February 2025 - Trump Creating Waves

As an industry we cannot be blind to the Trump effect of tariffs and strong political statements relating to everything from the use of plastics, to DE&I agendas, immigration and of course his love of McDonalds and Diet Coke.

There is a whole Trump free world out there and what have we seen from the first couple of months in 2025 that we should be taking note of. Here are 5 things we think are worthy of our, and therefore your, attention.

1. Multisensory Dining Experiences: The Next Level of Guest Engagement

For a long while now I've been writing about experience. How the food on the plate, even the environment for service or dining are limited in their impact without an accompanying experience. The single biggest driver of guest value perception is the experience, how they felt, is often more important than what they ate.

Multisensory dining is gaining momentum as businesses seek to create deeper guest engagement through taste, sound, scent, and visual effects.

Some of the most well-known restaurants have already adopted this approach. Ultraviolet in Shanghai, a pioneer in this field, synchronizes flavors with custom lighting, sounds, and even temperature shifts to enhance the perception of taste. Check it out here

In London, Kitchen Theory uses "sonic seasoning,", which sounds a bit 'Hoxton' to be but they concept is that they play specific music frequencies to alter how diners perceive bitterness or sweetness in their meals. Sensory Seasoning Awaits!

The goal is simple: turn dining into an immersive event that leaves a lasting impression. For mainstream operators, this could mean integrating subtle elements such as a a more deliberately curated music tailored to specific dishes or controlled aromas in dining spaces to enhance the guest experience.

Overall, designing this experience through the primary 5 senses is becoming more and more key to differentiating in a market where value matters more than ever over price.

2. Social Media-Driven Menu Innovations: Staying Relevant in a Fast-Paced World

Restaurants are increasingly using social media as a menu development tool rather than just a marketing platform.

Viral food trends can provide strong direction for what ends up on plates, forcing businesses to adapt rapidly.

Take Chipotle’s recent strategy—its customizable burritos went viral on TikTok, leading to the official launch of menu items based on popular user-generated hacks. In Japan, McDonald's successfully launched a “Rice Burger” line following widespread online demand for alternative bun options.

Social Listening is an important part of the process and often under-estimated by marketing teams, the ability to understand what people say, and how they feel, about their experience with your brand or their preferences on menu can be hugely useful in the menu development and guest experience process. The speed of execution is crucial; trends fade quickly, and delayed responses can mean missed opportunities. You need to build a simple to navigate fast-track response to make sure you don't miss out. There's very little downside if you can utilize your existing supply chain, you'll either win or learn. Just don't overthink it.

3. Sustainability in Hospitality: Beyond Buzzwords to Practical Action

I also hate paper straws, In fact as a poster child for sustainability, banning plastic straws was about as bad as it gets, a universally hated alternative in paper or similar, unintended consequences of 'sip lids' that take up more plastic than the old lid and straw combined. BUT, the reduction of plastics is still a key topic alongside many more that are driving action over words for some of hospitality's biggest brand names

Hotels and restaurants are being pressured to back up their green claims with real action. The Marriott Bonvoy chain has integrated local sourcing and seasonal menus as standard practice across its properties, reducing food waste and supporting regional economies.

Meanwhile, in Singapore, the zero-waste restaurant Open Farm Community grows its own produce and composts leftovers, proving that sustainability can be operationally viable along with Grobrix, proving that you can indeed grow your herbs and leaves onsite.

The quick service sector are finding it more difficult. There is an unfortunate truth that in most quick serve environments the consumer doesn't care 'enough' about the climate crisis to pay more or change what they do. Equally in retail, we are seeing operators such as Iceland, in the UK reverse out of more sustainable packaging items as cost of living pressures continue to bite.

As recently as yesterday James Quincy of The Coca-Cola Company confirmed that Trump tariffs would likely push customers, and therefore their business away from cans and into PET bottles.

