Trends we spotted | Week 47
26-11-2021
At horecatrends.com or hospitalitytrends.eu we spot many national and international trends on a daily basis. We pick the most interesting ones to write about, the other trends we use in our weekly column ‘Trends we spotted this week’.
With this week links to articles about amongst others McDonald’s Germany that is testing reusables in 10 restaurants and the platform Foodsteps that helps food businesses monitor their carbon emissions.
‘The most beautiful butcher shop in the world, Victor Churchill’ opened a new butcher shop in Melbourne, check out the great images in this article. And Pizza Hut USA unveils their new, limited edition holiday Hut Shop.
The Savoy in London has unveiled the world’s first champagne forest, great decoration inspiration! And On Giving Tuesday (November 30), KFC will donate $1 for each KFC Chicken Sandwich sold to to Blessings in a Backpack.
‘Illegal Chips’ come in flavors like horse meat, Casu Marzu and poison blowfish. And a link to all the winners of McDonald’s anti-littering contest in Finland, with great ideas!
Get your pet in a festive mood at 29 Hilton locations in the UK and Ireland with a three course dog menu. Our office dog would love this menu!
24 Karat Gold Turkey | Thanksgiving at Empire Steak House
24-11-2021
Empire Steak House in New York will surprise their guests this holiday season with a unique dish, the 24 Karat Gold Turkey! A traditional dish with a fancy twist.
We’ve seen the gold wrap marketing stunt on a regularly basis, the food is always astronomical priced, but they’re also always picked up locally and internationally for some free publicity. Especially if there is also charity associated with it. Quite recently we saw the ‘Golden Boy‘ of ‘De Daltons’ in Voorthuizen in the Netherlands, who raised 5.000 euros. This amount has been donated to the local Food Bank. We also wrote about a marketing stunt by Bubbledogs in London who gave away 100 golden hot dogs as a Christmas present, and whoever got one also got a small bottle of champagne. Last summer Chipotle packed their burritos in gold foil every time the USA won a golden medal at the summer Olympic Games.
Reading time: 1 minute
Trends we spotted | Week 46
22-11-2021
At horecatrends.com we spot many national and international trends on a daily basis. We pick the most interesting ones to write about, the other trends we use in our weekly column ‘Trends we spotted this week’.
With this week links to articles about the Icelandverse, a great example of an ad for tourism and Redefine Meat. This Israeli start-up expands operations into Europe, they are going to 3D-print beef substitute in the Netherlands.
This Holiday Season you can play curling at the garden of the Langham hotel in London and the Alexandra pub in Wimbledon is hosting ‘don’t be on your own day’ as a lovely gesture to combat loneliness on Christmas Day.
In Hamburg you can enjoy raclette, glühwein and other Swiss winter season food in old ski gondolas at the 25Hours Hotel. And an initiative to tackle the shortage of hospitality staff from Amsterdam: The ‘Leidseplein’ class.
Korean Childhood snacks are an overnight hit because of Squid Game especially among Korean-American restaurant owners! And also in New York: the Antony Bourdain hawker centre is set to open in the beginning of 2022.
Arby’s in the US sells meat with curly and crinkle fries and now they announced the upcoming launch of its limited edition Curly Fry and Crinkle Fry Vodka. And check out the sky at Bercy Village in Paris, we love what they did!
New store concept in New York by Starbucks Pickup and Amazon Go
22-11-2021
The new store integrates the digital and physical retail experience, bringing together the connection and comfort of a Starbucks café and convenience of ‘Amazon Go’s Just Walk Out’-shopping experience. The new store concept by Starbucks Pickup and Amazon Go in New York City at 59th between Park & Lexington, opened on November 18 2021.
Reading time: 4 minutes
1 million funded for scaling up sustainable restaurant chain
15-11-2021
Sustainable restaurant chain Jack Bean has raised 1 million euros growth funding. With this money, the start-up from Rotterdam will expand to Amsterdam and the sustainable restaurant chain will prepare for further national upscaling.
