How to Future-Proof Your Restaurant for 2020

Food and dining scenes are rapidly changing. How we eat, what we eat, how it is sourced, prepared, served and ordered are all undergoing a sea-change. New technology, heightened consumer expectations and emergent food trends are all creating a demand for a new type of restaurant and a new type of dining experience.

How can your restaurant capitalise on these new trends, entice a changing market and stay ahead of the curve? Here’s what the future holds for restaurateurs looking to future-proof their business.

Multi-device convenience

On-demand eating will no longer be about fast food. It will be about healthy, upscale food that makes itself available in a variety of ways, and can be ordered in many more.

Technology has already created new opportunities for customers to access their meals – this will become a must-have rather than an optional extra. Mobile ordering, delivery services, take-out kiosks, pickup orders, order to your table and paying via apps will all continue to make it easier to eat and enjoy conveniently even the classiest of foods.

Food transparency

The rise of food allergies, an increasing concern about what goes into our food and awareness of how it is produced will make transparency over ingredients and food sources paramount.

More food served is likely to be locally produced, organic and free from artificial flavours, colours, preservatives and sweeteners. Restaurants will market themselves on their sustainable credentials and strive to promote a ‘local’ feel, rather than present a unified corporate look.

Yet food will not become ‘unengineered’: it will simply be engineered differently. The science of pre- and probiotics has already widely publicised the benefits of adding certain bacteria to foods. We can expect to see more foods boasting the benefits of added bacterias.

Offer a true range of healthy options

The pendulum has swung back in favour of fat as a nutrient-dense fuel that is not, in itself, a cause of obesity. We can expect to see many other changes in the definition of what it means to be healthy.

It is highly unlikely that all of these will lead all consumers to the same conclusions. Restaurants that can capitalise on this uncertainty are those that empower their diners with a wide variety of choices on the menu – and the ability to easily customise their dishes.

Blur the lines between front and back of house

With an ever-expanding appetite to know about the food we are eating, it is likely that the line between the front and back of the house may well vanish altogether. Full-service restaurants will put seating in — or in full view of — the kitchen and many more will add more tableside exhibition cooking. Menu descriptions will become more in-depth in all eateries.

How will you entice and keep your customers of the future?

The seeds of these changes are already in place: if you have not already started responding to the challenges and opportunities presented by these trends it is high time to do so.

2020 is just three and a half years away. You can drive your business forward towards it by catering for these emergent trends today.

At Restaurant Property, we stay ahead of industry trends to help match landlords and operators for the best chance of success. If you are looking for a new property for your brand, or ready to take on a new tenant, talk to us today.

Call 020 7935 2222 or email enquiries@rparchive.thisisthetreedev.com.

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