It was the perfect dinnertime storm: time-strapped online natives (millennials), with a taste for the fresh and interesting, discovered meal kit delivery services and signed up in droves, pushing US sales to some $4.65 billion annually by 2017. The foodservice industry faced massive disruption. Retail, in the form of brick and mortar grocery, suffered another […]
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When you hear the term “the sharing economy,” do you immediately think of Uber and Airbnb? If you’re in the restaurant or food service business, you should also be thinking Feastly, EatWith, or any number of non-traditional dining platforms that have popped up recently, eager to disrupt your industry and take your revenue. Because while […]
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Millennials understandably eat up much of the attention in the foodservice industry – but it’s the wise restauranteur who looks past generational generalities and thinks about how to reach the individual. One research study after another confirms that the millennial “me society” (an evolution of its parents’ “me generation”) increasingly demands – and rewards – […]
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To understand what the new generation of self-order kiosks can mean to your restaurant, cafeteria or even food truck, start with the meaning and origin of the word kiosk itself. It harks back centuries, traveling through the languages of Persia, Turkey, France and Germany, originally conveying an intriguing sense of “open pavilions.” That openness and […]
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What does the future hold for dine-in restaurants? It holds a carry-out bag in one hand and a smartphone in the other. It may even hold a few extra dine-in customers for those flexible enough to give their patrons multiple options for staying loyal and engaged. In many ways, that future is already here. Digital […]
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As an independent restaurant, or even a small chain, it’s easy to feel stuck in the slow lane of growth. After all, how can smaller restaurateurs afford to compete with the advanced marketing machines that let the bigger players leverage the full array of digital, social and traditional tools for bringing in customers and keeping […]
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In today’s “Information Age,” where transparency and information sharing inform how we live our lives, it isn’t surprising that restaurants are adopting a new, more visible approach to preparing food. There has been a movement toward the open kitchen concept – where food is prepared in plain sight. It provides customers direct access to information […]
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The millennial jury has delivered its verdict on Food Courts: guilty on multiple counts, starting with Boredom in the First Degree. The new excitement is in Food Halls, those market-style, eating-shopping-socializing centers where you’re more likely to see customers with man buns than national chains selling cinnamon buns. So how can established businesses pivot from […]
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In today’s highly competitive market, a strong brand is more essential than ever for a successful business. A brand is not just a logo or a tagline; it’s what your company represents — who you are, your values, and how you want to be perceived. If done right, this point of difference will help you […]
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Historically speaking, the act of breaking bread has brought people from disparate backgrounds together more than social media or apps. Our smartphone usage uneasily coexists with this more classic way of socializing. 10 years of near-universal smartphone ownership has brought about huge changes in how we communicate, socialize and relate to one another. And of […]
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