Trends we spotted | Week 14
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’.
Today outdoor dining in the UK reopened! Unfortunately the weather is bad but we wish everybody lots of fun and be careful out there. We’re extremely jealous here in the Netherlands!
This week with links to articles about the reopening of the Brixton Market Restaurants, with their reopening deal: #BackToBrixton and a big loss for culinary Barcelona: the group with the restaurants Tickets, Hoja Santa, Pakta and Bodega 1900 are to close, the only one to remain is Enigma.
This April, French dairy company Bel Brands will launch its own vegan cheese line Nurishh on Amazon Fresh and at select retailers, with further distribution planned for this year. And Coca-Cola launches vending machine subscriptions in Japan.
The restaurant chain Chipotle Mexican Grill announced it will offer debt-free degrees in Agriculture, Culinary, and Hospitality to all eligible employees. Also in the USA: Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson and his tequila brand Teremana launched a ‘guac on the rock’ initiative, to encourage the nation to support local restaurants.
We love a bitter Spritz (like for example with Campari), so we hope that the premix Garden Spritz by Chandon, bubbles with house-made bitters crafted with fresh Valencia oranges, will come to the Netherlands as well. And chef José Andrés known from his humanitarian efforts with his charity, World Central Kitchen, has announced he will open restaurants in Chicago, to start with an all-day café along Chicago River.
Is a podcast studio a plus in a hotel? Wynn Resorts in Las Vegas will have one in the lobby and we spotted more examples over the years.
Click on the title if you like to read the full article. Enjoy reading!
#BackToBrixton | Brixton Market Restaurants are reopening with a 50% discount on food & drinks
Today, Monday April 12, London will reopen for outdoor dining! And Brixton Market has an initiative to entice the crowds back. For a limited time only, the #BackToBrixton plan will offer diners a 50% discount on food and drink at restaurants around the market. Amongst the restaurants taking part are Franco Manca, Rudies, Sarap, Fish Wings & Tings, Honest Burger, Jalisco, Light of Africa, Baz & Fred, Kamone, and more. One final caveat to the deal: that 50% discount is up to a maximum of £10 per person, so don’t go thinking you’re getting the entire bill chopped in half. More at the website of Secret London, link in the title.
Coca-Cola launches vending machine subscriptions in Japan
Coca-Cola’s Coke On Pass service allows subscribers to get one drink per day and the service is expected to launch in May 2021. Coca-Cola’s latest subscription option can be found on its Coke On app. For approximately $25 USD a month, subscribers will be able to grab one drink per day from the 340,000 vending machines scattered across Japan. The drink options are not limited to just Cokes. The beverage company has a bevy of selections including black coffee, unsweetened teas and other forms of refreshments in Japan. To further entice new subscribers, the company is offering promotional pricing of $12.40 USD. The app has had 25 million downloads since January 2021. More at Hype Beast, link in the title.
The makers of BabyBel cheese just launched 6 new vegan cheeses
In April, French dairy company Bel Brands will launch its own vegan cheese line Nurishh on Amazon Fresh and at select retailers, with further distribution planned for this year. The new cheeses will be available in six flavors and two formats: mozzarella, provolone, and cheddar slices and mozzarella, cheddar, and mozzarella/cheddar blend shreds. The development of the new cheeses was guided by Bel Brand’s expertise in cheesemaking to recreate the qualities of dairy cheese—such as meltability and taste—using plant-based ingredients fortified with vitamin B12 and calcium. We wrote about the intent back in November 2020. More at the website of VegNews, link in the title.
Chipotle to offer free degrees in Agriculture, Culinary, and Hospitality to employees
Chipotle Mexican Grill announced it will offer debt-free degrees in Agriculture, Culinary, and Hospitality to all eligible employees in partnership with Guild Education, the leading education and upskilling company in the country. After only 120 days of employment, employees are eligible to pursue degrees from leading nonprofit, accredited universities. The new degree offerings build upon Chipotle’s best-in-class benefits and closely align with the company’s mission to Cultivate a Better World through its real, responsibly sourced food. More at the website of PRNewswire, link in the title.
Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson encourages the nation to support local restaurants with their ‘guac on the rock’ initiative
Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson and his ultra-premium small batch tequila, Teremana, have launched “Guac on the Rock”, an initiative to encourage people around the country to go and support their local restaurants. From May 1st through May 5th, Johnson’s Teremana will reimburse restaurant goers for their guac, up to $1,000,000 of guac, when they purchase guacamole with any Teremana Tequila cocktail. The initiative, aimed at encouraging people to dine out however they feel most comfortable will help spur consumer confidence and generate millions of dollars of additional revenue and tips for restaurants and its servers hard-hit by the pandemic. More at the website of PRNewswire, link in the title.
The Chandon Garden Spritz
Garden Spritz – a 100% natural blend of multi-awarded Chandon sparkling, with the twist of house-made bitters, crafted with fresh Valencia oranges. The Garden Spritz is a refined spritz for those seeking new frontiers in their glass, authentically handcrafted by our winemaking team in Mendoza, Argentina. This perfectly balanced and ready-to-enjoy refreshment brings nature to the world of spritz – and is liable to become your new staple for brunch, picnicking, aperitif, or whenever. More at the website of Chandon USA. We love a bitter Spritz (like for example with Campari), so we hope this premix will be sold in the Netherlands as well.
José Andrés to open all-day café along Chicago River
Andrés has a global profile, and is known for his humanitarian efforts with his charity, World Central Kitchen. He announced back in September 2019 that he had plans for his first Chicago restaurant, but the pandemic altered that schedule and everyone else’s. Now, Andrés’ ThinkFoodGroup — in partnership with Chicago’s Gibsons Restaurant Group — are ready to share details on some of the chef’s Chicago projects inside the new Bank of America tower, 110 N. Wacker Drive. The first to open will be an all-day riverside cafe called Joe’s by the River. According to a news release, Joe’s should open this summer. More at the website of Chicago Eater, link in the title.
Is a podcast studio a plus in a hotel? | Wynn Resorts in Las Vegas will have one in the lobby
Wynn Resorts announced back in February that it’s investing $3.5 million in Blue Wire, a sports podcasting network, in a deal that’ll include the build out of a podcasting studio in the Wynn Las Vegas’ lobby. That studio will host Blue Wire podcast personalities as well as star athlete guests to entice people to visit the hotel, get excited about sports, and hopefully place bets on them. Of course it’s with a gambling element in Las Vegas but we have spotted these podcast studios in different, mostly dedicated to Millennials, hotels. Like for example, the Eaton hotel in Washington, a stunning, hip, cool concept with a progressive approach to running a hotel. This hotel has 209 rooms, and the lobby features features a indie radio station studio. And more concepts are offering a podcast studio, even in 2019 we spotted that more and more boutique hotels offered the possibility to record a podcast! For example the Mayfair Hotel in Los Angeles and Hotel At Six in Stockholm also had a podcast studio you could rent.
The end of ElBarri | Albert Adrià closes group for good
ElBarri, the group founded by Albert Adrià along with the Iglesias brothers, is to be dissolved as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. The group with the restaurants Tickets, Hoja Santa, Pakta and Bodega 1900 are to close, the only one to remain is Enigma. A big loss for culinary Barcelona!
