in their orders by a larger amount than did patrons of McDonald’s, Burger King, KFC, Wendy’s and Dunkin Donuts. Compared with McDonald’s patrons, estimates provided by adults and teens who ate at Subway were 20%-25% less accurate. Block suggested that Subway’s branding may provide a “health halo" among the public.