Reading time: 2 minutes
The Lights of Christmas presents | A drive-thru Christmas
12-11-2021
There is something special about The Lights of Christmas! More than dazzling lights, The Lights of Christmas brings both nostalgia and innovation together for a Christmas experience to lift the spirit and uncover the hope of the holidays. This year The Lights of Christmas presents… A Drive-Thru Christmas, Located in Stanwood, Washington State. This drive-thru event lavishly celebrates the meaning of Christmas through new and classic displays alike.
This is just one of the many Christmas drive-thru’s we have spotted in the last couple of years. As long as we are facing another winter with COVID-19 amongst us, it’s a great way to bring the joy of the Holiday Season to people when they are collecting ordered presents or food boxes. As most streets in shopping areas are decorated this December anyway, why not create a ‘Christmas Wonderland’ and have your clients pick up their orders in a fun and save way! Organise it together with other entrepreneurs, like these restaurants last year. The drive-thru Christmas by The Lights of Christmas is great inspiration.
Reading time: 1 minute
The Mariah Menu at McDonald’s USA
11-11-2021
The twelve days of Christmas – what will McDonald’s US sent to their customers? Each day from Dec.13 through Dec.24, U.S. customers can get a different menu item for free from the Mariah Menu on the McDonald’s app with a $1 minimum purchase.
Another example of marketing with a celebrity, in this case Mariah Carey who takes the Holidays up an octave with 12 Days of McDonald’s® deals. Inspiration for more local deals with celebrities? We only sorry that she doesn’t sing in their commercial! And of course that the Mariah Meal isn’t available in Europe.
Reading time: 2 minutes
A Finger Lickin’ Chicken Mitten Bucket Hugger by KFC
11-11-2021
To celebrate the upcoming holiday season, Kentucky Fried Chicken® is unveiling winter’s hottest dining accessory – a limited-edition and original Finger Lickin’ Chicken Mitten Bucket Hugger, to turn your bucket of KFC’s world-famous fried chicken into the ultimate holiday must-have, according to their press release.
A combination of a new Holiday Bucket and a sweater for this bucket to keep the bucket and the hands of their fans warm! No longer available in the US but we loved the idea, a combination of a ‘ugly Christmas sweater’ with a big plus for fans of your brand. It’s great inspiration for upgrading the ugly Christmas sweaters from the past, a ‘sweater + mitten’ for warm drinks or buckets of food.
Reading time: 1 minute
NL Delivery Game | Meal deliverers safer and more aware on the road
9-11-2021
Since the corona pandemic, the number of meal deliveries in the Netherlands has increased excessively. According to the Food Service Institute Netherlands (FSIN), this market grew by 37% compared to 2019. This development is leading to an increasing number of meal delivery in the industry, especially the 16 to 24 year old age group. According to Veilig Verkeer Nederland (the Safe Traffic Association Netherlands (VVN), this age group takes more risks in traffic, which means that they are more likely to be involved in accidents. To prevent this, the Dutch Association of Meal Delivery Services (NLVVM) has created the NL Delivery Game. The initiators – consisting of ten large delivery chains – join forces and launched this training game for the more than 20,000 meal deliverers they employ. In the game, the traffic and behavioral rules of the Safe Traffic Association Netherlands are tested. Resulting in more meal deliverers safer on the road and more aware in traffic.
Reading time: 2 minutes
Kitchen robot Flippy 2 | Increase efficiency in the QSR sector
4-11-2021
Miso Robotics, a start-up company that is transforming the foodservice industry with robotics, revealed their newest model of their Flippy: kitchen robot Flippy 2. With the help of all the learnings at one of the restaurants of the QSR brand White Castle of Flippy 1, the newer model takes over the work for an entire frying station and is able to perform twice as much food preparation tasks compared to the previous model.
An ideal employee for in your QSR kitchen! Do you want to read more on robots in the hospitality world, check out our articles on robots here.
Reading time: 2 minutes