Trends we spotted | Week 23
At hospitalitytrends.eu we spot many national and international trends on a daily basis. We pick the most interesting ones to write about, the smaller trends we use in our weekly column ‘Trends we spotted this week’.
This week, amongst others about American start-up Kabaq that has developed an Augmented Reality software that enables diners to preview their food through Snapchat World Lens. KFC is testing vegetarian chicken and has a branded pool flotation of Colonel Sanders. We wonder whether we will get another president with a hospitality background after 2020 as president of America for the Democratic Party?
Click on the title if you would to read the full article. Enjoy reading!
Virtual menu allows diners to preview their food
A new app uses Snapchat to create high quality AR images of restaurant menu items to enhance the food ordering process. American start-up Kabaq has developed AR software that can show diners their meal before they order. We wrote about KabaQ in May 2017 but they’re now using augmented reality and Snapchat World Lens. Instead of having to download a new app to view the menu, diners scan a Snapcode using the popular World Lens app. The app will then place a virtual dish on the table.
Opinionated about Dining | The list of 2018 best restaurants in North America
Opinionated About Dining is the dining survey that factors experience into its rating system. Their results are based on over 175,000 reviews contributed by more than 5,700 people who registered for the survey. First on the list is chef Blaine Wetzel’s The Willlows Inn in Washington State, number two is California’s SingleThread by chef Kyle Connaughton. He has been named World’s 50 Best Restaurants One to Watch recently. Third place: San Francisco’s Saison by chef Joshua Skenes and fourth: Chicago’s Alinea by Grant Achatz.
Howard Schultz from Starbucks | Running for president in 2020?
Howard Schultz, the outspoken executive chairman of Starbucks, will leave the company at the end of the month, bringing to an end the tenure of a socially conscious entrepreneur who turned a local Seattle coffee chain into a global giant with more than 28,000 stores in 77 countries. We might have hospitality innovator running for president of the USA in 2020 according this article in the New York Times. He is frequently mentioned as a potential candidate for the Democratic Party and has become increasingly vocal on political issues, including criticizing President Trump last year as “a president that is creating episodic chaos every day.”
KFC to test a vegetarian fried chicken | But with the colonel’s secret spices
As major fast food chains and quick-service restaurants (QSRs) move to incorporate healthier alternatives, KFC is making a huge play in the veggie meat game. The chicken chain is officially working on the first vegetarian fried chicken to ever hit a big-name QSR. The faux meat’s first destination will be the United Kingdom, where smaller places like Temple of Seitan are famous for their own versions of plant-based fried chicken. Over the next 7 years, KFC UK hopes to cut their calories per serving by 20%. They will also introduce multiple meals that are under 600 calories by 2020. One of the ways they’re looking to do that is with this veggie alternative, which will utilize the same secret blend of 11 spices that all of Colonel Sanders’s chicken is seasoned with.
KFC | Branded pool flotation
The marketers at KFC might be in need of a beach day. At least that’s the impression you could get when you look at their whacky campaign involving a branded pool flotation of Colonel Sanders. We wonder whether the flotation does smell like chicken ;-).
