Nation's Restaurant News On the Go Newsletter #25
Nation's Restaurant News
The #1 source of news and business intelligence for restaurant and foodservice industry professionals
NRN at the NRA Show
Hey readers,
Managing editor Leigh Anne Zinsmeister here.
Like many of you, I’m on my way to Chicago today for the National Restaurant Association Show, and I could not be more excited to gather and catch up with operators.?
There’s so much to look forward to this weekend, and our team of editors is going to be there to cover all of it. In fact, we’ve already started! Food & Beverage editor Bret Thorn gave a rundown of the F&B trends we can expect to see on the show floor. I’m personally excited to try the spirit-free cocktails I’m told will abound, and of course the actual tequila and hard seltzers. And of course I’m always eager to see the latest technology trends — what have the robots learned to do in the past year? Technology editor Joanna Fantozzi gave us a rundown of four things she’s hoping to see, including the latest AI developments.?
As for me, I’ll be hanging out at the NRN booth having conversations with restaurant operators. I want to know what they’re up to, what they’re looking for at the show, and — most of all — what they’re excited about in the restaurant industry these days. Because from where I sit, there is so much to be excited about!?
You can follow along with all of the excitement at create.nrn.com/nra-show-insider, and on social media with the hashtag #NRNatNRA. And if you’re in Chicago too, come by booth 1531 to say hello!
A search for clarity at this year’s National Restaurant Association Show
For months, we’ve been trying to articulate the general state of the restaurant industry and its consumers, and it’s all been a bit dizzying if we're being honest. To nutshell, operators were desperate for optimism in the latter part of 2022 as they continued to manage historically high inflation and labor shortages, and as nearly every crystal ball showed a recession manifesting at some point in 2023.?At the same time, consumers were proving they really, really wanted?to eat at restaurants after two years of not being able to consistently. The opportunities and the challenges were creating a weird balance.
Fast forward nearly seven months and we’re still confused, frankly. The environment and the outlook are mixed and the balance between opportunities and challenges is weird. Still. We say that after sifting through dozens of earnings calls and transcripts and pouring through surveys and reports to better understand the state of the industry as it applies to consumers, as well as operators big and small.?
We anticipate, however, our understanding to become far clearer at the National Restaurant Association Show May 20-23 in Chicago as the event brings together more than 60,000 attendees, including 800 new manufacturers and suppliers (a 61% increase over 2022’s first-time exhibitor total). From that attendee list, we’re hoping to talk to as many executives, operators, chefs, vendors, etc., as we possibly can within a four-day timespan and, from those conversations, we hope to come away with a better understanding of the industry as it looks from the trenches.
4 technology trends we’re hoping to see at the National Restaurant Association Show
Robots have been dominating the National Restaurant Association Show’s tech pavilion and equipment booths for years, and in 2022, we saw everything from robot dogs that can carry your delivery order up the stairs for you, to several different versions of the robot server that can carry trays of drinks and appetizers.
But this year, we predict that much of the newest technology at the National Restaurant Association Show in Chicago next week will be less flashy and more software-focused as data-based digital technology rises in prominence.
Here are our tech predictions for the 2023 National Restaurant Association Show:
领英推荐
Restaurant exhibition showcases equipment innovations
We come. We sauce. We conquer.
Among the many innovations to look forward to at the 2023 National Restaurant Show May 20-23 in Chicago, the Pittsburgh-based Kraft Heinz Co. will unveil its digital Heinz Remix dispenser, which allows customers to personalize their sauce flavors with more than 200 possible combinations. The company plans to demonstrate the machine at the restaurant show and to pilot it with restaurant operators later this year and into 2024.
Among other equipment offerings, the National Restaurant Association show will exhibit its Kitchen Innovations Award recipients, which were announced earlier in the year. The Kitchen Innovation honors, judged by a panel of eight third-party experts, go to back-of-house innovations that improve operations through advances in automation, sustainability, efficiency, and space-savings.
What food & beverages to expect at the National Restaurant Show
Last year, the food on offer at the National Restaurant Show was dominated by massive displays of plant-based protein, a food category with a lot of marketing dollars behind it that arguably overshadows consumer demand. More of that will be at the show this year, with new chicken analogs from Impossible Foods and others.
But apart from plant-based protein, there also will be value-added plants that aren’t disguised as anything else, such as McCain Foods’ line of V’DGZ (pronounced “veggies”), which are a line of breaded and fry-able vegetables.
You can expect to see a growing selection of algae this year, too, in the form of more seaweed. Other exhibitors will be showing premium products that tend to be recession resistant (wealthy people who might delay their overseas vacations will splurge instead on luxurious meals, if their activity during previous recessions is any clue).
On the beverage front, there will no-doubt be new coffee and tea solutions, and plenty of drinks promising to enhance your beauty, clarify your thinking, or make your body more basic (i.e. less acidic), while also hydrating you, of course. But the standout drinks will probably be those in the spirit-free cocktail category, with an array of premium mixers, substitutes for gin, bourbon and tequila (some convincing; others not), as well as some surprisingly good alcohol-free wine.
Stop by our Booth for a chance to Win a Trip to CREATE in Palm Springs
Are you a restaurant operator? Don't miss Nation's Restaurant News at the National Restaurant Association Show. Stop by our booth, scan your badge and you’ll have a chance to win a free trip to CREATE the Experience in Palm Springs!?We hope to see you at booth #1531!
Want more Nation's Restaurant News?
Next Trend Realty LLC./wwwHar.com/Chester-Swanson/agent_cbswan
1 年Thanks for the updates on, The NRN Weekly Newsletter ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ??.