We know that times have been tough for the hospitality industry over the past few years, and this shows no sign of letting up. Here the top 7 hospitality trends of 2022 to help your business thrive.
1. Simplified menus
Rather than spreading yourself too thin with a really long menu with hundreds of items, it is better to focus more on fewer menu items but doing them really well. This can help increase your profits by improving your kitchen efficiency and reducing your food waste. It would also reduce the amount of staff training needed as well as labour costs.
2. Catering to health-conscious consumers
More and more people are leaning towards meat-reduced lifestyles, meaning they look for veggie options, and locally sourced, seasonal and organic ingredients. Adding just a couple of vegetarian and vegan options to your menu can help entice these customers to dine or order from you.
3. Thinking about the environment
Their carbon footprints, waste, water and plastic pollution are increasingly at the forefront of the consumer’s mind. This means there is more and more pressure for your business to consider this. Swapping your traditional takeaway packaging, cups, straws and paper plates to eco-friendly versions is an easy way to do this. What’s more, due to increasing popularity, there are now many different options for eco-friendly products which makes the change super simple and easy.
4. Host Kitchens
A host kitchen is a commercial kitchen that produces its own food as usual but also acts as a ghost kitchen for another brand. A host kitchen will use its existing staff and equipment to produce food for a completely separate brand but this food will be delivery-only. The second brand will only be available on delivery platforms such as UberEats, Deliveroo, JustEat. Operating multiple brands from an existing business is becoming very popular especially during these difficult times as it adds extra orders and therefore revenue to an existing business.
5. Delivery Options
With the food delivery market growing every year (now worth over £10 billion), its worth tapping into that to earn some extra cash. From reaching more customers to boosting your online visibility, getting on delivery platforms can benefit your business in many ways. For more information, take a look at our virtual brands playbook to see what food delivery can do for you.
6. Strengthen your online presence
People often have a look at the online reviews/website before ordering or visiting. Not having this means you risk turning away customers. If your online presence is strong and engaging with a great customer experience, you’re more likely to have increased footfall and orders.
7. Self-service machines
Nowadays, self-service machines are everywhere and for good reason. While a full appraisal of self-service machines is available, we can tell you that they have many benefits including reducing queues, cutting down on staffing costs, increasing the demand for ready-made meals and capturing all sorts of data so you can be more aware of what your customers want.
