Most consumers don’t know what carbon-neutral actually means
August 3, 2022
Sustainability in food has been an increased focus for consumers and companies in recent years, and the effects of emissions on climate change have been in the spotlight again recently due to extreme weather in several parts of the world. But a new survey has suggested that most consumers don’t actually know what “carbon-neutral” actually ...Read more about this postPeople spend 40% of food budget on restaurant dining, suggests survey
August 2, 2022
While general inflation and the prices of gas and food are presenting challenging situations for consumers, a new survey suggests that restaurant dining remains a large part of people’s life. A recent Popmenu survey of over 1,000 U.S. consumers found that those consumers spend about 40 per cent of their individual or family food budgets on restaurants. The survey ...Read more about this postHome meal replacements increasingly a rival for restaurants
July 25, 2022
Restaurants will continue to face several challenges in the evolving post-pandemic landscape, and one of those is consumers exploring more ways to feed themselves at home. Market research firm Mintel’s report on Home Meal Replacement & Grocerants in Canada found that the prominence and importance of home meal replacements and grocerant concepts have grown in recent years, reports ...Read more about this postRestaurant portion size complaints rising amid inflation
July 21, 2022
Restaurants across Canada, the U.S., and beyond are feeling the pinch of decades-high rates of inflation. That is manifesting itself in many ways, one of which — for many restaurants, at least — is smaller servings. But, if figures around portion size complaints are anything to go by, diners are noticing. A growing number of customers ...Read more about this postWhy do Canadians want to shop local?
July 8, 2022
“Shop local” has been a mantra for a while now, and a new survey from Dalhousie University’s Agri-Food Analytics Lab (AAL) in partnership with Angus Reid has found that most Canadians feel that it is important that the products they see and buy at the grocery store are local. That sentiment is the strongest in Quebec, where nearly ...Read more about this postOne of restaurants’ toughest tests? Attracting Gen Z diners
July 7, 2022
Capturing diners across all demographics has always been part of the challenge for restaurants. Attracting Gen Z is a unique test, particularly in the current economic and social climate. Gen Z have less disposable money and more competition for how to spend that money than perhaps any other generation in recent history. Throw in the factor ...Read more about this postHealth, environmental consciousness driving plant-based demand
June 28, 2022
Consumers’ physical health goals and concerns about the environment continue to be the leading factors in driving demand for plant-based food. That’s according to the new “2022 Plant-Forward Opportunity” report from Datassential in collaboration with The Culinary Institute of America, Food for Climate League, and the Menus of Change University Research Collaborative. The research found that more than one in five (21 ...Read more about this postMany diners keen on metaverse, but restaurants must mitigate
June 21, 2022
The rapid evolution of technology has long been redefining restaurant consumers’ concept of “normal”. Think of the move from laminated print menus as a standard to QR codes or ordering kiosks. Now, the next step may well be the metaverse. A new Paytronix and PYMNTS Report, The Digital Divide: Technology, The Metaverse, and the Future of ...Read more about this postComplaints about short-staffed restaurants surging in 2022
June 17, 2022
New data from Yelp has shown that diners are returning to restaurants in droves, flocking to dining rooms in 2022 as the memory of heightened pandemic fears and restrictions fades. That has brought its own problems, though, as complaints about short-staffed restaurants have soared. The new state of the industry report found that customers have been ...Read more about this postFast-casual diners may go elsewhere if no drive-thru is offered
June 10, 2022
New data from Technomic suggests that fast-casual diners are beginning to expect drive-thrus at restaurant locations, similar to the standard that has been established with quick-service restaurants. Some even say they would dine elsewhere if there wasn’t a drive-thru option. The “Future of LSR: Fast food and fast-casual” survey found that nearly half (45 per cent) ...Read more about this postGuess who’s coming to dinner? (Plus breakfast and lunch)
May 29, 2022
By Asad Amin No, this title is not the opening to a classic Sidney Poitier remake, although one does exist. It regards the new diner who visits restaurants after a two-year hiatus. It’s not that nobody ordered from foodservice through the pandemic, but considering our lives are very different now than in 2019, there are significant behavioural ...Read more about this postDoorDash releases 2022 online ordering trends report
May 26, 2022
The restaurant industry has dramatically changed since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, and online ordering trends such as delivery and takeout continue to see massive growth worldwide. In Canada, off-premises consumption has experienced 27 per cent year-over-year growth in same-store orders, according to DoorDash. The delivery company and Restaurants Canada have partnered up to release the ...Read more about this postWhat do Canadian diners want from technology in restaurants?
May 19, 2022
When it comes to the foodservice industry, consumer trends have rapidly and significantly evolved over the course of the pandemic. One development that has proven it is here to stay, however, is the integration and use of technology in restaurants. Technology has been there to ease restaurants’ concerns, from labour shortages to changing dining operations to supply ...Read more about this postShould menus display food’s carbon footprint information?
May 16, 2022
What should a good menu include? The names and prices of dishes are a given, and other menus often display other details such as a description, dietary information such as calories, and the source of local products. But what about food’s carbon footprint? A team of researchers at Julius Maximilian University of Würzburg in Germany are ...Read more about this postAssessing the public’s trust in Canada’s food supply
May 16, 2022
Over the past two decades, Canadian consumers have shown an increasing interest in the country’s food supply, including where their food comes from, how it is produced, the environmental impacts of that production, nutritional composition and health benefits, and more. This has only intensified during the pandemic, and a new report from Nourish Food Marketing has ...Read more about this post