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.

Australia’s food and beverage operators have been striving to return their businesses to some degree of normality in order to drive sales, stabilise costs and prepare themselves for the imminent financial obstacle of Job keeper payments ceasing in three weeks’ time. It is clear from the ABS that the future is bright for food and beverage operations, however, operators need to be creative, flexible and innovative in order to comply with the remaining Covdid-19 restrictions around social distancing and the control in patron numbers in any one enclosed space.

In the course of our work, we have noticed that there are some venues that just say ‘Sydney’. We also know that over the years, Sydney restaurateurs haven’t lit up the world in Melbourne (and vice versa, we might add). All of which got us thinking about why this is so: What is it about the market that creates a ‘Sydney’ venue?

Here we highlight a few of the differences between the Melbourne and Sydney food scene.

Although 2020 will be remembered in Australians (and the world) for all the wrong reasons, hospitality operators continued to push the boundaries, open new concepts providing a welcome haven for Australia’s at large with new experiences that raised our spirits and reminded us that life, food and hospitality will not only survive but thrive.

There are stand out restaurants and bars that have opened across Australia with new and enticing food and beverage as well those who have traded through the ups and downs continuing to deliver excellent food and service.

Here we highlight a few of the many new ones (and can’t wait to try) and share a recent food experience at Ish in Melbourne.

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.

In the current business environment, securing the best F&B operators within your project, development or institution, can be challenging. This may be compounded, by shifting operator demands, (complicated lease conditions, staged incentives, abatement clauses, etc) and a new expectation of rental revenue models, what is the rental return that can realistically be achieved?

Building Loyalty and Maximising Sales by leveraging unique Points of Difference (PODs)

Maintaining a loyal and diverse customer base has never been more important in a time when most consumers are scrutinising how and where they spend their disposable income. In the last six months priorities and spending habits have shifted for consumers, while some customer segments have continued to purchase, in one form or another, there will also be a need to re-establish or reconnect with others in order to begin the journey back to previous levels of revenue and eventual profitability.

The food, hospitality and broader retail landscape is currently facing unprecedented challenges that will undoubtedly reshape it for years to come.

‘Out of adversity comes opportunity’ and it is Future Food’s belief that opportunity now exists to challenge the status quo, do things differently and employ a more holistic approach when attracting and engaging food and hospitality operators for your project.

People love eating and drinking outside. Such is the deep, almost primal, desire for outside hospitality that every time a sandwich/milk bar puts out a couple of tables and chairs on the footpath right next to the parked cars, they are always being used.