We can postpone the purchase of a new phone, adjourn a journey and frequent shopping, but everyone likes to eat deliciously. You can hardly ever deny the opportunity to do it outside the home. The modern consumer does not need an excuse to go to a cafe or restaurant. In the conditions of severe competition, the it is not easy to attract new customers and retain the loyal ones. That’s why it’s so important to understand what visitors want. Let’s learn about the trends of the restaurant industry in 2018 and the near future.
Simple does not mean bad
One of the main ways in the development of the restaurant industry is the democratization of the market. People do not need out of the ordinary dishes, they come to the restaurant to eat deliciousl food and want to be sure that they will like the exotic. That’s why ordinary food is more preferable nowadays. You can compensate this with unusual perfomance, excellent service and, of course, a cozy atmosphere of the place.
Even the famous chefs began to open restaurants that are oriented to a broad audience, rather than wealthy consumers. But this does not mean that there is no place for experiments: on the contrary, in small cafes on food courts, people find it easier and more affordable to try new flavor combinations.
The future is rush
Partly due to the fact that people began to give preference to simpler food, the speed of service is important to them. The consumer knows the price of his time and he is not ready to wait for his order for a long time, even if he is going to spend the whole evening in the restaurant. Practice shows that the average visitor is ready to wait for his dish from 5 to 10 minutes, while not even all fast food restaurants are ready to offer such a level of service. High speed of service is important for restaurants of any level, including delivery services: the leader is the one who is ready to fulfill the customer’s order faster than others.
Prices grow — requirements grow
Over the past three years, incomes of people have decreased by 10%, but prices in restaurants have risen. Therefore, the consumer wants better food at a democratic price. The guests of the restaurants became more particular about how they are served. They began to be interested in the composition of the dishes and the technologies of their preparation. At the same time, if a consumer finds a restaurant with a similar quality of food at a lower price, he for sure will make a choice in its favor.
According to statistics, in Moscow only 6% eat regularly outside the house: what about other cities? For comparison, in Europe this statistic almost reached 30%. All this means that the potential of the Russian market is huge, you only need to develop your business competently and adapt it to the client’s requirements.
Time to find new niches
Ask any expirienced restaurateur, and he will confirm that the Russian restaurant market has a lot to develop, and we have many unused formats. Experts predict a new round of hot dogs’ popularity, development the concept of noodle and authentic Chinese and Asian cuisine, as well as the active introduction of the delivery service in ordinary restaurants.
Healthy vs junk food
Also, two seemingly contradictory trends continue to develop on the market. On the one hand, there are more and more adherents of veganism and healthy eating in the society, which gives impetus to the development of restaurants with a healthy menu. A healthy diet is associated with home although visitors understand that it is not necessarily related to diets. In general, this segment is quite difficult for development, because for this you need to involve a nutritionist to develop a balanced menu, and the audience is limited. Healthy food is in demand in the delivery services.
On the other hand, over the past three years, the part of fast food consumers on the Russian market has grown by almost by 5% and it is 70–75% of the entire catering market. This trend continues to develop, because now fast-food restaurants offer visitors a lot of promotions, no need to mention the fact that many items are sold for very cheap price.
The concept of burger chains is developing rapidly, opening with enviable speed throughout the world. Over the past year, Russia has opened more than 800 fast food restaurants and street food.
Meal’n’Real
When it comes to a young audience aged 18 to 34, one of the main criteria for choosing a place are new impressions. For such visitors new tastes and pleasure from visiting restaurants are important. Creating new experiences is easier than it seems. Here are just a few examples:
· Creative serving of dishes in unusual way (for example, in St. Petersburg “Coffee House” coffee is served in a bottle of wine).
· Show and performances, which can be arranged on weekends.
· Poetic shows and film shows.
· Foodentertement: involve the guests in the process of creating a dish
· Open kitchen. The visitor watches with great interest the way the dishes are prepared, in addition, it increases the level of confidence in the restaurant.
Another popular direction is the use of contrasting products in one dish and unusual combinations. Remember the black burger, paste with nutela, ice cream with bacon, and do not be afraid to experiment yourself. Non-standard combinations help to attract customers, and if it is truly delicious, you are guaranteed success.
Technology is everywhere
Of course, technological progress could not bypass the restaurant industry. Today, the overwhelming majority of restaurateurs use automated accounting systems, which help you to manage orders, processes and reports. You can also add the electronic menu, create mobile services and adapt online orders. This tactic is more appropriate in the development of restaurant chains.
As for single places, one should not forget about the opportunities that social networks give. Today, this is one of the main ways to express yourself and communicate with customers. On such platforms it is easy and easy to form the image of the place and build relationships with loyal and potential visitors.
The future of the restaurant industry is impossible without the introduction of new IT technologies. Today we can say with confidence that every visitor of the restaurant uses a smartphone. So why should not restaurants use this tool to promote themselves? There are already many online booking services, reviews and bonus systems. Often even experienced professionals find it difficult to understand the existing market. A logical step would be to combine all the functionality together. So the team of the project eWaiter have introduced their solution. The company develops a multifunctional service, the main advantage of which is the focus on both the visitor and the restaurant staff. The united ecosystem will allow the restaurant to monitor the customer’s activity in real time and solve the problems that arise, and the visitor will receive a convenient tool for full control over his order — from calling the waiter to ordering from an electronic menu and receiving bonuses for his reviews.
Feedback is one of the main factors in the development of the restaurant: receiving information about the weaknesses and strengths of his place, the restaurateur can correct the mistake in time and redirect resources for maximum efficiency. Unlike many existing services, eWaiter promises absolute truthfulness of reviews, using Blocking technology. The information once recorded can not be deleted or changed. Only visitors who have actually made an order in this restaurant will be able to write comments. This will exclude provocations from competitors, and will also give the visitor confidence that the reviews were not written by the employees. More information about the eWaiter project can be found on their website ewaiter.io.
Conclusion
Summarizing all of the above, we should note that the future of the restaurant industry belongs to innovators and those who are ready to show flexibility and adapt to the requirements of the client. But in the pursuit of non-standard fashion solutions do not forget that quality service and a cozy atmosphere will never go out of fashion.
