Food & Hospitality Strategy Blog
Stay ahead in the food and hospitality industry with Future Food Blog. Get the latest news, trends, insights, and expert analysis on food innovations, restaurant strategies, sustainability, and more. Discover what’s shaping the future of dining, food technology, and hospitality with expert commentary and in-depth articles.
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The future strategies of fresh food markets in Australia – what's on the horizon?
This year we have had the privilege to provide food consultancy for some of Australia’s best fresh-food markets; both existing and under redevelopment. Our exposure to projects such as the new Sydney Fish Market, Adelaide Central Market (both under redevelopment), plus Melbourne’s Queen Victoria Market and Camberwell Market have provided us with contemporary insight and research into the opportunities, challenges, management and direction of large and small footprint, fresh food and specialty produce market-retail.
Adapting to Changing Consumer Food and Hospitality Needs Amidst Rising Cost of Living Pressures
As the cost of living pressures continue to bite in Australia, consumers are becoming increasingly discerning about where, when and how much of their disposable income they spend on eating out. For shopping centre management and F&B operators, this scenario presents a partnership opportunity to plan and implement strategies to adapt to new consumer F&B spending patterns and continue to drive visitation, overall spend and maintain or increase asset value. In this article, we delve into practical strategies that shopping centres and F&B operators can employ, considering the specific needs of different customer segments, to maximize visitation frequency and spending in a time of escalating cost of living.
Customised EOI procurement strategies – find the right F&B partner to achieve best practice outcomes.
Future Food has long been recognised as a leader in Food & Hospitality Master Planning. However, in the past 5 years, we have assembled a new specialist skill set that involves actively managing expressions of interest (EOI) and tender campaigns for a wide range of companies and sectors. This niche service is gaining popularity in the food and hospitality industry, and at Future Food, we have revolutionised the methodology of connecting our clients with the talent they have been seeking for the betterment of their assets, precincts, and venues.
The Australian Craft Beverage Movement – Reshaping the F&B Landscape
The craft beverage movement has been building significant momentum over the past 10 years and has subsequently reshaped the liquor industry as we know it. With craft brewing, small scale local distilleries and small batch wine production capturing greater market share year on year, we are seeing a shift in the market towards quality over quantity and experiential over mainstream.
How food and hospitality can flourish in the next normal
Retail Relationships Rewarding Foodies
As we witness the gradual relaxing of restrictions placed on food operators state by state and an uncertain return to trading, one thing is certain – the Food & Hospitality will inevitably recover. In fact, the latest credit card data from both the ANZ and CBA shows that spending on F&B is coming up from its lows.
People are social creatures by nature, with hospitality ingrained in our way of life - albeit it to differing degrees from person to person granted! Moreover, there is still a considerable amount of latent demand: Pre-COVID levels of demand for F&B were not a fad as consumers’ interaction with Hospitality is a practice that has been building over the last two decades.
Food & hospitality is open for business
We as an industry are back and open for dine-in business. The profound power of the anticipation and excitement these simple words hold is balanced by the weight of a new normal for food and hospitality operators. This Monday has seen every state government now relax restrictions sufficiently to reopen our dine-in service – albeit in differing degrees from state to state. If reports of Monday night covers around Melbourne are anything to go by, diners are quite literally salivating at the chance to return to their favourite venue; as competitive as this has become as the reality of seating limitations make this once relatively simple pleasure, not quite so simple.
Eating with Your Eyes – Food, Design and Social Media
We live in a digital era where we are all critics. Social media and the Internet, in general, drive our ability to offload our opinions on every element in our lives. Food is a major part of this because our exposure to food globally has dramatically changed. We can view the latest trends from around the world while sitting on our couches. All businesses, but especially F&B operators, need to adapt to this new normal and recognise that their presence cannot just be confined to within their four walls.
Use social media but use it tastefully. The key to remember is that the online personality of your business has to match both the in-store experience and the profile of your customers. Use digital communications to draw customers in and then deliver the best. Represent who you are and what you have to deliver. Above all, be genuine and be real.
Did you know there is a sustainable volume of food and hospitality revenue for every project?
Determining a hospitality strategy that maximises food and hospitality revenue is the goal that many of our clients wish to resolve when they partner with Future Food. However, in order to do that we must first understand the size of the project’s food and hospitality revenue potential and then the important part – aligning that available spending with the need states and aspirations of their target market(s) in order to maximise the potential for the project.
Improving the Sustainability of Restaurants During Challenging Times
The sustainability of any restaurant or F&B business is always dependant on meeting the needs of the intended target market and remaining relevant to those customer segments with authentic food and a range of promotions, offers and experiences that encourage repeat patronage. Although COVID-19 virus is extreme business interruption and thankfully not an everyday event, it does demonstrate how an external event can devastate a business or sector of hospitality reliant on a narrow target market focus. The everyday trading lesson is for restauranteurs and F&B operators to boost the sustainability of the business with active, customised and well communicated promotions, offers and experiences, expanding the target market base to create a more sustainable revenue base.
