A new spin off by McDonald’s, CosMc’s

8-12-2023

In August of this year we read about the first rumours that McDonald’s would introduce a new spin off called CosMc’s. Now the news is in the open and they started to trial in the first location Bolingbrook, Illinois. It’s opening today! The concept is based on CosMc, a McDonald’s-craving space alien, who first appeared as a character in the late 80’s and early 90’s promotional advertisements. CosMc’s is a new small-format, beverage-led concept that’s inspired by nostalgia and powered by a menu of bold, refreshing beverages and tasty treats.

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Trends we spotted | Week 43

30-10-2023

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’s links to articles including the presentation of the We’re Smart awards, there are 16 Dutch restaurants on this list of the best vegetable restaurants in the world. ‘De Nieuwe Winkel’ in Nijmegen is number 1 again.

Pink and yellow oyster mushrooms are included in the range of products of the exotic mushroom grower Oakfield as well as bundle-, white beech-, wig- and coral mushrooms.

The Casual Pint Craft Beerstro launched Tap4Good. A national fundraising initiative to support local communities. The local manager decides the charity!

In London, ‘The OWO Residences by Raffles’ recently opened and Starbucks opened its China Coffee Innovation Park (CIP), achieving its vertical integration ‘from bean to cup’ in one market – a first for the company globally.

Bakkit.nl creates ‘the Rotterdam Roll’ – a rolled croissant in various flavours. They also sell other pastries. Speaking of croissants, Dominique Ansel, the inventor of the cronut, presented a vegan cronut for the first time in September.

Pizza Hut in Germany recently introduced ‘Pizza-Sandwich’ Melts and a special McDonald’s restaurant in Terminal 1 of Sydney Airport!

A capital injection for Zence Object in Macau: for a project to convert used tea leaves and other local bio-waste streams into packaging and other industrial items.

And an interesting design article on Eater about the neon walls, palm-shaped chairs and giant pepper mills of Shuggie’s Trash Pie, they call it maxed-out restaurant design for 2023.

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Cold brew coffee anyone?

14-8-2023

This summer, I had the occasional cold espresso with an ice cube again. The first time I drank this cold espresso was in Spain, where an ‘espresso con hielo’ is a standard menu item. However, here in the Netherlands, cold coffee is not so popular as of yet. Of course, many drink a frappuccino or an iced coffee with vanilla ice cream, but the huge range of flavours and compositions you encounter abroad are still missing here. ^Marjolein

A short article filled with coffee inspiration! And at the end, an Instagram post featuring an espresso Barbietini! 

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Trends we spotted | Week 17

2-5-2023

At horecatrends.com we spot many national and international trends on a daily basis. We select the most interesting ones to write about and we use the other trends in our weekly column ‘Trends we spotted this week’.

With this week links to articles about among others a second restaurant from the owners of the  restaurant LIMA NIKKEI in Antwerp: the street food concept WAYK’U located at the quays of Antwerp.

Corona Beer invites its customers to monitor Mexico’s coasts with beach pics of beer bottles. And could you imagine the espresso tonic (ET) to be your new warm weather beverage obsession? A mocktail recipe that is available at the website of Food & Wine.

Badiani has 9 ice cream shops in London and we spotted an Instagram post about their ‘Gelato Burger’. In 2024 the hospitality group OTG will introduce a farm-to-terminal dining concept and tech enhanced hospitality at Denver International Airport.

In the heart of the Bavaria area in Germany, opens Maritim Hotel Ingolstadt on June 1, soft opening starts May 15. And the design and name of the new Wynn hotel in the UAE has been revealed:  Wynn Al Marjan Island.  

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Trends we spotted | Week 15

18-4-2023

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’s links to articles about among others Tesla’s GigaBier and a culinary experience, ‘Backstage at De Librije (***)’..

High-end burger bar THE BUTCHER recently announced the introduction of extra special limited edition burgers and a McDonald’s outlet in Batumi, Georgia has a special exterior completely made of glass, link to photos.

For fans of Fanta: they have created a new perfume called ‘Scent of Fanta’ and a special place for a Starbucks shop in the middle of a botanical greenhouse in Japan.

