If you’re anything like us and you’re eagerly waiting till we go out and dine among our friends, there is no better time than the second half of 2021. Almost two quarters of the year are over and we saw people going out more after being cooped up in their homes for the better part of the last year.
The first half of 2021 saw people getting vaccinated and announcing it to the world to see. As vaccination becomes mandatory in public places, we can see more people get out of their homes as they feel safer.
This will have an impact on how restaurants work or what trends pick up next. The restaurant industry has always been slow to adapt to the changes and yet here we are discussing the 2021 trends.
We will see some unique trends in the latter half of the year, and here are some of them:
1. Return to comfort
Creating unique and extraordinary dishes is what makes the restaurants stand out, but consumers are now obsessing over comfort as the convenience of home delivery has been exposed to them. The fact that there is going to be balance back in the world. Restaurants will have to focus more on the experience of their customers with a feel-good ambiance. They need to make sure consumers’ visit is as comfortable as possible. From the ease of reservation to have the food come to the table, we will definitely see changes.
2. More focus on nutritious and healthy food
If something this pandemic has taught us it’s this, healthy and nutritious food goes a long way. Consumers have become more conscious of their eating out habits, we can see consumer trends turning towards healthier options. This will result in more outlets opening up which will feature healthier alternatives, vegan options as well as high-quality items. We can also see current restaurants having healthier alternatives for their health-conscious fans.
3. Ghost kitchens
We saw a rise in virtual kitchens or cloud kitchens last year. We saw cooking enthusiasts bringing their age-old family recipes to the mouths of countless other food enthusiasts and we saw unique concepts emerging. Due to cloud kitchen’s lower expenditure and ease of operating, this is the one trend we will see rising for the next 5 years. Cloud kitchen’s market value is Predicted To Reach US$ 201.1 Billion By 2027 according to Acumen Research And Consulting. But one thing which stood out to us was how even established restaurants have created their own cloud kitchens to increase their delivery range. It not only helps them target more people but keeps their costs down.
4. Contactless dining
It will take quite some time for things to get normal as before. We might have to live in a contactless world for now, but one thing is for sure that consumers will be expecting to feel safe while dining out. Contactless dining will be the norm this year and it is not going anywhere. Not only is this more convenient for both restaurants and customers, but it’s safer and efficient.
5. Sanitization is the new IT thing
Forget about the next Tik-Tok trend, sanitization is the next IT thing we will be following for years. Consumers don’t only want restaurants to follow strict sanitization but they want to see it happen. Following strict Covid-19 preventative guidelines will become a norm. One way it will hugely affect the restaurants is occupancy. Earlier restaurants wanted their outlets to run at full capacity, it is just not possible anymore. Following the guidelines, we will see fewer people in the restaurants. In this case, optimization is the need of the hour: a good reservation or booking system will come in handy.
6. Limited time offers
Restaurants are often looking to entice more people to visit them. We will see unique offers popping up along with creative marketing for the restaurants. We will also see special offers for occasions with less footfall.
7. More and more unique food outlets
Covid-19 paved the way for new and unique outlets, it gave a way for food enthusiasts to bring their food to consumers. Opening a restaurant is expensive and requires experience but with so many options such as cloud kitchens, we see common people with no background in the food industry opening up small outlets.
8. Community and building loyalty
Loyalty played a big role in 2020, and creating a community around a restaurant will be the next big thing. We will see consumers focusing more on locally run restaurants and outlets. Experience will play a major role in how an outlet is perceived and will help in creating a community around the place. So, we will see restaurant owners and managers create special events, and be active locally.
Every cloud has a silver lining and Covid-19 has disrupted the “business as usual” but it has paved the way for digitalization of the restaurant and dining industry. We have seen accelerated growth and we will have some positive trends in the remaining half of the year.
Which is the biggest trend you are most excited about?