Limited-edition PAC-MAN pizza box featuring augmented reality game by Pizza Hut
8-4-2021
Pizza Hut served up a ‘Newstalgia’ campaign celebrating what fans know and love about the pizza restaurant, but with a contemporary twist. To bring the campaign to life, the brand unveiled a limited-edition PAC-MAN pizza box featuring an augmented reality game and a chance to win a custom PAC-MAN game cabinet back in March. The campaign did put a contemporary twist on celebrating all the things people love and associate with the brand – from Book It!® pins, classic arcade games, red cups and Tiffany-style lamps and of course, iconic Pizza Hut pizzas.
Although the campaign has already ended we think it might be an inspiration for other restaurants to add some nostalgia to their brand in one way or another. Lots of us loved to play PAC-MAN back in the day but also games like Tetris, Mario Kart and remember SimCity? We have all learned not to play with our food but this might be fun!
Reading time: 2 minutes
Trends we spotted | Week 13
6-4-2021
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 an investment by restaurant chain Chipotle in autonomous delivery by startup NURO. And to help out in tough times, supermarkets rent storefront windows from restaurants. Launched last week in Amsterdam, Reclame voor Horeca (‘Ads for Hospitality’).
Both NESCAFÉ and the startup, UP TO GOOD, introduced drinks made from upcycled coffee fruit. NESCAFE NATIV and UP TO GOOD cascara. And in London opened Urban Mutts, the first luxury dog hotel! With spa treatments, handcrafted dog beds, reiki etc.
Ultimate Paleo Protein infuses your cup of coffee with quality protein, healthy fat, and heat-stable probiotics. It reminded us a bit of Bulletproof coffee? And the first Cannabis-infused wine from France has been created in the region of Bordeaux.
KRISPY KREME® Giving FREE doughnuts to everyone who shows his or her COVID-19 Vaccination Card and has more ideas to encourage people to get the vaccine! And we spotted a startup with the aim to reduce our sodium intake which is increasing our high blood pressure: Green Salt made of Salicornia!
Click on the title if you like to read the full article. Enjoy reading!
The project ’40 chefs for the 40 month cheese’ | By Consorzio Parmigiano Reggiano and JRE-Jeunes Restaurateurs
2-4-2021
Its strong and spicy aroma, its savoury and intense flavour make 40 month Parmigiano Reggiano a product with unmistakeable characteristics, whose demand is increasing on all consumers’ tables. The Consorzio Parmigiano Reggiano and JRE-Jeunes Restaurateurs have chosen to enhance these features with the project ‘40 chefs for the 40 month cheese’ during which forty chefs from thirteen European countries have developed unique and new recipes, which are also close to home, i.e. strongly tied their area of origin.
For foodies: in this article links to some of the 40 recipes! With focus on the Dutch recipes.
reading time: 3 minutes
Trends we spotted | Week 12
30-3-2021
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 a cultured meat manufacturing at the first plant-to-fork facility The Chicken by SuperMeat in Israel. And a bit older article about the plant-based meat market estimated to be worth billions of dollars. We wonder what the influence of cultured meat will be on those sales numbers!
Japan’s airline ANA sold $1.8 million worth of Economy Class inflight meals to Japanese consumers for at-home dining and Shake Shack begins using AirCarbon cutlery and straws from Restore Foodware at select locations.
Smarties is the first sweets-brand to switch to recyclable paper packaging and Starbucks recently committed to their future by setting ambitious goals in order to reduce their carbon footprint, water and waste by at least 50% in 2030.
A link to a great article about the thriving scene of Korean restaurants in New York, with a couple of them with one or two Michelin stars and inspiration for pizzerias: the garlic buttery crust By the Pizza Inn.
Click on the title if you would like to read the full article. Enjoy reading!