In Helsinki, the VAloHalli opened which is a showroom and entertaiment centre by Valo Motion, where, among other things, you can play 6-player digital games in the ValoArena. With video! And in New York and Chicago, a pop-up Malibu Barbie Café opens in May. An idea by Bucket Listers.

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Trends we spotted | Week 10

13-3-2023

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 amongst others to a new beer by Birra Morreti on the Dutch market, Birra Moretti Sale di Mare, and a new California bill aims to bring Amsterdam-style food & music to cannabis lounges.  

Hilton Australia partners with Minus18 to give LGBTQIA+ teens across Australia the school formal they deserve. onefinestay, part of Accor, launches luxury villa collection in the Provence in France, hotel service in rental homes.  

White Castle is kicking off National Frozen Food month with the launch of a new national campaign, #MicroCastle. And last January Airrack & Pizza Hut broke the Guinness World record title for the world’s largest pizza. 

Starbucks filed a fresh patent for a coffee machine that make personalized drinks for customers. And in the continuing story of the croissant hype: a rolled spiral croissant from Parisien Gourmandises in San Diego.  read more

CLUBZERØ | Returnable packaging for in-store, takeaway and delivery

3-11-2022

CLUBZERØ is a returnable packaging experience designed to hold both hot and cold food and drinks. CLUBZERØ offers a convenient and cost neutral alternative to disposable packaging. They are working towards a zero-waste future.

If you are, like me, in your sixties you might remember camping and picking up fries or other dishes by taking your own pan to the camping restaurant. Sounds like a pretty sustainable start, but the convenience-economy changed this a lot! If you like to order take-away, you usually end up with piles of takeout boxes to dispose of.  We read about CLUBZERØ in an article about the owner Safia Qureshi that is a finalist in the 2022 Food & Drink Heroes Awards – Sustainability Entrepreneur of the Year. Although I have trouble picturing all consumers using this returnable packaging system, it looks promising in the catering and B2B space. Why not try it in the Netherlands as well! ^Marjolein

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Fast Food design of the future

31-10-2022

A list of examples of fast food design of the future. New key players in the fastfood industry such as Plant Power Fast Food that show the way to the initiatives in sustainable design and the initiatives of big fastfood companies like Wendy’s, McDonald’s and Taco Bell. Fast Food has a large footprint within the hospitality industry and their sustainability efforts can go a long way!

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Spooktacular | Are you ready for Halloween?

11-10-2022

Here in the Netherlands, we need to put our coats back on and it’s getting dark early. In short Autumn has really started after a beautiful summer. We have been able to enjoy many drinks on the terrace this year, as can be found in our lists of popular summer drinks and craft liquor drinks from the Netherlands. Now it’s time for autumn, forest walks, hot chocolate, games and Halloween. Even here in the Netherlands, this holiday is being celebrated more and more often. We have a list of spooktacular cocktails, donuts, Chucky beer, food, Halloween cups and events, even a Halloween Bingo!

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Trends we spotted | Week 39

3-10-2022

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 amongst others a Coffee Cocktail Challenge by Mr. Black Cold Brew Coffee Liqueur to create a delicious coffee cocktail, and one of the newest alcohol flavours according to chef Todd English is Mexican spiced gin, Mexigin.

GROHE, a leading global brand for complete bathroom solutions and kitchen fittings, recently unveiled a new water-recycling shower concept, great idea for small boutique hotels or B&B’s? And Voyager Space named Hilton officially to be its hotel partner to elevate the guest experience in space.

Starbucks opens its 6,000th store in China and 1,000 stores in Shanghai! And Ibis hotels in Bangkok and Sevilla exhibit original art IRL, while @ibisstyles followers on Instagram can win an NFT.

The CloudBar opened 1,000 feet above The Magnificent Mile at 360 CHICAGO and Taco Bell introduced their new Beyond Carne Asada Steak. And in the Netherlands we enjoy a new dairy brand ‘Kalverliefde’, it sells milk from farms that keep calves with cows.

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