Aristotle Onassis once said "The secret of business is to know something before your competition knows it.”
Imagine if someone offered you the opportunity to go to the races on Saturday when you had ‘Sunday’s Newspaper’ - which has the Saturday race results in it!
In this article I want to give you that ‘Sunday Newspaper.’ I want to share my research with you that tells of trends around Australia and trends around the world. This can put you ahead of your competition.
During 2011, whilst in Amsterdam, I Interviewed Charles van Goch about European Hospitality Tends. Charley is the Managing Director of the Maastricht based Hospitality Staff Training and Recruitment Bureau - Mise en Place. Each year he organises major major hospitality industry conferences. You may remember I wrote a complete article about these trends. I want to remind you of a just one piece of the article.
The Sheconomy
In the video above you will see and hear Charley talking about the Sheconomy and feminization. He tells about women being the principal buyers on the Interent. It appears that within five years 85% of all the purchases on the Internet will be made by women. Hence our web sites and web marketing need be pitched at women. He talks about a hotel in Copenhagen built only for women. He talks about how the colours of menus need appeal to women. He talks about how current menus feature 80% meat and 20% vegetables. The trends indicate, by 2015, these percentages will reverse. Ummmmmmmmm
Trends in Hotel Food
The Good Food Guide indicated the following trends:
Using local produce and telling about it on your menu
Taco/Mexican is a hot idea
Tapas tasting plates
Breadboard are becoming very trendy and popular
* Although the idea horrifies me my research indicates BIG serves are going to be big in 2012. Check Out http://www.hospitalitydoctor.com//docs/ATT00046.jpg
Appealing to kids with XBox Stations and Play Stations. Colouring in sheets and coloured pencils are popular as are kids playgrounds. (Check out the kids area Les Pullos has at the award winning Samford Valley Hotel.)
Coffee...but I mean ‘good coffee’. (Check out Richard Bowley’s Cafe Infereno at the Southern Hotel in Toowoomba. You will find another outstanding coffee operation at The Olive Tree Hotel, Sunbury, Melbourne.)
Unfortunately, the cook your own Bar-B-Q star is fading
In an article written by Rieva Lesonsky, on the Small Business Trends web site at:
http://smallbiztrends.com/2011/12/10-food-trends-2012.html I found the 10 Food Business Trends to watch for in 2012. Below are the first four:
* Artisanal everything: Not new, but still going strong, ‘artisanal’ originally referred to handcrafted foods but is now springing up everywhere. The term has even trickled down to quick-service restaurants, with major chains like Jack in the Box touting “artisanal” breads as a selling point. One product that’s not quite so mainstream: artisanal marshmallows.
* So cool it’s hot: Ice cream (especially, you guessed it, artisanal ice cream) shows no signs of slowing down. (And why should it—who doesn’t love ice cream?) Next up, restaurant consulting firm Andrew Freeman & Co. predicts “snow ice”–a dessert with the flavor and creaminess of ice cream but that has a light, airy texture.
* One potato, two potato: They may have been banned from school lunchroom menus, but they’re showing up everywhere else. Andrew Freeman & Co. says the big trend will be “have-it-your-way” potatoes, such as make-your-own mashed potatoes with customized mix-ins, fries where you can choose the cut, degree of crispness and dipping sauce; and chips with custom “dustings” and dips. If plain old potatoes sound too unhealthy for your customers, try offering sweet potato fries and dishes.
* Breakfast anytime: Customers want what they want when they want it—and for many, what they want is breakfast. Restaurants are happy to oblige, since breakfast food ingredients are typically cheaper than other meals. Some are serving breakfast menus all day long; others are reinterpreting breakfast foods for dinner with items like sandwiches made of waffles, egg dishes or French toast bread puddings.
Best Five Dishes
At www.goodfoodguide.com.au I found the best five dishes in NSW were:
*Delicious sorbet and gelato "cake" with sliced fruit coated in toffee at the Oriental Hotel, 112 Macquarie Road, Springwood.
*All the steaks at the Willow Tree Inn, New England Highway, Willow Tree.
Crumbed pigs' tail at the Four in Hand, 105 Sutherland Street, Paddington.
* Shredded confit duck salad, Northies Cronulla Hotel, corner of Kingsway and Elouera Road, Cronulla.
* Duck and olive pie at the Epping Hotel, 58 Beecroft Road, Epping.
Terry Brock is an Internet guru from Florida, USA. He taught me to always be ready, with a video camera, for opportunities. So, recognising the opportunity, I had my trusty video camera with me when we had lunch together when he was recently in Australia. I asked him about the latest Internet trends in America. Click on the video below to 'meet' Terry.
Final thought: American entertainer Dick Clark once said, “I don't set trends. I just find out what they are and exploit them.”
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Max Hitchins is known around the world as the Hospitality Doctor specialising in Internet Marketing for the Hospitality Industry. QHA members are invited to register at www.HospitalityDoctor.com to receive his regular e-mails with Secrets, Tips and Tonics to fill your Bars, Bistro’s and Beds.
posted by Max Hitchins at 11:23 AM
