Trends we spotted | Week 49
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 AI-powered wine wall with facial recognition security and Pringles Passport attempts to satisfy a nostalgia for traveling.
Last October people could dine on board the world’s largest passenger aircraft, an A380 at Changi Airport. Would that satisfy your nostalgia for traveling a bit? And KFC introduced autonomous rolling chicken-dispensing pods in China, completely contactless.
At Pizza Hut you could enjoy a plant-based sausage, Beyond Italian Sausage, in the U.S. and Pancheros Mexican Grill introduced their ’12 Days Pancheros’ Holiday promotions. Inspiration for restaurants with take-out or delivery!
We spotted the MyPanera Coffee subscription a couple of months ago and now an European brand, Espresso House also launched a flat rate for coffee. Inspiration for other coffee corners? Especially if you have many people working at your location.
Dutch Television channel KRO-NCRV and restaurant chain Resto VanHarte are organizing a grand Online Christmas Dinner together. Inspiration for your country?
Sustainability: IKEA announced their plan to make 50% of their food menu plant-based by 2025 and we have spotted a new sustainable design for the seating at Schiphol Airport, called Blink. Interesting read for other venues.
Click on the title if you like to read the full article. Enjoy reading!
An AI-powered wine wall with facial recognition security
Spotted at Springwise (link in the title). Through AI technology, the wine storage wall works as an intelligent unit that gives serving suggestions as a sommelier would, helping the owner to organize and maintain their wine collection. A high-speed 8-axis robotic arm aids this, and is programmed to apply minimal pressure in order to protect the bottle which it recognizes, loads, scans and dispenses. Three cameras track the movement of the arm from the moment it selects the bottle, to the dispensing, all of which takes 15 seconds. A product by Calvary Robotics.
Pringles Passport attempts to satisfy a nostalgia for traveling
Spotted first in Japan, the Pringles Passport varieties are designed to tap into the consumer nostalgia for traveling, something that many have not been able to do due to the COVID-19 restrictions on all non-essential travel. The collection was first launched in Japan in September and following its success, the company is making its Pringles Passport flavors available across Asia in countries including Taiwan, Thailand, the Philippines, Singapore, and Malaysia. They created Fish and Chips taste from London and from New York the Cheeseburger flavour. As if we in the West don’t long to travel again! Inspiration for take-away and delivery of food themed by travel destination? More at the website of Trendhunter, link in the title.
KFC China | Autonomous rolling chicken-dispensing pods
KFC China has deployed autonomous chicken-dispensing robots around Shanghai. The machines that look like miniaturized minivans with side windows revealing packaged fried chicken have been referred to as everything from rolling vending machines to autonomous restaurants on wheels. Contactless Kentucky Fried Chicken is totally a thing now. Images and more at the website of CNET, link in the title.
IKEA announced plan to make 50% of their food menu plant-based by 2025
IKEA announced it aims to make 50% of its restaurant meals plant-based by 2025 as part of a new set of sustainability commitments. IKEA also plans to transition 80% of its packaged meals to be plant-based to give its 680 million customers more sustainable options. To inform its transition, the multinational chain is responding to scientific reports and consumer research studies, including a recent GlobeScan study that found 75% of consumers across 27 countries want to make more sustainable choices but do not know how. More at VegNews, link in the title.
Restaurant A380 at Changi Airport | Dine on board the world’s largest passenger aircraft
Although already sold out, the idea by Singapore Airlines might be an inspiration for more airlines. We think a plane of KLM in which they serve food from Dutch chefs might reach a lot of people! As so many travelers want to board a plane… It might even be that they take the fact that they’re not going to take off, for granted. In October an A380 double-decker superjumbo from Singapore Airlines did host diners. A memorable dining experience in your choice of cabin class, topped with their award-winning service. Guest could savour signature international Singapore Airlines dishes in this unique restaurant. More at their website, link in the title.
Blink | New sustainable design for the seating at Schiphol Airport
Dutch designer Richard Hutten worked with Lensvelt to create 27,000 new seats for Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport that make use of the building’s existing resources. The design is called Blink and is shortlisted for the Dezeen Awards. It looks like standard airport seating, with rows of ergonomically curved seats fixed to a horizontal supporting beam. But it’s different, the design emits 95% less carbon in its production than any comparable product. The designer followed circular design principles, with all of the seats’ constituent materials being either recycled, recyclable or biodegradable. Interesting read at the website of Dezeen and inspiring new way to produce seats for large locations! Link in the title.
Espresso House launched a flat rate for coffee
In five countries, the coffee bar brand of Swedish origin is launching a flat rate. For a monthly fee, guests receive a filter coffee or a cup of organic tea every hour. The subscription is concluded in the Espresso House app. We spotted this a couple of months ago in the USA as well with Panera where guests could buy a MyPanera Coffee subscription, they got unlimited coffee for the price of about 4 cups. That’s just under 30¢ a day for any size, any flavor: Light roast, dark roast, hazelnut, decaf, iced coffee, or hot tea. Espresso House is launching a similar system in Germany and Scandinavia”. For €14.90 euros, guests throughout Germany can order a filter coffee or one of the organic teas every hour for one month in the 21 Espresso House locations. Inspiration for other coffee corner brands? More at the website of Food Service, link in the title.
Beyond Italian Sausage | Plant-based sausage on the menu of Pizza Hut throughout the U.S.
Plant-based meat is ‘hot’, recently we spotted Impossible’s ground beef replacement and KFC’s poultry-free products, and of course the McPlant patty announcement by McDonald’s. Pizza Hut is now putting substitute sausage on its products after extensive testing with Beyond Meat. According to the article at Food and Wine (link in title) is Beyond Italian Sausage being introduced on two Original Pan Pizza options, though the item will be available on any pizza later. The Beyond Italian Sausage will be available ‘for a limited time while supplies last’ according to Pizza Hut, though if items like Burger King’s ‘Impossible Whoppers’ are any indication, it could make a permanent comeback.
The annual launch of Pancheros’ Christmas calendar | ‘12 Days of Pancheros’
Inspiration from the link to this article on the website of Fast Casual (link in the title): why don’t you create special deals in the days before Christmas? Every day a treat with your order? Or a special dish? Or discount like Pancheros does!
Pancheros Mexican Grill, with nearly 70 locations in the U.S., is launching its second annual “12 Days of Pancheros” holiday promotion from December 7th until December 18th. The campaign will feature daily deals and freebies for loyalty program members and fans via the Pancheros App and social media platforms. Starting Dec. 7, fans can tune into the Pancheros social media platforms as well as the app to take advantage of the daily promotions, check Pancheros’s website for the full promotion details.
Dutch Television channel KRO-NCRV and restaurant chain Resto VanHarte are organizing a grand Online Christmas Dinner together
Unfortunately a Dutch initiative but it could be used as inspiration! KRO-NCRV and Resto VanHarte are organizing the Largest Online Christmas Dinner in the Netherlands. Famous Dutchies receive nice guests and talk about their favorite Christmas dinner. Despite these bizarre times, they make it into one big Christmas party.
