Trends we spotted | Week 10

15-3-2021

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 automated voices to take orders at a drive-thru and AmazonFresh opens their first checkout-free grocery store outside the USA in London. 

The riverside igloos at the terrace of the Coppa Club will return this spring! As the restaurants are opening again at April 12 in the UK, they might be a safe and Instagrammable place to meet in London. And we spotted the ‘Global travel trends report’ by American Express. With trends we can totally relate to!  

Stalk & Spade, an entirely meat-free fast casual concept will open just outside of Minneapolis this spring. Let’s see if we will spot this kind of fast casual concepts in Europe in the future. And the Easter mainstay Cadbury teamed up with the Goose Island Beer Company to release a Creme Egg-flavored stout for Easter. 

An interesting development: edible holograms created by the Khalifa University, could be used to show that a food item hasn’t been tampered with, or to prove that it isn’t a counterfeit product. And Starbucks is set to release its latest limited-edition coffee blend, to celebrate its 50th-anniversary. Fifty years already!  

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Limited edition Hemelwater jenever | Worldwide scoop for Hooghoudt: genever created with rainwater

8-3-2021

A first for Hooghoudt: the distillery with its roots in Groningen (The Netherlands) succeeded in producing gin from rainwater. Hooghoudt aims to reduce the use of scarce drinking water, the Hemelwater gin is based on Hooghoudt’s Premium Jonge Graanjenever recipe. By adding a variety of natural flavors such as juniper, iris root, fennels seeds, cardamom, star anise, elderflower and pear, the ultimate soft and pure gin is created. This 700 runs limited edition Dutch gin is very unique as gin has never been made from rainwater before.  

In 2016 we spotted the beer made from rainwater at brewery the Prael. The bitter blond beer, comparable to an IPA, was brewed in collaboration with the beer brewery Hemelswater (to be translated as water from heaven). A huge success, Code Blond even got attention outside the Netherlands. 

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Trends we spotted | Week 9

8-3-2021

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 about a Japanese-Style Basque Cheesecake from Basuku, it sounds delicious! And Orbital Assembly plans to start building private Voyager space station with artificial gravity in 2025, the first hotel in space.

A link to an article about the Dutch initiative Share That Kitchen, they want to become a kind of Airbnb for professional kitchens. And ‘Quatreau’ CBD drinks launched in the US, it sounds like a Hard Seltzer drink with CBD and we wonder whether these kind of drinks will come to the Netherlands as well.

PepsiCo is shaking up the cocktail mixer category with the launch of Neon Zebra, a new line of non-alcoholic cocktail mixers in 7.5oz mini-cans. Create 2 cocktails with one can in an instant! And an exceptional payment in the spirits industry, a transaction in Bitcoin between a supplier and distributor.

Onmateria created a Green Box. The Green Box, an amenity kit designed to tackle plastic waste in the hotel industry. And in 2025 the first Nobu Hotel in Germany will open in Hamburg, The Elbtower Hamburg.

Open for 1 month in April 2021: Candytropolis Sugar Rush, a safe, open-air, walk-through family adventure in California. And we loved this ice cream: ‘Not Fried Chicken’ Ice cream! We think it might inspire Dutch ice cream creators to make kroket, bitterbal or frikandel ice cream. Very #Instagrammable!

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Virginia Gold Peanut Coffee | The world’s first caffeinated coffee alternative made of peanuts

2-3-2021

Virginia Gold Peanut coffee is the world’s first caffeinated coffee alternative made of peanuts. For what we have read it’s the latest coffee craze in the US and we understand it isn’t coffee, but it looks like it and is delicious. Check out the reviews in the press, for example the FoodNetwork Magazine writes: “It tastes like a less acidic version of coffee, with just a hint of nutty flavor”. We here in Europe have to wait though, we only spotted it in the social media and articles in the US. We also understood that they aren’t shipping to Europe yet. We love to try it though, don’t you?

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Trends we spotted | Week 8

1-3-2021

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’.

Great images of the food and interior of restaurant Condividere, the informal haute cuisine by Ferran Adrià and London is embracing the power of the pedestrian once again this summer! Westminster City Council have elected to repeat last year’s plan to turn swathes of the capital into outdoor dining and drinking spots.

McDonald’s revealed a global packaging redesign and we spotted a new sustainable, delivery app aiming to revolutionize restaurant takeout packaging, JYBE. 

Top Tier Foods (TTF) in Canada is going to roll out a vegan version of wagyu beef, called ‘Waygu’, at 4000 sushi locations. And Nestle plans to produce rice-based KitKat, the KitKat V.

AiFi, an expert in frictionless autonomous shopping, will partner with Wundermart to roll out 20 autonomous convenience stores in the first quarter of 2021.

