May 16, 2022 Meal kits were growing in popularity before the pandemic, and sales boomed during the first year of COVID-19 with restaurants shut and diners adjusting to a different life of consumption. But it appears some Canadians have since lost their appetite for the services. A recent survey conducted by the Agri-Food Analytics Lab at Dalhousie University in partnership ...Read more about this post
May 12, 2022 By Katie Belflower At the start of the year, amid what was still significant COVID-19-related turmoil and evolving restrictions and operations, Technomic mapped out a predicted trend report for the Canadian foodservice industry. Now, five months into 2022 and after so much has changed (again) in the industry and beyond, Technomic has compared its new year predictions ...Read more about this post
May 12, 2022 Full-service menu prices in the U.S. rose 8.7 per cent in April year-over-year, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That is the segment’s highest increase since data was first collected in 1997. Overall, the food away from home index rose 7.2 per cent year over year, while the price of quick-service products grew seven per ...Read more about this post
May 6, 2022 The labour shortage — “The Great Resignation”, as some have termed it — is continuing at varying levels across North American foodservice. But why is is persisting, and what can be done? A new labour report from TouchBistro and 7shifts found that four in five restaurant operators say they are short at least one position. Servers ...Read more about this post
May 5, 2022 A new survey from back-of-house restaurant management software company MarketMan has found that three-quarters of Americans believe restaurants will cut down on portion sizes as inflation continue. Responding to the survey, 74 per cent of Americans said they think operators will manage increasing food costs by cutting portion sizes while charging customers the same price, and ...Read more about this post
May 2, 2022 Plant-based proteins have many benefits, not least an often comparatively reduced toll on the planet and the environment, but does their pricing limit their accessibility? A new report has found that plant-based proteins are still generally more expensive than meat products despite the soaring cost of much meat in recent months. The Agri-Food Analytics Lab at Dalhousie University ...Read more about this post
April 28, 2022 A new collaborative report between Grubhub and Technomic has found that four in 10 (41 per cent of) independent restaurants currently operate virtual brands to leverage persistent demand for delivery from consumers. Generally offering low capital costs and a world of opportunity, virtual brands are all the rage right now, from offering delivery-only channels to satisfy ...Read more about this post
April 27, 2022 A new report from Nudge, a Toronto-based mobile platform for internal communications, that examined the state of the Canadian foodservice workforce found significant levels of dissatisfaction among hospitality and foodservice workers. The study found that 40 per cent of foodservice workers don’t feel heard by their organizations and nearly the same proportion (38 per cent) want ...Read more about this post
April 21, 2022 Sustainable food is increasingly a focus of discussion for the food industry and the general public, and it seems it is top of mind for diners when it comes to ordering takeout, too. According to Deliverect data cited by Restaurant Dive, more than four in 10 (43 per cent of) diners would be willing to pay ...Read more about this post
April 21, 2022 There is no relief on the horizon for restaurants, their patrons, or grocery shoppers amid continuing high inflation and rising food prices. Statistics Canada has released its latest look at how prices have changed on a year-over-year basis, comparing March 2022 and March 2021, and it does not make for light reading. We already know that inflation ...Read more about this post
April 18, 2022 New data from Numerator has shown that consumers’ longstanding concerns over the persistence of the COVID-19 pandemic are being replaced by worries about high levels of inflation and other financial constraints. A webinar hosted by Brian Ettkin, Canadian Lead of Strategy & Solutions Consulting at Numerator, assessed the company’s latest month-over-month data and found that financial ...Read more about this post
April 14, 2022 The increased use of technology in the restaurant has been well-documented, ranging from automated servers to robot chefs. For example, numerous quick-service restaurants are employing robotics in their kitchens. U.S. burger chain White Castle is introducing Flippy, an aptly-named burger-grilling machine, while Hyundai Robotics is partnering with KFC to develop chicken-cooking robots. Meanwhile, Buffalo Wild Wings has tested ...Read more about this post
April 13, 2022 A new report from food rescue organization Second Harvest has illustrated the severity of Canada’s food waste problem and suggested some core solutions that the food industry can implement to resolve the issue. Second Harvest’s findings show that Canada’s food system wastes almost all of the surplus edible food it produces, when it could instead be ...Read more about this post
April 1, 2022 The annual Farm Credit Canada Food Report, which reviews the previous year’s industry performance, concluded that the food manufacturing sales sector held up well in 2021, rebounding significantly from 2020, and paints an optimistic picture for 2022. Noting that several external factors impacted Canadian food industries greatly in 2021, including inflation, continued COVID-19 restrictions, supply chain ...Read more about this post
March 31, 2022 Coming out of 2020, few restaurant types were better prepared for the new normal than quick-service and fast-casual, with their streamlined menus, prominent digital presence, and natural inclination towards off-premises consumption. Sales in these restaurants are trending up, and it appears they are also rebounding fairly well from the labour constraints of the last year. A recent ...Read more about this post
