January 11, 2022 Ready-to-make meal kits have surged in popularity during the pandemic with indoor dining off the table for so much of the last two years. The question now is whether they will endure. A new Canadian study by Empathy Inc. in partnership with Vividata suggests that, while the appeal of these kits varies based on demographic, the ...Read more about this post
January 3, 2022 A common topic of discussion in the latter half of 2021 within the foodservice industry was the ongoing labour shortage. That has been well-documented, but what about those staff who have been clocking in to their restaurant shifts throughout the pandemic? COVID-19 hasn’t just caused the workforce to shrink and stretched restaurant operations in both ...Read more about this post
December 9, 2021 The pandemic has already raised costs in foodservice and beyond, wreaking havoc on supply chains and food availability. And Canadians are about to start paying a whole lot more for food, according to Canada’s Food Price Report 2022. The guide, released on December 9, is published annually by researchers with Dalhousie University, the University of Guelph, the ...Read more about this post
December 8, 2021 Restaurant owners have some serious and understandable concerns over the rise of the Omicron COVID-19 variant and the effect it may have on their business. Infection rates and hospitalizations are climbing again across Canada and the U.S. due to both the Delta variant that has been present for the last few months and the newer Omicron ...Read more about this post
December 6, 2021 By Aaron Jourden The world has faced nearly two years of disruption and uncertainty, cautious optimism and unexpected challenges. As we enter another year, the pandemic continues to loom large, informing operations, planning, decision-making, and forecasting of restaurant trends for operators and suppliers alike. And yet, with so much uncertainty still in the air, it finally ...Read more about this post
December 3, 2021 It seems many diners are now being more generous with their gratuities, as a new report has found that the majority of patrons now tip 20 per cent or more. A survey of U.S. consumers conducted by Popmenu found that 58 per cent of consumers say they have increased the amount they typically tip servers and ...Read more about this post
December 3, 2021 As the hiring struggles continue in foodservice, operators are increasingly relying on teenagers to make up a significant proportion of their restaurant workforce. New data from Black Box Intelligence shows that teenagers aged 18 years or younger comprise a significantly larger section of the restaurant workforce than they did in 2019. In limited-service restaurants, teenagers made up 17 ...Read more about this post
November 23, 2021 Restaurants Canada’s latest industry forecast predicts that commercial foodservice sales will grow to $80.4 billion across the country in 2022. That would be a 24.3 per cent increase over 2021 and would result in annual sales that are 4.4 per cent above 2019 levels. A Restaurants Canada release says the forecast for 2022 reflects the continued progress ...Read more about this post
November 23, 2021 As we close out 2021 and approach another new year for Canadian foodservice, Lightspeed’s State of the Hospitality Industry report has shone some light on the current sentiments from restaurant operators and guests. Chief among the conclusions of the report, based on a wide survey of operators and customers in Canada and beyond, was that operators ...Read more about this post
November 23, 2021 After a challenging couple of years, restaurateurs have learned how to adapt to keep their doors open and their businesses thriving. The rise of off-premise dining and third-party delivery point to online ordering as a key component of engaging today’s customers with the convenient, fulfilling experiences they crave. A new report by DoorDash, 2021 Restaurant Online ...Read more about this post
November 22, 2021 Customers have shown their loyalty to and support of local restaurants throughout the difficult circumstances of the pandemic, and that looks set to continue this holiday period. The U.S. National Restaurant Association estimates that nearly two-thirds of consumers hope to receive restaurant gift cards for presents this winter. New research from the NRA found that 62 per ...Read more about this post
November 18, 2021 Sustainability is a growing concern for Canadian consumers, and one way that is manifesting itself is through an increasing desire to steer clear of meat — or at least to have the choice to do so. A new survey from Impossible Foods conducted by members of the Angus Reid Forum, found that one-quarter (24 per cent) ...Read more about this post
November 18, 2021 A new report has shed light on the extended effects of the pandemic on food delivery aggregators and third-party delivery apps. The inaugural The Digital Divide, Aggregators: The Cost Of Convenience, a collaborative PYMNTS and Paytronix report, examines the spending habits of restaurant customers in the U.S. It found that many consumers came to rely on delivery ...Read more about this post
November 16, 2021 For decades, many restaurants and food retailers have done great business at lunchtime, due in no small part to the vast influx of workers stepping out of their office and into a foodservice establishment, whether that is full-service, quick-service, or grocery store. That daypart, naturally, was near-eradicated during the height of the pandemic given the myriad ...Read more about this post
November 15, 2021 The fact that foodservice is facing a continued labour shortage has been well-documented by this point. While staffing levels have rebounded to some degree in some areas, restaurants are still struggling to attract the quality and quantity of workers that they need to handle the resurgent growth in indoor dining in Canada, the U.S., and ...Read more about this post