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Restaurant Basiliek* changes opening hours and interior after reopening

23-2-2021

One Michelin-starred restaurant Basiliek in Harderwijk (The Netherlands) will change its opening hours at the moment they’re allowed to reopen and welcome guests again. The interior of the restaurant will change as well. The COVID-19 pandemic provided the couple who own the place, Tabitha and Rik Jansma, with new insights with some changes as a result. ‘Something that we wanted for a longer period of time’.

We are curious how many restaurants, bar or hotels will apply changes within their concept. We suppose that the popular meal sharing concepts disappear after reopening. Just like COVID-19 is crucial for the open jars of nuts on tables. Restaurant Basiliek will also change the number of guests, which is something every restaurant has to deal with and where the concept is decisive regarding to the revenue of the restaurant. Sadly enough, this is something we have been testing with the ‘6 feet distance’. The decision to apply new closing hours is choosing for more private time, and it is great if your concept can carry this decision. There is no information provided about continuing with delivery and take-out meals in their press release, but we are very curious how concepts will apply this within their operations. Are you changing your concept, let us know!

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French chef Cyril Lignac will be the new chef of the restaurant at the Amstel Hotel

23-2-2021

And we will make a reservation when it is possible! For everyone who has eaten at one of his restaurants in Paris, chef Cyril Lignac opens at the beginning of 2022 at the legendary Amstel Hotel! We have enjoyed our diners in his restaurant Le Chardenoux and Aux Prés, but he has three other restaurants called Ischia, Le Bar des Prés and Dragon. It is great to hear that this new chef will open a new culinary hotspot in Amsterdam, although we have enjoyed the switch of the kitchen of the restaurant at the Amstel Hotel to more simple and comfort dishes.

The restaurant at the legendary Amstel Hotel, owned by Katara Hospitality and managed by InterContinental Hotels & Resorts, becomes the first restaurant of the French celebrity chef, tv-star and author outside France. The restaurant, which is scheduled to open in 2022, will be based on Lignac’s successful formula in Paris.

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Say ‘I Do’ in the first-ever Dunkin’ wedding merch collection

19-2-2021

Fans who run on Dunkin’ 365 days a year, including their wedding day, can now officially say ‘I Do’ with Dunkin’. Inspired by being a part of so many love stories over the years the brand is helping Dunkin’ obsessed couples tie the knot and run together forever with the first-ever Dunkin’ wedding merch collection, exclusively available on ShopDunkin.com.

I must admit, this is one thing I did not expect to happen in 2021. However, when I think about it, it is a great way to bring some joy into this year with a creative campaign which one would not expect from a coffee and baked goods chain. The question remains however; would you wear Dunkin’ Donuts merch on your wedding day? Here in the Netherlands we have the FEBO (photo 8) who has its own merch collection, I wonder whether fans would love to marry in a ‘FEBO’ dress? Maybe the pyjamas! ^Sammy

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February 17th is Random Acts of Kindness Day | Zaxby’s created a TikTok #ZaxofKindness challenge

17-2-2021

Mascot Big Z is spreading the love, because who doesn’t want free air hugs? Today is ‘Random Acts of Kindness Day’ and although we are still not really used to the ‘Days celebrations’ from the US, we spotted this fast casual concept Zaxby’s, with 900 locations in 17 states with its headquarters in Athens, Georgia, playing with the principle of this idea. Zaxby’s, the beloved chicken restaurant chain, is adopting the ‘Random Act of Kindness Day’ and tries to make it popular by starting the #ZaxofKindness movement on social media. Although we spotted a lot of ‘random acts of kindness’ here as well, like for example the #socialfries at our Dutch Friethoes. With the corona crisis they offer their customers the possibility to donate an extra fries for those who can’t afford. At their social media they show how many ‘frietjes’ (portions of fries) have been handed out! We love this idea and acts of kindness will always be appreciated, every day of the year! Let’s hope more people and businesses will offer their random act of kindness! Check out the #ZaxofKindness on TikTok in this article.

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Trends we spotted | Week 5

11-2-2021

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 Cocktail-gram for Valentine’s Day, an idea by the Avli Taverna and the packaged picnic at the Rockefeller Center ice rink by restaurant Frenchette in New York.

Inspiring: the ‘MEATliquor x Southern Comfort’ home kits in honor of Mardi Gras and an article about contactless ordering forcing restaurants to adopt 9 tech strategies in 2021. We really think individual restaurants have to react to the Internet of Behaviors and increase their cybersecurity.

PepsiCo launches a drink specifically aimed at teenagers: Frutly, one of the ‘better-fou-you’ beverages.

An interesting, but long article at the website of Nutritional Outlook about 2021 Flavor trends for food and beverage. With flavors like Banana 2.0, the Ispahan, blood orange, turmeric, yuzu, guava, bergamot, birthday cake and many more. And a joint venture that will leverage Beyond Meat’s leading technology in plant-based protein development and PepsiCo’s world-class marketing and commercial capabilities to create and scale new snack and beverage options.

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