Opportunities for innovation and change abound as the industry begins to recover
By Christy Simo
At the beginning of 2020, restaurants were all set to have a billion-dollar year. Then the pandemic struck, and shopping habits were shattered, restaurants shut down and had to pivot to survive, and the way we all connected with each other changed forever.
Since the beginning of the pandemic, restaurant industry sales have declined by at least $200 billion in the U.S., and more than 100,000 restaurants across the country have closed either permanently or long-term. Some 3 million people lost their food service jobs as a result.
Yet out of this year has come transformational innovations. “Pivot or perish” has become a mantra to many in the industry, and new ideas that have real staying power are emerging from this time.
According to “The Future of Food,” a recent report by consulting firm Maru Group, which surveyed more than 3,000 people in the fall of 2020, there are abundant opportunities ahead for restaurants thanks to this pandemic reset. Here is where the opportunity for innovation lies:
1. The transformation of our relationship with food blows open the door to grab market share through innovation. While the pandemic has shifted away from out-of-home dining to in-home eating, when there is change there is opportunity. Emotions play a huge part in the decision-making process and the customer journey. To many, eating at a restaurant is more than just the food. People are tired of their own cooking, tired of prepping, of cleanup of planning, of everything it takes to cook around-the-clock at home.
There is a great deal of pent-up demand to dine in a restaurant again. 65% of people surveyed said they were tired of cooking at home, and 58% are sick of comfort foods. They are looking for inspiration, to try new ingredients.
Also, people report that their choice to purchase takeout or a meal kit from a restaurant is more than just giving them a break from the monotony of home cooking. They also see it as a conscious act of support for restaurants and restaurant workers. Many see takeout as a reason to get out of the house and to try something different that they don’t cook frequently at home. “Anything that dials down the routine and amps up adventure will appeal,” says the report.
Because of these trends, restaurants have an opportunity right now to add value and to strengthen relationships, to look beyond the food and create a unique atmosphere.
2. There is a new segment of the dining public identified as a perfect target for testing new ideas. Dubbed the “Pressure Cookers” by the report, this group of North Americans are open to innovation. They cook, they order in, they bake and they go out to restaurants. But during this pandemic, they have developed a complicated love/hate relationship with food. According to the report, “They simultaneously love to cook but would be happy if they never had to cook again.”
This group of people are the most likely to have changed their food habits because of the pandemic. They tend to be younger and have children at home. They are the group most likely to use meal kits, and they love variety. Because of the life stage they are in, they’re looking for meals they can make quickly or even just heat up.
Yet they are the group most likely to make food with ingredients they have never used before. Ideas that will relieve fatigue yet make meals fun again will emerge as winners, both now and as we move out of the pandemic.
3. Now’s the time to reimagine restaurants, meaning upping the allure and fun. Right now, restaurants – if they are open – are not exactly the engaging, lively places they were pre-pandemic. The strongest emotional response to restaurants during the pandemic from survey participants was satisfaction and fulfillment of a need – hunger – followed by sophistication, or a feeling that dining out is alluring, fascinating and desirable. But because of the pandemic, the third strongest response revolves around oppression, a sense of restriction and repression. In other words, dining out isn’t particularly enjoyable these days.
And, the survey notes, restaurants are like the phoenix rising from the ashes after this pandemic, and this is the time they will be reimagined and reshaped. The change hinges on the question “What would the ideal meal experience look like?” According to the report, people want a restaurant experience to free them to live a more idealized life of sophistication, stimulation and fun.
Right now, people need to feel safe in a restaurant, even if it feels oppressive. That means social distancing, wearing masks and hand sanitizer for all. And while safety is necessary right now, what drives people to restaurants is an experience that “lifts their lives above the plain of everyday existence.”
According to the report, “People miss an environment and food that transports them to a place of freedom. They yearn for a meal that starts with excitement and stimulation, moves to joy and delight, and ends with contentment.” Using that as a guide, the restaurant of the future will be reimagined. Look at where your restaurant is now and where the gaps are to meeting those guest needs.
To learn more about these trends and how they will affect restaurants going forward, go to marugroup.net/papers.
