In a highly competitive environment, it is crucial to keep up with the foodservice trends and be aware of the ever-changing needs of your customer base. From elevated breakfast to plant-based food and cross-cultural cuisines, food trends change at a very fast pace.
Here are the top food industry trends to look for in 2020:
Elevated Breakfast: The taste buds of consumers are becoming more sophisticated, and this touches the breakfast as well. A breakfast menu that features creative dishes with new flavours will be a hit this year. Souffle Pancakes, a Japanese culinary trend, is just one example to add to your menu. Breakfast is in demand, and an all-day elevated breakfast menu can increase the sales of your restaurant.
Asian Cuisine: Asian cuisine was seeing a surge in popularity and we expect it to be a top cuisine of 2020. Asian dishes tend to be high in protein and the use of rice noodles is more common, leading consumers to view the cuisine as a more health-conscious option. Vietnamese dishes like pho and banh mi sandwiches, Japanese udon and Korean kimchi are expected to increase in popularity.
Dishes with squid ink: Squid Ink burger buns, pasta and more food items that involve squid ink are expected to hit the market with the innovative aspect it has. The ink will give a slightly salty and briny taste to dishes and is said to have positive health benefits.
Nashville Hot Chicken: Fried chicken started the trend, but we expect to see Nashville Hot Chicken on more menus in 2020. The trend is setting worldwide with more concepts evolving around this tasty creation.
The keto diet: The keto is not going away anytime soon! As more people turn towards the low-carb diet, the ketogenic lifestyle has been widely accepted over the past year and is on trend to keep on growing in 2020 and become even more mainstream. We’re looking forward to more restaurants hopping on the trend in 2020 with keto-friendly meals, snacks, and desserts!
Sustainability, less waste: There is a growing awareness of the need for sustainable, no-waste ingredients. Consumers aren’t just interested in the end product anymore, they’re looking for sustainability. A key concern is food waste, composting and avoiding foods with excess or wasteful packaging are all ways that restaurant chefs will be incorporating the zero-waste trend into the kitchen in 2020, by dropping disposables and coming up with innovative ways to use all parts of the food. With new innovative products like straws made from hay, restaurant owners can limit the amount of plastic they purchase and distribute to customers.
Plant-based food: The demand for plant-based options is on the rise. Customers aren’t necessarily becoming vegetarians or vegans; rather, consumers are integrating these products as additional options for their daily diet. A continued growth of burger alternatives and other plant-based food is expected for 2020. Plant-based dairy items like cheese could be the next growth area, in addition to other meat alternatives, like replacements for chicken.
Cross-cultural Cuisine:
Among the most popular trends this year we will see the cross-cultural dishes with more concepts incorporating fusion dishes onto the menu. In 2020, expect to see lots of unique fusion cuisine. This includes everything from Mexican and Southeast Asian fusion all the way to French-Scandanavian and even Chinese-Peruvian.
Ingredients and flavours are continuously changing and so are your customers’ preferences which makes it essential to incessantly spotting trends that can impact your menus, sales and profits.
We at Chef Middle East, will continue at Inspiring Culinary Craftsmanship, ensuring to always provide the hospitality industry with the most innovative and high-quality ingredients. Get in touch and get inspired to craft exceptional culinary experiences this year!
