Baum + Whitman, the international food and restaurant consultants recently released their prediction for year 2016's food industry. The two most remarkable trends for next year evolve around high-speed delivery to homes and offices and the rekindled love for fried chicken.
As reported in Eater, topping the list of Baum + Whitman food prediction is food delivery. Noted were companies Uber and Amazon Prime Now as they enter the food delivery industry. This evolution is reported to continue until 2016. As mentioned by Baum + Whitman, two most noteworthy trends for next year have nothing to do with food and this one talks about them.
Ironically, none of the food delivery services actually make the food. They're actually middle men that connect the customers and the restaurants. These companies maintain a database of customers' information to further expedite the process. The ultimate aim of these companies is to deliver consumer convenience by delivering food in the shortest time possible.
Fast food and high end restaurants are both affected by this trend. Chipotle and Starbucks are toying with the idea of creating a second assembly line so the stores can speed up deliveries. Fast causal restaurants will have to start be open minded about involving deliveries as part of their services.
The other notable trend is the comeback of fried chicken but this is not your ordinary fried chicken. It was reported that the sandwich of the year has become fried chicken. Several restaurants have offered fried chicken sandwich specialties. Shake Shack is said to made headlines this year with the release of the usual ChickenShack sandwich. More so, David Chang also joined the trend with his spicy chicken sandwich at Fuku. The fried chicken sandwiches have gone beyond the southern style to more creative and ethnic.
Here are the rest of the food trends that Baum + Whiteman have predicted for 2016 in no particular order:
2. Scrambling for "Clean Menus"
3. Decline of Pasta
4. Vegetable Step up to the Plate
5. Tipping and Wages
6. Poke - The Next Ceviche/Sashimi/Crudo
7. Resurgence of Jewish Food
8. Acai Bowls as the Next Hipster Food
9. Heat Is No Longer Enough
10. Retailers Renew Attack on Restaurants
11. What Snacking Tells Us About Future Flavours
