The last few months in the commercial catering world has been a hive of behind the scenes activity and jostling for position in a stayed market, as the pandemic has accelerated senior management team’s collective inertia or depending on who you talk to, the more fashionable ‘agile pivot’. Perhaps, some of these recent moves could be more accurately described as being wedged into a corner through previous strategic and/or marginal decisions (made under relatively normal and even buoyant times), come home to roost in less than exceptional times. But while the congratulations, back slapping and commiserations are shared around – who is actually looking after the customer? Let’s find out.

Towards the end of each calendar year, we like to take a look back at how the industry has shifted, the trends that have taken off, and try to pre-empt the future face of the industry. This year we are embarking on the same assignment, however the impact Covid lockdowns have had on the industry, especially in Melbourne, and to a lesser extent Sydney, we know that the future face of the industry may have been changed forever.

Australia’s two major cities have currently been in lockdown for over ten weeks with Melbourne now being in lockdown longer than any city in the world, 246 days so far and one month remaining. The prolonged closures on food and beverage venues have ranged from hard to devastating, not just from a sales perspective, but on the lives of hospitality workers and their families.

However, creative food and hospitality operators have managed to innovate, stay agile, plan for the end in sight and have reinvented their business in order to prepare for the huge demand that his been building up and will let rip once the lockdowns end. Cafés and restaurants, along with bars and hairdressers are at the top of everyone’s to do list.

Future Food gets to work on large projects, and we love the city shaping scope of a big development. Yet some of the more interesting projects that we've been working on over the last 24-36 months have been those from private independent developers.

The level of entrepreneurship, creativity, artistic direction, attention to detail and placemaking makes these vibrant projects and developments, truly exciting platforms to work with. Our recent partnership with companies like Perri Projects and Pellicano have allowed us to contribute to more boutique personalised projects. Creating a food strategy and operating model for these developments requires a subtle approach that considers each development through the perspective of its target users.

Future Food are leaders in Food & Hospitality Consulting to the hotel industry, partnering with developers and hotel operators around the world to maximise the benefit food and beverage can bring to their property.

Throughout 2018/2019 it seemed that every week we were picking up the newspaper and reading announcements of the “Next New” hotel being built in one of our capital cities, or the first of its kind new ‘Lifestyle’ hotel brand entering the market to cater towards new customer demands in the aspirational hotel market.

With the introduction of brands like 25 Hours Hotels by Accor, Voco Hotels by IHG and W Hotels by Marriott, it appeared that the ‘lifestyle’ product was on-trend and in high demand, yet the announcement of global leaders including St Regis, Ritz Carlton and Mandarin Oriental also eyeing off new locations in Sydney, Perth and Melbourne revealed the push across all levels of hotel positioning.

The hospitality industry - restaurants, cafes and the very people that operate these establishments - have received considerable customer backlash of late as they seek to receive advance payment for future table bookings. Venues are requiring pre-payment as a strategy to reduce the costs of no-shows which slow their financial recovery caused by the pandemic. By establishing a degree of commitment from their future customers, restaurateurs can eliminate the considerable financial harm caused by the unconscionable conduct of some customers.

In part one of this article, I spoke about the customer’s timeless desire and appreciation of quality food and service and how this is the platform from which to drive food and hospitality sales.

Let us be clear from the outset, it is all about sales. Why? because Food+Design+Service =Sales=Rent=Profit=Asset Growth.

In a post-corona world, (at least in Australia and New Zealand,) we have new expectations of our cafes, restaurants, pubs, roof-top bars and food halls, as we all strive to regain daily routine and a comfort-level in the next-normal.

The Business of Food starts with thinking about hospitality – I call it a Consumer-First Approach. One that consistently excites as well as offers choice, efficiency, value, quality and consistency. Food and hospitality spend across the globe is on the rise, with all sectors vying for the food-dollar. Where the customer decides to spend is highly dependent on how well the food operator has considered the customers aspirations and their needs and aligned these with a clearly defined ‘Hospitality Mindset’. Time and time again, this presents as a memorable experience-proposition. A strategic blend of art and science is required by all operators to ensure a return on experience for every customer. The trilogy of design, food and service cannot be separated, as they represent the cornerstone first principles, and when combined with psychology, emotions and passion, produce a successful recipe every time.

2021 is going to be, in the parlance of your local footy team, a rebuilding year. So much damage has been done to retail in general and hospitality in particular this year that 2021 is going to be a year to heal, slowly getting back on public transport and getting settled into the Next Normal.

2022, then, is shaping up as a really interesting year. The food operators that survived the pandemic, and especially those that opened during it, are battle-hardened and realistic: An excellent foundation on which to rebuild Food and Hospitality. With the gradual renaissance of the CBD and face-to-face interactions, there is ample scope to start contemplating how to harness and encourage demand.

Generally speaking, vegetarian and vegan lifestyles can be extremely healthy when eating a plant-based diet full of wholefoods, fruits, vegetables, grains, nuts, legumes etc. Recently, however, there has been an influx of a wide variety of new vegan and vegetarian processed products that do not provide consumers with all of the health benefits you might expect from adhering to a meat-free diet. It is important to ensure that you read the back of the package to really understand what is packed into these faux meat processed foods that may negatively impact on consumer’s health.

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.”

Trends that will shape the future of your food and hospitality projects for 2020.

Trends are no longer limited to the cuisines on offer or the style of service. The ‘whole experience’ is what matters. Customers have feelings, opinions and are savvy when it comes to choosing where to spend their money. However, food and service will always be at the heart of hospitality.