10 Ice cream inspiration ideas | Inspiration for a long, hot summer of hospitality
29-3-2021
What’s going to be a trend in ice cream this summer? Throughout the past year we have seen that comfort food was very popular in the take-away and delivery market, Jonnie and Thérèse Boer of the Dutch 3 Michelin stars restaurant De Librije reopened last week with in–room dining (March 19) with a menu of 6 classic dishes from 30 years De Librije. Does that mean that we’re mainly craving the classic ice cream flavours this summer? At Horecatrends, we think that the flavours vanilla, hazelnut, chocolate and strawberry will of course remain favourite. But there is a lot more to choose from… Ice cream maker Rob Kok (IJspaleis Driehuis) came up with a solution for doubting guests in 2016, the ‘ehh ice cream’!
But there are more types of ice cream that are gaining attention, such as the Japanese Mochi ice cream, ice cream made from pickles and so on. We listed a top 10 ice cream inspiration ideas!
Well-known trends on TikTok and how they can inspire your company
26-3-2021
TikTok has gained enormous popularity in the year 2020/2021. Due to the fact that we have been stuck at home the app has been able to grown immensely. The app started off with videos containing mostly dancing and singing, and it has now transformed into a marketing tool. We have written about how you can use TikTok for your company a while back. Now Sammy van der Weijden has looked at fun and inspiring recipes and trends that she has spotted in the last few weeks. Some of them were not intended to be used for marketing purposes, but they have led to an increase in sales either way. Maybe these trends will inspire you to create something similar for your restaurant! Which might cause an increase of visitor of generation Z.
Reading time: 3 minutes and lots of fun links to TikToks
Trends we spotted | Week 11
23-3-2021
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 a 3D-printed neighborhood in California which made us wonder when the first 3D-printed holiday park will open! And a vegan egg substitute by EVO Foods in India.
The ‘Zero Human Interaction’ restaurant ‘Brooklyn Dumpling Shop just opened in NYC and recently signed their first franchise agreement, with a video that explains the idea behind their shop. And Takeaway.com and UEFA announced global UEFA EURO 2020 partnership.
Gordon Ramsey will be selling his own Californian wines in his restaurants and an Argentinian winery has conducted a successful experiment with maturing wine under water.
A biodegradable face mask by the Dutch designer Marianne de Groot, once you have worn the mask, you can bury it and watch it sprout into flowers. And the Halal Guys recently launched plant-based Gyro.
Dark Kitchens | What’s next?
23-3-2021
Our colleague Leonie van Spronsen blogs about the phenomenon of ‘Dark Kitchens’. Currently these companies mainly focus on fast food and fast casual meals, but why not deliver high-quality meals from highly commended chefs from a virtual restaurant?
Celebrating Easter with smaller, luxurious treats
23-3-2021
Two examples, one from the Bun House, a Cantonese-style steamed bun specialist in London and one from Patisserie de Rouw in Vught (the Netherlands). The Bun House will be launching their limited-edition ‘Easter Chick bun’ set to celebrate Easter. Available from the 26th of March to the 4th April, the delicately shaped buns will be available in-store at Bun House’s Chinatown home and for delivery to doorsteps across the country. But we also spotted the Easter chicks, COKIP-19, by the Dutch Patisserie de Rouw. They’re wearing a Covid proof mask! Check out all their images!
Great is that both examples are fairly small treats. As Arthur de Rouw points out in his press release, the new Easter items are somewhat smaller in size, which is in line with a number of trends he spotted in the pastry world and which are partly caused by the corona crisis. According to him, it is the smaller, luxurious indulgences that colours our lives.
Reading time: 2 minutes |
Orbisk waste system | Food waste monitor provides insight into your waste
16-3-2021
Orbisk has developed a fully automated food waste monitor. The waste collection point of F&B-companies will be equipped with scales and a smart camera, which will record exactly what is thrown away and what amount. Based on the collected data, bundled in clear online reports, you can optimize the supply, purchasing process and your menu and thus save up to tens of thousands of euros per year!
Our colleagues from Van Spronsen & Partners Hospitality Consultancy and –Hospitality Administration have been telling their customers for years: data is knowledge! (in Dutch: meten is weten). By keeping track of your turnover on a daily basis, you get “grip” based on data so that you can estimate how much you will approximately turnover on a certain day in a specific period. As this food waste monitor shows this knowledge is also highly effective for reducing food waste! In the past, we have written about a similar product, named Winnow. These systems are very suitable for the larger professional kitchens.
Reading time: 2 minutes