The Munch platform in Hungary | Food, environmental and social awareness
28-5-2021
Munch is a platform that enables restaurants, bakeries, shops, and hotels to sell or donate their unsold but high-quality food at a discounted price, offering it to consumers, who can also make donations.
Here we have the Too Good To Go app which is highly popular, but 4 students in Hungary created the platform Munch, also to prevent a food waste and thus creating food, environmental and social awareness. They even made a strategic partnership with the Hungarian Food Bank, which makes it possible for them to help those in need. This project called MunCharity, connects Munch customers and the people in need with the surplus food of the restaurants. A contribution by Katalin Gecsei from Hungary.
Trends we spotted | Week 20
21-5-2021
At horecatrends.com or hospitalitytrends.eu we spot many national and international trends on a daily basis. We pick the most interesting ones to write about, the other trends we use in our weekly column ‘Trends we spotted this week’.
To combat food waste IKEA is launching a free ScrapsBook cookbook in the USA and Coffee tech start-up Bellwether Coffee is going to commit to paying Colombian farmer 20% with the help of a new innovative tool.
Asda supermarket in the UK is launching cocktail-flavoured spirits to easily make cocktails at home, something we spotted before with Neon Zebra! And an interesting article about the future of hospitality technology with a lot of interesting insights.
Now that the pubs have reopened in England the brewers cannot handle the high demand for beer, and here in the Netherlands the NENT Group will be launching Viaplay in 2022, with the exclusive rights to broadcast Formula 1 and Bundesliga.
For the ones interested in technology, Google held their annual conference this week and announced their Project Starline, a new more realistic way to #videochat! And in London a Chocolate Factory will be opening this year, in this article the link to the waiting list!
The Sutter Home Family Viveyards created sweet wines with fruit flavours like peach and pineapple! Would young people like to drink that in Europe as well? For beerlovers there is now a vacuum cleaner and beer cooler in one; the Brewmboni from Molson Canadian. Perfect for game-night.
The Higher Order Smokers created a way to simply smoke a cocktail or snack, their project at Kickstarter is already backed! And for when you are looking for an easy way to make a cup of coffee: also on Kickstarter, coffee in the form of bags! Just as easy as making yourself a cup of tea.
Click on the title if you like to read the full article. Enjoy reading!
Opening this summer | the biggest London restaurant by the Big Mamma Group, Ave Mario
17-5-2021
The traditional osteria Ave Mario is London’s new place to pizza, cocktails, and good times. This 7,000 square feet of Italian heaven by the Big Mamma Group will open on the 25th of June by an enthusiastic bunch of 120 Italians.
We first came across the Big Mamma Group in Paris, we even wrote about their enthusiastic use of Instagram Stories in 2017, the guys working at their restaurants we’re really Instagrammable. The Group now has 2 restaurants (soon 3 with Ave Mario) in London, Gloria and Circolo Popolare. In Paris they have 7 restaurants, 1 bar and 1 Food Market. They also have restaurants in Lille (Osteria tradizionale Bellazza), Lyon (Cucina popolare Carmelo) and Madrid (Trattoria & Terrazza Bel Mondo). This is a great restaurant chain to visit if you’re in the neighbourhood!
Trends we spotted | Week 19
14-5-2021
At horecatrends.com or hospitalitytrends.eu we spot many national and international trends on a daily basis. We pick the most interesting ones to write about, the other trends we use in our weekly column ‘Trends we spotted this week’.
A Singaporean company, Forest & Whale, is experimenting with edible and compostable food packaging and Panda Packaging has come up with a reusable bamboo cup with an integrated loyalty program.
Hilton recently shared a fun video encouraging guests to bring their dog to their Pet Hotels in the UK and Ireland and Pepsi opens the very first Fast Beverage Restaurant in the United States, Pep’s Place.
The State of New York will ban the use of plastic amenities in hotels and motels from 2024, and McDonald’s will work with the office of President Biden to raise awareness around Covid vaccinations among Americans.
Mövenpick Thailand offers a temporary package that allows travelers to go in self quarantine for 14 days in luxury. And sustainable hotel chain Habitas intends to realize at least 10 3D-printed hotels in Asia, the Middle East and Africa. Finally, Guinness has recently launched a new stout beer, to all coffee lovers: pay attention!
Click on the title if you like to read the full article. Enjoy reading!
Fruit and Vegetables Week | Launch ‘We’re Smart Academy’ and exclusive 5 Radishes Chefs Club
10-5-2021
Top international chefs will join forces in the We’re Smart Academy, starting on the 10th of May. They share their knowledge about healthy, ecological cuisine in webinars, manuals, cookbooks and Clubhouse sessions with other chefs, food companies and consumers. The academy gets off to a flying start on the first day of the Fruit and Vegetable Week. On the same day, We’re Smart World, the organization behind the week, launches the 5 Radishes Chef Club, an exclusive club for the 79 best vegetable restaurants in the world.
When we see the enormous press interest in the transition of Daniel Humm from Eleven Madison Park (***) to only cooking vegetarian, it is unavoidable that there will also be a boost in vegetarian and vegan cooking. A very positive vibe towards healthier food! With 2 recipes in this article with the Vegetables of the year – Peppers and Fruit of the year 2021: Watermelon, both from the well-known vegetable chef Frank Fol.
Reading time: 4 minutes, required time for the recipes are separately stated.
Trends we spotted | Week 14
12-4-2021
At horecatrends.com or hospitalitytrends.eu we spot many national and international trends on a daily basis. We pick the most interesting ones to write about, the other trends we use in our weekly column ‘Trends we spotted this week’.
Today outdoor dining in the UK reopened! Unfortunately the weather is bad but we wish everybody lots of fun and be careful out there. We’re extremely jealous here in the Netherlands!
