The changing face of the foodservice industry

Consumers are changing more rapidly than ever according to the recent Technomic Conference, Restaurant Directions that opened with the quote “Humanity will change more in the next 20 years than in the last 300.” Two key takeaways from the conference are the understanding of convenience will be revolutionized in the next few years and healthy food options will be one of the key decision factors when choosing a brand where they will get their food.

With millennials as the driving force ushering in the new era of dining out or ordering out to dine in, operators will need to move faster than ever before to ensure they are ready for the food not prepared at home opportunity. The consumer of the future will shift their mindset from the traditional meals cooked at home or dining out, to meals prepared at home and meals not prepared at home but eaten in the home. This mind shift will mean traditional restaurant brands will need to evolve and meet the consumer with their brand in a variety of places with new opportunities.

Technomic reported that 70% of current millennial moms are working outside the home and rely heavily on convenience options to feed her family, reporting she orders family meals from a restaurant at least once a week. Making it a priority for operators to determine how they can offer healthy family meals, that compete with growing grocery store prepared grab and go meal solutions.

Consumers are moving from foods to avoid to an all-out focus clean eating as part of their everyday life, creating new challenges on how operators can offer local, organic, sustainable, and seasonal products while ensuring quality and keeping overall costs in check.

At Welbilt we continue to focus on these consumer trends while providing equipment solutions that are preparing our partners to meet tomorrow’s consumer demands today. Click here to learn more about how we are bringing innovation to the table.