The impact of technology is the biggest F&B trend for the coming year and beyond, according to an annual forecast from New York-based consultancy Baum + Whiteman.
“Short of putting food into our mouths, technology is upending the way dining out works,” Baum + Whiteman wrote in the forecast. “Electronic wizardry once hummed quietly in the background, but now we’re immersed in ‘front-facing technology’ or ‘guest-facing technology’ — all sorts of devices and programs that interface directly with the consumer.”
Other trends highlighted in the report include:
- Pre-paying for your non-cancellable dinner: Restaurants with reservations backlogs are inching toward tech-enabled pay-for-tables systems, with people buying “tickets” for dinner like seats on an airplane.
- Oysters are everywhere: They’re cheap because bays, inlets and tidal basins are being detoxed.
- More big outsiders crowding the restaurant space: Last year Baum + Whiteman’s report laid out how retail stores were putting shoppers in their aisles by grabbing restaurant traffic. Next year will see big fashion names such as Ralph Lauren doing the same.
To read the full forecast, click here.