Great Service in an Era of Labour Costs and Technology
Will Guidara, one of the owners of Eleven Madison Avenue in New York, has been quoted as saying that it’s “compassion and passion [that] gives a fantastic dining experience.”
As every successful restaurateur will tell you, passion is the reason that they started their venture in the first place. It’s what continues to drive their activities. But passion alone can only take you so far.
Jay Rayner, the UK food critic, has recently written that he, “does not regard the table primarily as a place of nutrition. That’s just something which, happily, comes with the territory. It’s a place of joy.”
Read More
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2017
- 11 Jan 2017 2017's Food, Beverage and Hospitality Trends 11 Jan 2017
- 18 Jan 2017 Eating out in Australia: 2016 (Australian Food Statistics) 18 Jan 2017
- 12 Dec 2017 Food, Hospitality & Beverage Industry Trends - 2018 12 Dec 2017
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2018
- 3 Jan 2018 Future Food's Top 10 Blog Posts of 2017 3 Jan 2018
- 10 Jan 2018 Eating Out in Australia: 2017 in Review 10 Jan 2018
- 23 Nov 2018 Food Trends Insights in Australia For 2019 & Beyond 23 Nov 2018
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2019
- 3 July 2019 Customer & Industry Trends 3 July 2019
- 6 Dec 2019 The Future of Food is Exciting - Food and Hospitality Trends of 2020 6 Dec 2019
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2020
- 31 Jan 2020 Great Service in an Era of Labour Costs and Technology 31 Jan 2020
- 12 Feb 2020 Vegan & Vegetarian Meat Substitutes & the Health Risks of These Foods 12 Feb 2020
- 26 Feb 2020 Improving the Sustainability of Restaurants During Challenging Times 26 Feb 2020
- 11 Mar 2020 Did you know there is a sustainable volume of food and hospitality revenue for every project? 11 Mar 2020
- 25 Mar 2020 Eating with Your Eyes – Food, Design and Social Media 25 Mar 2020
- 8 Apr 2020 A Bridge Somewhere - Going back to basics 8 Apr 2020
- 22 Apr 2020 Modern Elevated Standards of Campus F&B 22 Apr 2020
- 21 May 2020 Five Food & Hospitality Trends for a Post-Lockdown World 21 May 2020
- 29 May 2020 Execution Is Everything: Melbourne Shopping Centres Post-COVID 29 May 2020
- 5 June 2020 Food & hospitality is open for business 5 June 2020
- 15 June 2020 The Brand Journey Out of COVID #3: Global Food Consultancy Insights 15 June 2020
- 17 June 2020 How food and hospitality can flourish in the next normal 17 June 2020
- 7 July 2020 The Australian Craft Beverage Movement – Reshaping the F&B Landscape 7 July 2020
- 15 July 2020 Food & Design: A Partnership For Success 15 July 2020
- 29 July 2020 Food & Beverage Strategy - Future Focused 29 July 2020
- 12 Aug 2020 Food & Beverage Strategy - Future Focused Part 2 12 Aug 2020
- 27 Aug 2020 Outdoor Dining is a way of life and a way forward for Food & Beverage 27 Aug 2020
- 9 Sept 2020 EOI Campaigns “A crucial piece of the puzzle” 9 Sept 2020
- 23 Sept 2020 Reconnecting with Customers 23 Sept 2020
- 8 Oct 2020 F&B Operator Procurement Strategies – Delivering on the Vision 8 Oct 2020
- 22 Oct 2020 Trends for 2022: Re-engaging with Food in a Design Led World 22 Oct 2020
- 11 Nov 2020 Hospitality Mindset – It’s All About The Customer 11 Nov 2020
- 17 Nov 2020 Hospitality Mindset – A sales & service maximiser approach (Part 2) 17 Nov 2020
- 2 Dec 2020 How the tables have turned on turning tables 2 Dec 2020
- 16 Dec 2020 Food & Hospitality Restaurant Openings & a Taste of What Was 2020 16 Dec 2020
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2021
- 20 Jan 2021 Melbourne vs Sydney - What makes a ‘Sydney’ restaurant? 20 Jan 2021
- 10 Feb 2021 Experience the Experience 10 Feb 2021
- 2 Mar 2021 Remaining Relevant in the Age of Digital Disruption 2 Mar 2021
- 24 Mar 2021 Business Partnerships – A Strategic ‘Food Focussed’ Approach 24 Mar 2021
- 21 Apr 2021 Two Cultures – One Contract – Using Leadership to Deliver 21 Apr 2021
- 26 May 2021 The Art of Great Service 26 May 2021
- 17 June 2021 Future Hospitality Trends in Stadium & Sporting / Entertainment Precincts 17 June 2021
