A well-designed menu not only helps to attract new customers but also to increase the amount of the order. In this regard, it is so important to follow the trends of the food industry and periodically conduct research on changing consumer preferences.
Speaking about new trends in food, first of all, we should pay attention to the target group, which has the greatest influence not only on their appearance but also on their presentation - millenials. Today’s millennials are incredibly knowledgeable and are the most influential because of high social media involvement. They make up a massive 40% of social media discussions concerning food on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter in the United States. In France, this figure is even higher- 49%.
What do millennials want?
Local food
According to The Balance Small Business, millennials are highly interested in local foods. This trend is primarily driven by the desire to obtain more environmentally friendly products. Modern consumers are interested not only in the taste of the dish but also in the quality of its ingredients. This not only helps to save money within the community but also contributes to the development of the farmer movement.
Having access to products from all over the world, consumers have already tried most of them and got tired of their variety. Much more attractive is the idea of consuming products that everyone knows about their origin and delivery. Realizing that most fresh fruits and vegetables travel an average of 1,500 miles before reaching the final destination it is easy to understand that the number of pesticides and chemicals that contribute to their preservation is in the tens.
Even a simple mention on your food online ordering website >about the use of local products in cooking will increase your sales by 25-40%.
Unique dish serving
Although the use of local products significantly limits the variety of dishes, consumers still want to get a unique dish. Today, food has become not just a source of saturation, but aesthetic pleasure and a topic for discussion on social networks. That is why it is so important to pay attention to the design of the site. Just by taking care of the attractive photos on the menu and interesting description of the dish, you can ensure an influx of new customers. Moreover, this strategy will help you save on advertising because satisfied consumers themselves will take photos and post dishes from your restaurant on the Internet.
Simple meals
It may seem paradoxical that had remained locked up at home for a long time due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the most popular dishes ordered with delivery have become some of the easiest to prepare. This way, last year’s most searched and ordered foods, according to Uber Eats, including burgers and fries, mac and cheese, pad Thai, tacos, and burritos. Other trending comfort foods include pasta dishes, curries, stews, and fried chicken. The cost of such dishes is extremely low, but given the high demand, the price of them can exceed the cost of ingredients by 2-3 times, which not only covers the cost of cooking but also leads to an increase in the overall profit of the restaurant.
Customizable dishes
Adding meals customization feature has several advantages. First, this contributes to a positive experience of the purchase process. The consumer gets the opportunity to essentially make their dish, avoiding the addition of allergens and unloved products, but not giving up their favorite dishes. Vegetarianism also contributed to the emergence and development of this trend. By offering an alternative to the meat ingredient in the dishes, your restaurant will be able to meet the needs of two food groups at once.
Healthy beverages
The desire to lead a healthy lifestyle primarily affected the eating habits. Alcoholic beverages are no longer included in the tops of purchased drinks, they were replaced by smoothies and fresh drinks. The taste variety of such drinks is also undeniable as well as their usefulness. By creating unique fruit and vegetable combinations, your restaurant may become the institution that has radically changed the perception of customers about boring and tasteless spinach juice.
After reading about food trends, you probably have a question about how best to use this knowledge in your business. Naturally, the first step is to develop the menu, which is not the most difficult one. It's much harder to draw attention to the new menu. Taking into account the fact that online orders with the possibility of delivery have become the most popular innovation for all restaurants, creating a website is the second step. By choosing such systems as ord.to, restaurant owners get the opportunity not only to tell the entire digital about their products but also to add their photos and attractive descriptions, as well as to discover the possibilities of discount systems for their consumers.