Trends we spotted | Week 50
‘Loco Gifts and Gear’ store by El Pollo Loco
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 winter coffees from all over the world, inspiration from Starbucks. And a “snowman pizza” made by Joe’s Rotisseria in New Jersey!
The first 1,600 Neder Bananas from Wageningen University & Research in the Netherlands were harvested at the end of November. Many atypical and sustainable products are made of them! Ever heard of ‘National Cookies Day’? We didn’t, but this day is celebrated on December 4th and Subway opened a ‘Cookieway’ pop-up store around this date.
The fast food chain ‘El Pollo Loco’ is launching a ‘Loco Gifts and Gear’ store in which they sell merchandise specially designed for them, such as a bicycle. And the UK’s cheapest champagne bar has opened, Aldi will sell its award-winning Veuve Monsigny champagne for just £2.33 a glass. And so nice: a ‘Santa sushi’, created by Wave Asian Bistro & Sushi out in Mount Dora, Florida.
Airbnb had a special Christmas promotion in the USA: 4 people could be guests for one night in the ‘Home Alone’ house! Including lots of details like the cheese pizza and Kraft Macaroni & Cheese.
In London you can enjoy the patisserie of the French chef Cedric Grolet in The Berkeley Café and when you are in London now you can enjoy a special ‘Borealis’ by the famous artist Dan Acher for 2 more days. Northern lights above London during the Winter Lights season, we would love to see that above Amsterdam as well!
Uber Eats was the first to deliver meals to space on December 11! And have you heard of PappaRoti? They sell drinks and special coffee buns from Malaysia in more than 400 locations worldwide. Located in Brussels, among others.
Click on the title if you like to read the full article. Enjoy reading!
‘Santa Sushi’
Nice to see, and it’s made with ‘real’ sushi products, this ‘Santa sushi’. We spotted it on Foodbeast, link in the title. However, they got it from an Instagram post by @taystytravels, which you can see below. Created by Wave Asian Bistro & Sushi out in Mount Dora, Florida.
Dit bericht op Instagram bekijken
First Dutch bananas end up as cakes, vegan meat, and lingerie
Around 1,600 brand new bananas grown on Dutch soil were harvested at the end of November in the greenhouse of Neder Banaan in Ede. In this greenhouse, researchers from the WUR (Wageningen University and Research) work together with Neder Banaan on new cultivation methods and banana varieties that contribute to more sustainable banana cultivation worldwide. The harvested Dutch bananas are used as an ingredient for banana cakes and a new speciality beer. But the trunk and the banana peels are not wasted either: the peels are made into a vegan meat substitute and the trunk fibres are processed into lingerie and transport pallets. More in the article on the website of the Wageningen University & Research, link in the title.
Starbucks holiday drinks from around the world
Ring in the cheer, the holidays are here! And no matter where you are in the world, you can enjoy the festive flavours of the holidays at Starbucks. In the link in the title, you can find around 30 holiday drinks from Starbucks from around the world. In Japan, you can get toasty with the new version of the Toasted White Chocolate Mocha topped with tiny white chocolate covered marshmallows. In Europe, you can try the new Caramel Waffle Latte, inspired by Dutch stroopwafel. And in South Korea, you can enjoy a sweet and slightly savoury Golden Wish Latte with flavours of sweet potatoes and sour cream. And can you guess the one Starbucks holiday beverage that is served everywhere around the world? (Hint, hint, everyone loves Peppermint!)
A Snowman Pizza Pie at Joe’s Rottisseria
Joe’s Rotisseria in New Jersey is no stranger to the unique-pizza radar. Creating wild pies like a General Tso pizza will land you right in there. As for their next feat, they’ve debuted a new Snowman Pizza Pie that’s the perfect holiday meal. Not only is the Snowman Pizza Pie shaped like one, but it also features pepperoni cup eyes and mouth, mozzarella stick nose, buffalo chicken coat, and a bow tie made of garlic knots. No other Christmastime meal should matter beyond this.
Dit bericht op Instagram bekijken
Subway opened a ‘Cookieway’ pop-up
To help celebrate National Cookie Day (which it was on December 4th), Subway debuted their new CookieWay pop-up store in New York City. CookieWay is Subway’s first pop-up experience dedicated to their cookies.
Besides their famous cookies, CookieWay included exclusive merchandise, larger-than-life cookie installations and sweet moments curated for cookie lovers all over. Fans who explored CookieWay at the New York City location were treated to a complimentary six-pack of cookies and had the chance to try new flavours exclusive to the pop-up, like Double Chocolate and M&Ms.
