Food Matters
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The Commercial Catering ‘shake up’ is here and been brewing for a while – what 2022 holds
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.
Embracing Change to Survive and Maximise Food Service Sales
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.
Independent Property Developments, Big or Small, are Creative, Best In Class Food Precincts.
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.
Forward Thinking Food and Hospitality Culture to Drive FIFO worker Retention
Future Food have been working with multinational companies in the remote mining and resources sector over the past three years to improve the working life of their FIFO employees through modernised food and hospitality standards. In an ever-tightening labour market, these forward-thinking companies have for some time identified that retention of the current work force is critical to supporting their company values, business goals, profitability and to providing value to their shareholders. As part of the retention strategy and general FIFO worker well-being, modernising the food and hospitality principles have become a key driver of worker satisfaction and improving camp life to create a ‘home away from home’ environment while at work in remote areas.
The elevation of F&B in the Hotel industry
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.
Experience the Experience
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.