HAMBURG, Germany – INTERNORGA has always kept its finger on the pulse of the times, and since its creation in 1921 it has reflected all the developments and challenges in food service with a complete overview of the market. To celebrate its 90th anniversary, INTERNORGA is taking a good look into the future, and has commissioned the GDI Gottlieb Duttweiler Institute in Zurich, headed by CEO Dr David Bosshart, to prepare an exclusive hypothesis paper on the future of restaurants.
The paper puts forward seven culinary trend hypotheses, showing the key developments for the industry.
Trend 1: Digitisation will create completely new competitive conditions
Progressive digitisation will revolutionise the food service market, blurring the borders between retail and restaurants, online and offline. Conventional industrial structures will lose their relevance. Restaurants will face more competition from the technical sector – innovations by companies from outside the food industry will include booking, ordering and payment systems, new foods (plant-based substitutes for cheese, meat and eggs) and on-demand delivery services from local farms. Customers of the future will not be so interested in what distribution channel they use – they just want the right product at the right time. So food service companies of the future have to be present in all the media channels.
Trend 2: Convenience – making life easier, but not necessarily happier
Our everyday lives are characterised by mobility, flexibility and speed. The quality demands of consumers and significance of convenience food are on the increase – the move to convenience food is characteristic of future development. That involves two challenges – firstly, consumers want transparency in the origin, production conditions, nutritional ingredients and additives in the food. And secondly, convenience does not meet people’s wishes for fresh, natural, local, organic food. Food service has the challenge of closing the gap between convenience and sustainability by introducing new concepts and positioning itself vis-à-vis retail, take-away and vending machines.
Trend 3: Home cooking beats cocooning – the battle for the last mile heats up
Increasing mobility also means that eating at home is on the increase again, with consumers using new delivery services and technologies. The more varied, convenient and available the methods of ordering, the more this option will be used. Food delivery services are boosting this trend by delivering recipes, ingredients, or even cooks to prepare food at the customer’s home. So traditional food formats have to reposition themselves to increase the appeal of restaurants.
Trend 4: Social food beats flavour – people are more important
Street food festivals are becoming an alternative to concerts – food is more and more a matter of lifestyle, and at the same time it is a means of identification, a status symbol and a medium of expression. That makes it all the more important to create an attractive setting in restaurants, so that they can compete with the home eating trend. Restaurants can establish themselves as a place of inspiration and knowledge, a place of recreation for mind and body, a place of social interaction and lifestyle, and a place of adventure, curiosity and social focus.
Trend 5: Migration food – food creates identity
Migration will in future create a great demand for culturally specific meals. Food from Iran, Afghanistan, or from some of the countries of Africa such as Ghana, will have an impact on the culinary repertoire of tomorrow. It is important to make a culturally specific appeal to the customers; global marketing messages are not enough to reach the members of a minority group. This development gives new opportunities for independently run restaurants, with new chances to attract customers, as is clearly shown by the success of family run restaurants. Some of the big chains are also promoting culturally specific meals.
Trend 6: Polarized eating – balancing high-tech and organic romanticism
Consumers have two conflicting needs – they want more convenience from the high-tech food industry, and they also want a wide range of innovative, individually designed, easy-to-obtain products. At the same time, many consumers long for a romantic world of organic products. The restaurant of the future will combine high-tech with organic romanticism. High-tech is in the background, supporting the need for romanticism, for clarity and a strong storyline, for transparency and sustainability. Online works hand in hand with offline. The food of the future is as fast as fast food, and as quality conscious as organic food.
Trend 7: Individual beats anonymous – the future belongs to personalised marketing
People take priority over brands – the significance of a meal or a product depends on interaction with guests and consumers, not on advertising by the manufacturer. The faces and stories of the food manufacturers are gaining importance, and increasingly taking on the role of a label. They form a unit with their products, and personally guarantee product quality. This personification boosts confidence on the part of consumers.The key factors for the restaurant of the future are the people, the serving staff, the chef and the owner – their personal expertise and knowledge of their products, production and processing is fundamental to success.
About INTERNORGA
2016 is a very special year – INTERNORGA celebrates its 90th anniversary. INTERNORGA is the leading European trade fair for hotels, restaurants, institutional catering, bakery and confectionery, and has been held ever since 1921.
It is classified by the Association of the German Trade Fair Industry (AUMA) as the only international HORECA trade fair in Germany. INTERNORGA takes place in March every year, with around 1,300 exhibitors from Germany and abroad displaying their innovations, trends and complete solutions for the whole of the out-of-home market.
In addition to the exhibitors’ presentations, there is a big programme of supporting events, international conferences, award presentations, and innovative side-event concepts.
INTERNORGA is traditionally held at the Hamburg Fair site, at the heart of Hamburg. Admission is subject to proof of trade visitor status. The admission charge is €31 (€39.50 for a two-day ticket); concessions for trainees in the trade: €16. For more information on INTERNORGA 2016, see www.internorga.com.
About GDI
The Gottlieb Duttweiler Institute (GDI), a research organisation based in Rüschlikon near Zurich, is Switzerland’s oldest independent think tank. The researchers at GDI analyse megatrends and countertrends and develop future scenarios. Their insights on economic and social subjects are recorded in various publications and discussed at conferences and meetings. GDI is a practice-oriented, independent institution with a thematic focus on the early detection of trends in retail and consumption.
