Trends we spotted | Week 01
Angel Shot App LLC
Chinese New Year at Four Seasons Hotels Shenzhen
Chinese New Year at the Four Seasons Hong Kong 
Whatawedding at Whataburger Las Vegas on Valentine's Day
Macca's Squid Game Meal on table
Going Dry - Doesn't Matter Why - Heineken 0.0 and Professor Charles Spence
University of Oxford Professor Charles Spence & Heineken 0.0
Making Dry January more tasteful with the herbal blends in WishGarden Herbs mocktail kit
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:
- McDonald’s Australia Squid Game meal brings a familiar item from the series into reality. It comes with a DALGONA Candy.
- KFC combines chicken and sauce with new concept ‘Saucy by KFC’. It opened in December in Orlando.
- This Valentine’s Day, Whataburger is giving one lucky couple the ultimate prize: a Whatawedding at its Las Vegas location on Friday, Feb. 14, 2025.
- Four Seasons celebrates the year of ‘The Snake’ with a journey of innovation and festive traditions.
- We think a ‘Doggy treat food truck’, like the Mobile Barkery in San Diego is a great idea! We and lots of other dog friends and owners would love to buy a hot drinks and dog cookies at ‘off-leash’ areas.
- Angel Shot App LLC recently announced the launch of their new, innovative mobile safety app for nightlife patrons and hospitality establishments.
- Making Dry January more tasteful with the herbal blends in WishGarden Herbs mocktail kit.
- The 2025 outlook for the 0.0 category looks positive, but still has some social barriers to overcome. Thus Heineken® 0.0’s new campaign says alcohol-free should be reason-free.
Enjoy reading!
MacDonald’s Australia launched a Squid Game Meal
Inspired by Netflix’s most popular show ever, the Macca’s Squid Game Meal includes: 10-piece Chicken McNuggets medium or large meal, served with limited-time only Korean BBQ Sauce, their world famous fries and a drink. It also comes with a DALGONA CANDY. The infamous candy comes to Macca’s to test Aussie players, as part of the Macca’s Squid Game Challenge with four shapes set to have you in beads of sweat: circle, triangle, star and a never-before-seen Golden Arches ‘M’. More details in their press release, linked in the title.
Saucy by KFC
KFC did open a new concept dubbed ‘Saucy by KFC’ in Orlando, Florida on Monday December 23. The concept serves 11 new dips and crispy chicken tenders alongside an 11-item beverage menu with teas, freezers and refreshers. It’s 100% equity owned by parent company Yum Brands. More details in the article at Restaurant Dive, link in the title. Or check out this Instagram post.
Whatawedding | Win a Las Vegas wedding, courtesy of Whataburger®
This Valentine’s Day, Whataburger is making hearts—and taste buds—swoon by giving one lucky couple the ultimate prize: a Whataburger wedding at its Las Vegas location on Friday, Feb. 14, 2025. From the ceremony to the reception, and a few surprise touches along the way, Whataburger will cover the details. The couple has one task: just bring the love! More details in their press release, link in the title. Inspiration for those restaurants thinking about Valentine’s Day?
Celebrate the year of ‘The Snake’ with the Four Seasons | A global journey of renewal and festive traditions
As the Year of the Snake approaches, Four Seasons invites guests to embark on a global journey of celebration and renewal. Across Asia, Europe, and beyond, their properties honour the Lunar New Year with immersive traditions, exquisite feasts, and transformative wellness experiences. Blending cultural heritage with modern luxury, each moment is thoughtfully designed to create joy, connection, and cherished memories for the season. For example:
Four Seasons Hotel Guangzhou: Usher in the Lunar New Year with a Southern Chinese lion dance on January 29, 2025. Guests can also immerse themselves in cultural workshops, including spring couplet writing, sugar painting, and traditional tàpiàn ink rubbing.
Four Seasons Resort Bali at Jimbaran Bay: Experience a vibrant lion dance performance followed by a nine-station Lunar New Year buffet at Taman Wantilan, featuring Yee Sang, chili crab, and BBQ duck against the stunning backdrop of Jimbaran Bay.
Four Seasons Resort Chiang Mai: Celebrate with traditional lion dances, indulge in the Sweet Sensation dessert experience at KHAO, and connect with loved ones through a serene Family Wellness Retreat. More examples in their press release, linked in the title.
Food truck for dogs and their companions
With a great title: dogs servicing dogs, Rihards Urbens the guy behind the Instagram account ‘Grab that idea’, posts about food trucks for dogs! As we have been walking at different ‘off-leash areas’ during the Holidays, (our dog Jimmy is afraid of fireworks), we wish there had been food trucks with hot coffee and chocolate for us and cookies for the dogs! Why not change your food truck to a winter truck for dogs and their owners? We think a ‘Doggy treat food truck’, like the Mobile Barkery in San Diego is a great idea!
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New safety app ‘Angel Shot’ released in New York
Angel Shot App LLC recently announced the launch of their new, innovative mobile safety app for nightlife patrons and hospitality establishments just in time for the increased traffic during the holiday season. Many women are concerned about their safety when they go out to bars, clubs and other establishments. A recent study found 83% of women want safer experiences. An angel shot isn’t a shot or a drink. It’s a code that sends a signal to the bar staff that you need assistance. It’s a simple and effective way to request help from a bartender or the venue staff. From a restaurateur’s perspective, it’s an easy way to protect your patrons and ensure that they feel safe. The Angel Shot App is an app that takes the Angel Shot and makes it universal, covert, and adds some additional functionality. More details in their press release, linked in the title. Or check out the video below.
Making Mocktail Moments with WishGarden Herbs
Perfect for parties, friendly gatherings or nights in, WishGarden Herbs new Mocktail Kit contains all the essentials to mix up creative, flavourful drinks that bring a natural boost to every sip. Tasty mocktail recipes featuring herbal blends can transform any drink into something functional that promotes happiness, relaxation and enhances social connection. WishGarden’s Mocktail Kit includes four of the brand’s best-selling blends that are perfect mocktail add-ins: Liquid Bliss; Badass Bitters; Chlorophyll & Friends and Deep Stress. More details in their press release, linked in the title. Herbal blends might make your Dry January drinks a bit tastier!
Going Dry? Doesn’t Matter Why
The 2025 outlook for the 0.0 category looks positive, but still has some social barriers to overcome. Heineken® 0.0’s new campaign says alcohol-free should be reason-free. People’s drinking habits are changing, so do we still need abstinence months like ‘Dry January’ and ‘Sober October’ in the diary to choose non-alcoholic options? New research from Heineken® and University of Oxford Professor Charles Spence shows that despite the acceptability of low and non-alcoholic drinks being at a high, choosing one can still raise eyebrows.
The study – which surveyed 11,842 adults across five developed non-alcohol beer markets UK, USA, Spain, Japan (over the legal drinking age up to 75 years old), and Brazil (18 – 65 years old) found that Gen-Z (18 to 26 years old) are the group facing social pressures around alcohol consumption the most. More details in their press release, linked in the title. You can see there is still work to be done with the research highlighting low and no alcohol judgement still exists. The new add of Heineken® 0.0 must help to remove the stigmas in this space, so people can enjoy it without being judged. Perhaps someone is the designated driver, or maybe they just really fancy a refreshing Heineken® 0.0 – their latest campaign shows the bottom line: you don’t need a special reason to go alcohol-free.
