Coronavirus, staff shortages and the HGV driver crisis are three huge headwinds that the UK hospitality sector has faced in 2021. Each of these have had a significant impact on back of house operations, as operators have been forced to reduce menus and maintain consistency and quality. However, despite these challenges, we continue to see widespread innovation through NPD and menu composition that taps into new and existing consumer trends.
The Lumina Intelligence Menu & Food Trends Report 2021 provides a comprehensive overview of menu engineering and pricing trends from across the UK hospitality sector. Understand how operators are adapting their menus in the face of significant headwinds, including price inflation, NPD, dish count and product labelling.
Identify the mega trends impacting the UK hospitality sector and the opportunities and challenges that these present, including the attitudes and expectations of consumers.
Executive summary
Menu composition and pricing
- Spring/Summer 2021 vs Spring/Summer 2020 analysis across chain, managed pub/bar and fast food restaurants
- Top-line metric analysis i.e. dish counts, price inflation, core component protein analysis, dish type etc.
- New product analysis and new trends, flavours, ingredients
Menu engineering
- Spring/Summer menu analysis across chain, managed pub/bar and fast food restaurants
- Deep data dive assessing psychological pricing and menu engineering
Including but not limited to – provenance claims, sustainability claims, price and description word relationships on menus
Lifestyle and mega trends
- Economic outlook, barometers and consumer measures including population figures
- The Eight mega trends and latest consumer research and developments
Key Trends
- The trickle-down effect – how trends start in foodservice and translate into grocery
- Trend curve analysis across the five key trend buckets, including real life operator, consumer and menu examples:
- Lifestyle trends
- Experience-led trends
- Cuisine trends
- Product trends
- Drink trends
Future outlook
- Future development expectations for the mega trends
- Future economic outlook expectations and the impact this will have across the foodservice market
- Forward-looking trend developments
- Insights from Lumina Intelligence’s Channel Pulse survey – 1,000 weekly consumer interviews.
- Menu insight from Lumina Intelligence Menu Tracker – a database of over half a million menu
items from over 150 eating out brands