This week with links to articles about the reopening of the Brixton Market Restaurants, with their reopening deal: #BackToBrixton and a big loss for culinary Barcelona: the group with the restaurants Tickets, Hoja Santa, Pakta and Bodega 1900 are to close, the only one to remain is Enigma.
This April, French dairy company Bel Brands will launch its own vegan cheese line Nurishh on Amazon Fresh and at select retailers, with further distribution planned for this year. And Coca-Cola launches vending machine subscriptions in Japan.
The restaurant chain Chipotle Mexican Grill announced it will offer debt-free degrees in Agriculture, Culinary, and Hospitality to all eligible employees. Also in the USA: Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson and his tequila brand Teremana launched a ‘guac on the rock’ initiative, to encourage the nation to support local restaurants.
We love a bitter Spritz (like for example with Campari), so we hope that the premix Garden Spritz by Chandon, bubbles with house-made bitters crafted with fresh Valencia oranges, will come to the Netherlands as well. And chef José Andrés known from his humanitarian efforts with his charity, World Central Kitchen, has announced he will open restaurants in Chicago, to start with an all-day café along Chicago River.
Is a podcast studio a plus in a hotel? Wynn Resorts in Las Vegas will have one in the lobby and we spotted more examples over the years.
Click on the title if you like to read the full article. Enjoy reading!
Limited-edition PAC-MAN pizza box featuring augmented reality game by Pizza Hut
8-4-2021
Pizza Hut served up a ‘Newstalgia’ campaign celebrating what fans know and love about the pizza restaurant, but with a contemporary twist. To bring the campaign to life, the brand unveiled a limited-edition PAC-MAN pizza box featuring an augmented reality game and a chance to win a custom PAC-MAN game cabinet back in March. The campaign did put a contemporary twist on celebrating all the things people love and associate with the brand – from Book It!® pins, classic arcade games, red cups and Tiffany-style lamps and of course, iconic Pizza Hut pizzas.
Although the campaign has already ended we think it might be an inspiration for other restaurants to add some nostalgia to their brand in one way or another. Lots of us loved to play PAC-MAN back in the day but also games like Tetris, Mario Kart and remember SimCity? We have all learned not to play with our food but this might be fun!
Reading time: 2 minutes
Trends we spotted | Week 13
6-4-2021
At horecatrends.com or hospitalitytrends.eu we spot many national and international trends on a daily basis. We pick the most interesting ones to write about, the other trends we use in our weekly column ‘Trends we spotted this week’.
With this week links to articles about an investment by restaurant chain Chipotle in autonomous delivery by startup NURO. And to help out in tough times, supermarkets rent storefront windows from restaurants. Launched last week in Amsterdam, Reclame voor Horeca (‘Ads for Hospitality’).
Both NESCAFÉ and the startup, UP TO GOOD, introduced drinks made from upcycled coffee fruit. NESCAFE NATIV and UP TO GOOD cascara. And in London opened Urban Mutts, the first luxury dog hotel! With spa treatments, handcrafted dog beds, reiki etc.
Ultimate Paleo Protein infuses your cup of coffee with quality protein, healthy fat, and heat-stable probiotics. It reminded us a bit of Bulletproof coffee? And the first Cannabis-infused wine from France has been created in the region of Bordeaux.
KRISPY KREME® Giving FREE doughnuts to everyone who shows his or her COVID-19 Vaccination Card and has more ideas to encourage people to get the vaccine! And we spotted a startup with the aim to reduce our sodium intake which is increasing our high blood pressure: Green Salt made of Salicornia!
Click on the title if you like to read the full article. Enjoy reading!
The future of pizza | The robotic pizza shop Piestro
1-4-2021
An interesting idea: the robotic pizza shop Piestro, an automated artisan pizza vending machine. Piestro launched in the summer of 2020 and drove investor interest for its ability to automate the pizza cooking process to 3 minutes! A standalone pizzeria model that would make artisan quality pies available in public spaces closer to where consumers live –like apartment complex lobbies or offices, universities and malls. With just a press of a button, consumers are able to watch a pizza created in front of their eyes, with fresh ingredients cooked to consistent perfection. Piestro even started a cooperation with Kiwibots to create delivery from a vending machine!
Inspiration for pizzeria’s? It might be an idea to place an automated artisan pizza vending machine outside your pizzeria, an extra source of sales and so convenient during the pandemic!
Reading time: 3 minutes, checking all the links takes longer 😉
Trends we spotted | Week 12
30-3-2021
At horecatrends.com or hospitalitytrends.eu we spot many national and international trends on a daily basis. We pick the most interesting ones to write about, the other trends we use in our weekly column ‘Trends we spotted this week’.
With this week links to articles about a cultured meat manufacturing at the first plant-to-fork facility The Chicken by SuperMeat in Israel. And a bit older article about the plant-based meat market estimated to be worth billions of dollars. We wonder what the influence of cultured meat will be on those sales numbers!
Japan’s airline ANA sold $1.8 million worth of Economy Class inflight meals to Japanese consumers for at-home dining and Shake Shack begins using AirCarbon cutlery and straws from Restore Foodware at select locations.
Smarties is the first sweets-brand to switch to recyclable paper packaging and Starbucks recently committed to their future by setting ambitious goals in order to reduce their carbon footprint, water and waste by at least 50% in 2030.
A link to a great article about the thriving scene of Korean restaurants in New York, with a couple of them with one or two Michelin stars and inspiration for pizzerias: the garlic buttery crust By the Pizza Inn.
Click on the title if you would like to read the full article. Enjoy reading!
MUNCH the platform to prevent food waste in Hungary
MUNCH the platform to prevent food waste in Hungary