El Pollo Loco launches Loco gifts and gear store
The leading fire-grilled chicken restaurant chain in the United States, announced the launch of Loco Gifts and Gear, their first-ever merch store. The online shop will bring El Pollo Loco’s heritage and brand story to life through an exciting array of clothes, accessories and gear curated and handcrafted in a one-time exclusive collaboration with three Los Angeles-based Latino creators who embody El Pollo Loco’s L.A. Mex spirit — David Flores, Rick Massie, and Manny Silva.
“At El Pollo Loco, we are incredibly proud of our L.A. Mex heritage, so we wanted to create truly distinct, high-quality merchandise that really captures the ethos and culture of our brand and our community,” said Andy Rebhun, senior vice president of marketing at El Pollo Loco. “We are thrilled to be collaborating with such an incredible group of local artisans for the launch of Loco Gifts and Gear and we think our familia of customers are going to love the exclusive products they’ve designed.”
Aldi launches UK’s cheapest champagne bar
One of the UK’s best value supermarkets, Aldi, has now ventured into the glamorous world of champagne bars. In what they claim is the UK’s cheapest Champagne bar in one of the UK’s most expensive postcodes, Aldi will be selling its award-winning Veuve Monsigny Champagne for just £2.33 a glass.
The supermarket’s first ever premium drinkery is in an area where house prices average £1.8 million and is just a stone’s throw from the swanky bars of Selfridges and the Claridge’s, which sell Champagne at seven times the cost.
Dit bericht op Instagram bekijken
The Home Alone house available at Airbnb
The ‘Home Alone House Experience’ has been announced by Airbnb just in time for the holidays to offer avid fans with a way to relive the fun of the namesake film in an authentic way. The short-term rental accommodation experience will provide up to four guests with a single night inside the home where they will enjoy details that bring them right back to the film. This includes accurate decor along with foods like cheese pizza and Kraft Macaroni & Cheese with many other details from the iconic holiday film. The Home Alone House Experience is priced at $25 for the one-night stay and will be available for lucky fans, the booking started on December 7, 2021.
Cedric Grolet at the Berkeley
Early 2022, Cedric Grolet – widely considered and voted as one of the world’s best pastry chefs – will unveil his first patisserie outside of France, at The Berkeley in Knightsbridge. This will be a key new addition to The Berkeley’s already impressive food and beverage roster, bringing Grolet’s world renowned artistry to the capital.
Customers will be able to take away or sit and enjoy his creations at The Berkeley Café, an entirely new 60-seater space within the hotel. The Berkeley Café will serve ‘Le petit déjeuner’ and ‘Goûter Cedric Grolet’ – an entirely new teatime ritual.
You can see an incredible display of the northern lights in London this winter
The stunning ‘Borealis’ from renowned artist Dan Acher is once again returning to London, as part of the Mayor of London’s newly-launched Winter Lights season. You’ll find it at Guildhall Yard from December 11 – 22, and free tickets are on sale now! Acher’s art installation has wowed onlookers all over the world, recreating one of our planet’s natural phenomena in places where it wouldn’t normally occur. Check out the article at secret London, link in the title.
Dit bericht op Instagram bekijken
First-ever food delivery to outer space
Uber Technologies, Inc. (NYSE: UBER) announced their first-ever food delivery to outer space. Expanding the global company’s footprint beyond earth’s surface and into the thermosphere, Uber Eats became the first delivery platform to send food to the International Space Station. Uber Eats teamed up with Japanese entrepreneur and delivery superfan, Yusaku Maezawa, to hand deliver beloved ready-to-eat canned Japanese dishes to the astronauts at the International Space Station as part of his 12-day orbit. This delivery was made on December 11 at 9:40am EST having travelled 248 miles and 8 hours and 34 minutes since Maezawa’s departure from Earth. More in their press release, link in the title. We think that one of the first hospitality outlets on the moon will probably be a dark kitchen! 😉
PappaRoti | Coffee bun snacks from Malaysia
We spotted PappaRoti in one of the food markets in the Dubai Mall, but it didn’t ring a bell. But is seems that this chain is selling its distinctive and delectable coffee bun snack since 2003 in Malaysia. We found a press release announcing their new location in the USA, link in the title. The coffee buns’ taste, as well a wide variety of delectable beverages, helped the brand flourish. There are now over 400 PappaRoti restaurants and kiosks throughout the world, a reflection of the brand’s appeal. PappaRoti’s wonderful coffee buns have received a lot of praise and are extremely popular throughout China, the United Arab Emirates, the USA (7 locations) and other countries, like PappaRoti Belgium.
