The MCA Food to Go Conference is always a must attend event and this year was no exception. As a leading food and drink agency we make it our business to stay on top of the latest trends, so we were there to hear from a stella line-up of experts from market insight to operators. The day was, as ever, jam-packed, but here are our top take-outs…
News that the Government plans to centralise regional buying and distribution agreements across food and catering supplies to appoint one single ‘super supplier’ for schools, hospitals, care homes, local authorities and developed administrations, has sent shockwaves through the foodservice industry. The plan which seems to be at best ill-advised (if advised at all) and at worse, a step towards a monopoly has been met with criticism across the board, as industry experts, suppliers and wholesalers air their concerns at the lack of consultation.
Leveraging the consumer pull of a restaurant brand to create a range of products in retail is not a new idea by any means. Indeed, since 1998 Pizza Express has had their incredibly successful FMCG range in retail. Then followed Nando’s, Itsu, Greggs, YO!, TGI Fridays, Ed’s Diner, Chiquitos and Harry Ramsden’s. There is also Carluccios’s, Zizzi, Wahaca, Wasabi, Wagamama and more! In fact, we recently worked on the launch of Cinnamon Kitchen into Tesco, a range of premium Indian fine dining ready meals developed by Vivek Singh of The Cinnamon Club group of restaurants (you can read more here).
January is an important time to predict and consider what trends and changes we can expect to see in the culinary world throughout the year. In the food and hospitality industry, staying ahead of the curve is essential in order to appeal to customers and remain successful. Although we’ve already looked at trends in the eating out market, here, we will explore what flavours and ingredients chefs and restauranteurs should be aware of in 2023:
As you may or may not be aware, the Environment Act 2021 passed in November 2021 along with the food waste disposal rules are set to change and the implications for any organisation generating food waste in England are sizeable.
