Trends we spotted | Week 43
28-10-2026
At horecatrends.com 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:
- New travellers and destinations will give European tourism a whole new look by 2036, a new Accor report reveals.
- India’s Sunday PropTech acquires Fletcher Hotels and expands its European hotel portfolio.
- Christmas collection from Ghent’s Chocolaterie Vandenbouhede, featuring a “Bloody Mary” praline and a chocolate carousel in the window that really turns.
- McDonald’s and Tristen Epps-Long, winner of ‘Top Chef’ season 22, invite fans to take a look ‘Inside the Golden Arches’: a unique chef’s table experience!
- From the slopes to London… The Berkeley Rooftop Cabins are back this holiday season!
- Smart Coffee contains more than 17 active ingredients in a single serving. For hospitality entrepreneurs, this presents a dual opportunity: one cup appeals to two different spending categories, premium coffee and dietary supplements.
Enjoy reading!
SPIZZA PIZZA | Chef Tim Raue (**) brings premium pizza to airports and train stations
13-10-2026
The famous German chef Tim Raue (**) eats pizza wherever he travels, from the Maldives to Capri. Yet at airports and train stations, where he spends more than 200 days a year, he never found one that convinced him. So he teamed up with Berlin entrepreneur Nils Hölterhoff to create SPIZZA PIZZA, a travel retail concept for places where people only stay briefly. Raue developed the recipes and leads the culinary direction, while Hölterhoff builds the company, from site development to financing. The first branch opens at BER Airport (Berlin) this December, followed by Hamburg Dammtor station in the first quarter of 2027.
3 minutes read
Trends we spotted | Week 41
12-10-2026
At horecatrends.com 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:
- Thai quick-service concept Pad Thai opened its newest location at Utrecht Centraal at the end of September, with an AI wok robot as a colleague.
- Spaghetteria is celebrating its fifteenth anniversary with the introduction of the ‘Pastapas’. They sold out in no time! New Pastapasses are likely to become available in November.
- Ron Blaauw, Bas Brouns and the team behind Ron Gastrobar Groep are entering into a long-term partnership with the Garçons Group, the culinary event company of Jeroen Robberegt and Jasper Gronert.
- The Flower Farm is entering the hospitality industry with palm oil-free minis. Hospitality professionals can request a sample via the website.
- PlanSimpler is a scheduling tool via WhatsApp, developed by a start-up from Eindhoven. The have enrolled in the 2027 Horecava Awards.
- Last week, Subway® unveiled Blueprint, a renewed restaurant and brand experience that modernizes the way guests order and eat, in support of growth in EMEA.
- KFC is introducing Go Buckets, a new way to enjoy KFC, which makes its signature Finger Lickin’ Good® chicken suitable for snacking and moments beyond the traditional meal.
- McDonald’s bottled pickle brine, Pickle Boost, was handed out as a pick-me-up for runners at last weekend’s Chicago Marathon.
Enjoy reading!
GLP-1 weight loss drugs | Figures, examples and how to adapt your menu
8-10-2026
Ozempic, Wegovy, Mounjaro: you’re reading about those GLP-1 weight loss drugs more and more often in the Netherlands, and increasingly in connection with the hospitality industry. In 2025 we already published a blog about the Ozempic menu. Back then it was still mainly a foreign curiosity. Now McDonald’s is adapting its menu in the US, and that is a different league altogether. In this blog, Marjolein van Spronsen puts it all in order: the numbers, the behaviour of users, how the chains are responding and how to adapt your menu as a hospitality industry entrepreneur.
4 minutes read
Trends we spotted | Week 40
5-10-2026
At horecatrends.com 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:
- Gault&Millau’s Austrian hotel guide has introduced a ‘Longevity & Medical Wellness’ category for the first time.
- CÔNE Paris opened in March 2026 and is a coffee bar serving espresso-based drinks, including a −86 °C Dirty Coffee.
- In Leiden, during the 3 October celebrations, we spotted a focaccia from Giò Neapolitan Espresso topped with hutspot cream: a tradition in Leiden with a Neapolitan soul.
- EMMA Safety Footwear is introducing Connect Sport: a new O2 work shoe built for demanding days in hospitality.
- Marketer Sem van der Wilk built software while employed at the Inge de Bruijn Swimming Pool in Barendrecht, connecting the pool’s existing systems. Since January 2026 he has done so through his own company.
- Disaronno is introducing a new bottle design with the global campaign ‘The Dolce Side of Life’.