It is up to larger brands, Hilton have recently noted some very impressive food waste reduction progress, to hold firm and lead consumers to a better place in this way.

4. Functional Foods: The Rise of ‘Food as Medicine’

This is a boomerang trends that accelerated through the pandemic, then took a hit from inflation but is very much back on the table and on shelves.

There is growing demand for ingredients that support mental and physical health, leading to the rise of functional foods in mainstream dining.

Adaptogens such as ashwagandha and functional mushrooms like lion’s mane are now appearing in everything from coffee to desserts.

Fast-casual chain Sweetgreen has expanded its menu to include nutrient-dense, gut-friendly bowls incorporating fermented ingredients like kimchi and miso.

In Tokyo, convenience stores have increased their range of on-the-go products fortified with probiotics and vitamins, reflecting this shift.

It is actually not a difficult activation, incorporating well-known super foods into the menu is relatively simple. The challenge is the messaging. The more you talk about added items, no matter how beneficial there is a perception challenge that impacts views of health and price for the consumer.

Celsius drinks provide a great case study in this. Their original branding looking like a 4 hour energy product focused on too many complex messages followed by a simple but ultimately unbelievable core message and then finally the one that landed where flavor and refreshment lead the functional points that appear lower in the heirarchy.

5. Technology in Hospitality: Solving Labor Shortages and Enhancing Efficiency

I got a huge amount of static for a post that I wrote saying that Hospitality in Singapore was at its lowest point, and that Singapore had the highest mountain to climb to improve the overall service culture in the city.

I stand by the point, I don't know a city in the Asia Pacific region where service is worse, as an average, overall, than Singapore. Labor shortages continue to challenge the hospitality industry and there is little sign of any relief from a government in Singapore grappling with the need to be seen to be tough on borders whilst at the same time managing the challenges of a less than 2% unemployment rate.

Automation and AI-driven solutions are going to be playing a crucial role in keeping restaurants efficient without sacrificing service quality. Done the right way, with the right mindset this is possible.

McDonald's has expanded its use of AI-powered ordering kiosks, while Wendy’s is testing drive-thru voice AI to reduce wait times. In the hotel sector, Hilton has introduced AI-powered chatbots for guest inquiries, reducing the burden on front desk staff. Delivery platforms like Uber Eats and DoorDash are experimenting with food delivery robots in urban areas, improving efficiency in last-mile logistics.

While technology cannot replace human hospitality, it is proving to be a necessary tool for businesses looking to maintain service levels with fewer employees. There are tens if not 100s of 'back of house' tasks that can be supported more effectively through the use of technology and in quicker environments these can even form the majority of the customer experience but they have to be very well considered and activated.

This actually goes back to the original point around experience. If you put order kiosks into the customer journey you have to map, in great detail, their physical, digital and human interactions with the brand to make sure that they align with the brand values as a whole.

The lack of planning is actually astounding in some locations where it very apparent that the organization has not designed for experience and hasn't trained the team for success. I'm watching carefully how those in the fast casual space make this work. Its probably more difficult for them than any other segment. Delivering an experience beyond QSR whilst still grappling with rising costs, min wage impacts and of course the lack of people wanting to work in our industry.

My advice on this, is that beyond QSR where order kiosks should now form a well designed experience to attract as much as 75% of transaction volume, the menu should be put into people's hands through software such was Waitrr especially where beacon technology can activate the menu without the QR scan.

The year has started fast, with an incredible amount for hospitality company's to get through but in amongst the bluster of politics remain the simplicity of hospitality. Great food, in spaces designed for experience, with technology optimized for the guest experience and people trained to deliver excellence.

A fond Farewell

Unfortunately, we lost a great member of the hospitality community at the turn of the year. Nigel Mann was undoubtedly one of the most popular specialists in our community. His generosity in sharing time and experiences, matched by his incredible passion for our industry and a deep knowledge of many aspects of the business.

Nigel Mann 1969-2025