- 14 July 2021 The elevation of F&B in the Hotel industry 14 July 2021
- 16 Aug 2021 Forward Thinking Food and Hospitality Culture to Drive FIFO worker Retention 16 Aug 2021
- 8 Sept 2021 Independent Property Developments, Big or Small, are Creative, Best In Class Food Precincts. 8 Sept 2021
- 6 Oct 2021 Embracing Change to Survive and Maximise Food Service Sales 6 Oct 2021
- 8 Nov 2021 Blog titles 2.jpg 8 Nov 2021
- 1 Dec 2021 The Commercial Catering ‘shake up’ is here and been brewing for a while – what 2022 holds 1 Dec 2021
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2022
- 14 Jan 2022 When Pleasure Turns To Pain For Hospitality Owners, Staff & Customers 14 Jan 2022
- 23 Mar 2022 Food Consulting and the re-imagination of industrial space. (Copy) 23 Mar 2022
- 24 Mar 2022 Data Driven Decisions for Food & Beverage 24 Mar 2022
- 21 Apr 2022 Food, Hospitality & Wellness ‘Places’ Transcending the Resources & Mining Village Work-Life Experience 21 Apr 2022
- 11 May 2022 HOSPITALITY WORKFORCE THE KEY TO BUSINESS SUCCESS 11 May 2022
- 27 June 2022 Shifting Strategic Approach to EOI – A Win-Win Solution for Food Operators, Landlords & Developers 27 June 2022
- 21 July 2022 The World of Hospitality in Mixed-Use Developments - A Powerhouse of Sales, Rental & Asset Growth 21 July 2022
- 11 Aug 2022 Hospitality Strategies Deliver Clubs as Lifestyle Destinations 11 Aug 2022
- 20 Oct 2022 Conquering the challenges of ‘Family Dining’ 20 Oct 2022
- 22 Nov 2022 Using Food & Hospitality to bridge the gap between Live-in Work Life and Home Life 22 Nov 2022
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2023
- 28 June 2023 A new Era for Food & Hospitality in Commercial Property & Office Buildings 28 June 2023
- 31 July 2023 Customised EOI procurement strategies – find the right F&B partner to achieve best practice outcomes. 31 July 2023
- 7 Sept 2023 Adapting to Changing Consumer Food and Hospitality Needs Amidst Rising Cost of Living Pressures 7 Sept 2023
- 28 Sept 2023 The future strategies of fresh food markets in Australia – what's on the horizon? 28 Sept 2023
- 20 Oct 2023 Connecting great Clubs with great Food and Beverage Operators 20 Oct 2023
- 31 Oct 2023 The Devil is in The Detail – providing avenues for asset growth through F&B operational excellence 31 Oct 2023
- 4 Dec 2023 A 2023 Snapshot – The Diversification and Evolution of Future Food 4 Dec 2023
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2024
- 15 Apr 2024 High-performance cost of goods – maximising results for Clubs 15 Apr 2024
- 4 June 2024 How Food and Dining is shaping a nation; driving social & cultural change, in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia 4 June 2024
- 8 July 2024 Successful Food Procurement RFP Delivers Exceptional Results Across Clubs 8 July 2024
- 9 Sept 2024 'Local' Food and Hospitality influences in the Business of Food 9 Sept 2024
- 8 Oct 2024 Evolve to Thrive: Strategic Food & Beverage Planning for Clubs 8 Oct 2024
- 28 Nov 2024 2025 Food and Hospitality Trends Reshaping the Australian landscape 28 Nov 2024
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2025
- 7 Mar 2025 Supercharge Your F&B Strategy... 7 Mar 2025
- 30 May 2025 A New Era for Hospitality: Technology That's Re-defining How We Work 30 May 2025
- 1 Aug 2025 Appetite for Change: Food & Beverage is Rewriting the Retail Rulebook 1 Aug 2025
- 2 Sept 2025 Rethinking Food & Hospitality Procurement: Why the EOI Approach Delivers Better Results 2 Sept 2025
- 14 Oct 2025 From Idea to F&B Concept: Realising the Vision 14 Oct 2025
- 6 Nov 2025 Hospitality That Elevates The Promise of Place 6 Nov 2025
- 19 Dec 2025 Strategic Foresight: Australian Food and Hospitality Trends 2026 19 Dec 2025
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2026
- 7 Apr 2026 Food & Hospitality Strategy in Precincts, Districts and Megaprojects. 7 Apr 2026
- 21 Apr 2026 From Place to Performance: Masterplanning Food & Hospitality 21 Apr 2026
- 4 Aug 2026 From Concessions to Destinations: Australia’s Changing Stadium Hospitality Paradigm 4 Aug 2026
- 14 Sept 2026 Feeding the Campus: Why Food Insecurity and Commercial Viability Don't Have to Compete 14 Sept 2026