- On Wednesday 14 October, The Biggest Wine Club in Utrecht kicks off. Wine influencer Annemiek Hummelink and Tessel Andeweg of bar Vivid are organising the first edition.
Enjoy reading!
Trends we spotted | Week 39
28-9-2026
At horecatrends.com 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:
- Spotted on Instagram: a ‘Bar à Oeufs’ at restaurant Ter in Paris.
- NYC BAKERY RUN is back with ten stops, including a treat at Eleven Madison Park! The free half marathon is organized by TIPSTER and takes place on October 25.
- KFC introduces Open House in McKinney, Texas: a location where the brand will test new dishes and ideas.
- BON (Beauty of Nature), the world’s first luxury theme park, has a soft opening on October 24 for guests of the VidantaWorld resort in Mexico.
- Accor reaches a new milestone with the introduction of ALL Concierge, the first end-to-end conversational travel assistant deployed at scale in the hospitality sector.
- Burger King recently introduced brand-new chicken nuggets with updated sauces in the US. And at the beginning of September, in the middle of fashion season, BK launched the season’s most unexpected accessory: Le Nugguette, a nugget-sized bag!
- Queer Beer celebrates all breasts with the new Nipple Tripel, and the Queer Market Store in Amsterdam gets a boob-themed window display from October 9 through October 31. For every can of beer sold, €0.10 goes to breast cancer research.
- Guerlain Spa at Waldorf Astoria Amsterdam has been named Netherlands’ Best Hotel Spa 2026 at the World Spa Awards.
Enjoy reading!
Chef built his own reservation system BoekEerlijk with AI
24-9-2026
Four months after launch, fifty restaurants have already joined BoekEerlijk (Book Honest is the proper translation), twenty of them paying customers, and the system has processed more than 7,800 reservations. Founder Jeremy Arrascaeta runs it alone, alongside his job as a chef, and is competing for the Horecava Innovation Award 2027.
3 minutes read
Trends we spotted | Week 32
10-8-2026
At horecatrends.com 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:
- DoorDash recently unveiled DoorDash Air, an in-house program that will develop a drone delivery system.
- ‘Twelve Nights of Wonder’ for the 2026 holiday season at Orlando World Center Marriott. Are you already working on your holiday season calendar?
- For one night only, on August 27, 2026, Waldorf Astoria New York’s legendary Grand Ballroom will transform into a full-size tennis court beneath the chandeliers.
- It already sounds delicious in French: “La Brioche Glacée & Toastée célèbre les saveurs Fetish de la Maison: Ispahan et Infiniment Vanille”.
- Avani Hotels & Resorts is inviting guests to celebrate International Dog Day, which takes place on 26 August, with a getaway designed for the whole family.
- Hamburg-based robotics company goodBytz and Leonardo Hotels Central Europe have entered into a strategic partnership.
- Vinyl Voyages: ‘Monkey Shoulder Selects’ spotlights Europe’s trendiest Hi-Fi bars and cocktail neighbourhoods.
- Radisson Hotel Group leverages its strong owner confidence to accelerate global growth.
Enjoy reading!
Heat stress in the kitchen | Why the cold chain breaks in high temperatures
28-7-2026
Temperatures are rising this week in the Netherlands, which means full terraces and dealing with products that need to look good on the table in the sun. In short, quite a few businesses are experiencing heat stress around this topic. You can make this easier on yourself by digitizing temperature control around your products, for example with the app for HACCP and cleaning registration from De Horeca Helper. A contribution from them about ‘Heat stress in the kitchen’!
2 minutes read
Bar14 | Johan Cruijff ArenA opens the first frictionless stadium bar in the Netherlands
24-7-2026
The Johan Cruijff ArenA is the first stadium in the Netherlands to introduce a smart frictionless bar, Bar14. This innovation delivers a new visitor experience during matches and concerts. The high-tech bar kiosk uses advanced tracking and AI technology to automatically register which products visitors take and process payment directly. Usage is simple: visitors tap their smartphone upon entry to pay. Thanks to this modern technology, visitors are served faster and more efficiently. The cashierless bar will be used for the first time during Ajax – Burnley on July 26th.
2 minutes read
Smart Coffee - A dual opportunity - premium coffee and dietary supplements 
From the slopes to the city... The Berkeley Rooftop Cabins are back
Indian firm Sunday PropTech is acquiring Fletcher Hotels and expanding its European hotel portfolio
The changing face of Europe's Tourism Map to 2036 by Accor 
 brings premium pizza to airports and train stations)
