Trends we spotted | Week 6
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’.
With this week, links to articles about amongst others about a signal-blocking butter dish for better phone habits. Interesting for on your dinner table after the COVID-19 crisis, we have been digital way too long! And a link to a ‘how to make’ Charcuterie and cheese bouquet.
Last week a M&M’S experience store opened at Disney Springs at the Walt Disney World Resort in Florida and we love collaborations like this one: Philadelphia’s Down North Pizza has launched ‘A Match Made In Philly’, featuring limited-edition pizza’s created by some of Philadelphia’s culinary stars.
Sustainable initiatives: #slaughterhouse waste products turned into bioplastic packaging and 2 companies are testing real-time digital labels that would detect spoiled food and thus reduce waste.
Two of America’s largest fast food chains, McDonald’s and Burger King, have announced new loyalty programs. Interesting to read! And what do you think, will there be more robots in the hospitality industry after COVID-19? We spotted another one, Robot ‘Jeeves’ in the Radisson Blu at Zürich Airport.
As of March 16th, children can watch the new show by Michelle Obama on Netflix. ‘Waffles + Mochi,’ is a culinary show that will teach them food related wisdom! And in Germany schools can create classes in the conference rooms of the Best Western Hotel Group.
Click on the title if you would like to read the full article. Enjoy reading!
Stolp | A signal-blocking butter dish for better phone habits
Shaped like and named for a traditional butter dish, Stolp holds up to six phones. It’s a Faraday cage, so it blocks all signals, creating an easy way to remove the distraction of pings and notifications. As JUCE — the Belgian company behind Stolp — puts it: a little more conversation, a little less notification. Stolp was crowdfunded in Q4 2020 and is now being shipped, selling for EUR 49.95.
New M&M’S® store at the Walt Disney World Resort
Mars Wrigley, the world’s largest candy maker famous for the iconic M&M’S brand, celebrated the sweetest new experience in Florida with the opening of M&M’S at Disney Springs at Walt Disney World Resort last week. The new experiential store, which includes the colorful, signature M&M’S “Wall of Chocolate,” larger than life M&M’S character moments and the ability for guests to create their very own custom M&M’S candies, will create memorable moments for M&M’S and Disney fans alike.
A meat and cheese-filled charcuterie bouquet
We haven’t spotted these bouquets in the Netherlands yet, but they look fun! In the article on the website of Delish, link in the title, there is a great picture of a bouquet with charcuterie and cheese. They also talk about a ‘jarcuterie’, which does not differ other than that it is charcuterie and cheese in a jar! But it looks amazing and delish… In the article they included a ‘how to’. We love it!
Philadelphia pizzeria launches collaborative ‘star’ chef series
We love collaborations! We have seen a couple more examples of chefs being invited to create a special taco, burger or other ‘special dishes’. The founder of Philadelphia’s Down North Pizza, chef and activist Kurt Evans has launched “A Match Made In Philly,” featuring limited-edition menu collaborations with some of Philadelphia’s culinary stars. The series kicked off appropriately on National Pizza Day, with 11-time James Beard Award nominee and Best Chef Mid-Atlantic winner Marc Vetri. Vetri’s concoction featured beef shank ragu, smoked scamorza and grated horseradish. Other chef collaborations include Omar Tate (Honeysuckle Projects), Chad Williams (Friday, Saturday, Sunday), Stephanie Willis (Everybody Eats), and Mike Solomonov (CookNSolo) and others.
Slaughterhouse waste products turned into bioplastic packaging
Interesting development, spotted on the website of Springwise, link in the title. The biodegradable plastic could indicate produce freshness, eliminating the need for best before dates. Independent Icelandic designer Valdís Steinarsdóttir focuses on creating new objects and forms by recycling organic matter. Her latest project turns slaughterhouse waste into two different items; Bioplastic Skin food packaging is made from discarded animal hides, and Just Bones bowls and vases are made from ground animal bones.
Real-time digital labels would detect spoiled food and reduce waste
Technology firm Innoscentia is partnering with Ynvisible Interactive to produce expiration date labels that offer real-time monitoring of food quality to help reduce waste and alert consumers to spoiled food. The partnership is in the prototype stage, with the companies working to adapt the sensors for large-scale production and printing. This new partnership applies Innoscentia’s digital sensors to packages, which then register the freshness of food and display the results using Ynvisible labels. Interesting article on Food Dive’s website, link in the title.
Sweareth thy loyalty to Burger King or McDonald’s and ye Shall be granted rewards points
Two of the country’s biggest fast food chains, McDonald’s and Burger King, have announced new loyalty rewards programs as a way to encourage repeat customers, and to capitalize on the growing number of digital orders in the pandemic. Burger King is testing “Royalty Perks” in Los Angeles, Long Island, Miami, New Jersey and New York City. The program gives users 10 ‘crowns’ for each dollar spent, which can then be used to get free menu items. McDonald’s is testing a U.S. loyalty program in Nevada and Arizona, with plans to launch nationwide next year. Users will earn points, and will also be referred to by name when entering the drive-thru lane. McDonald’s employees will be able to earn loyalty points by completing trainings tied to the loyalty program, and all of this will encourage the use of the McDonald’s app.
Michelle Obama’s ‘Waffles + Mochi,’ a culinary kids show, will premiere March 16 on Netflix
The 10-episode series stars the former first lady as a friendly supermarket owner who embarks on food-inspired adventures with a couple of puppet friends. The show will consist of 10 20-minute episodes and is created to encourage healthy eating and fun. The former first lady announced on social media:
I’m beyond thrilled to share that on March 16, I’ll be launching a new show on @Netflix called Waffles + Mochi! I’m excited for families and children everywhere to join us on our adventures as we discover, cook, and eat delicious food from all over the world. pic.twitter.com/dedUWMp9SY
— Michelle Obama (@MichelleObama) February 9, 2021
Robot ‘Jeeves’ is part of the digitalization of Radisson Blu in Zürich
The robot “Jeeves’ from the Munich technology company Robotise, is now in use at the Radisson Blu Hotel at Zürich Airport. It delivers drinks, snacks, dishes such as burgers, pizza and salads as well as other products to the room door without contact and thus supports the hotel team in day-to-day business. More on the website of ahgz hoteldesign (German language), link in the title.
Best Western Hotel Group created school classes in their conference rooms
We didn’t spot this idea yet, but with their motto “We make school!”, The Best Western Hotel Group Central Europe offers to open its conference and seminar rooms for school classes. “We want to support schools with this offer and help relieve the tense situations in schools,” says Marina Christensen, Head of Sales at BWH. At many schools in Germany, only limited or distance teaching is currently possible.
