In 2020 and 2021, restaurants were focused on survival. In 2022, the focus will start returning to food.
That’s the prediction of the National Restaurant Association in its annual “What’s Hot Culinary Forecast,” as well as other experts.
“As food service starts to rebound, a lot of restaurants realize that they need some kind of innovative, interesting offering to bring people in,” said entrepreneur Jenny Goldfarb, whose company Unreal Deli makes plant-based lunch meats.
People are also looking for a little fun, as demonstrated by the rise of limited-edition branded merchandise.
Here are some of the trends that the association and others in the dining industry are expecting in the coming year.
Year of the swag
Restaurant chains have long used merchandise as a way of attracting attention, often with gimmicks such as KFC’s chicken-scented fire log.
But now some chains are turning to online shops for lifestyle branding in order to connect with the interests and values of its loyal customers.
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Updated: “It’s really about the connection of culture, commerce and a brand storytelling opportunity,” said Andy Rebhun, senior vice president of marketing at El Pollo Loco.
El Pollo Loco launched an online store, Loco Gifts & Gear, for its first run of limited edition merchandise created through partnerships with Southern California creators designed to reflect what the company calls its “L.A.-Mex” roots. “It’s SoCal lifestyle meets Mexican heritage,” its website states.
The online shop offers shirts and hoodies, but also such items as a $900 surfboard by Rick Massie depicting a lucha libre wrestler and a $7,500 bicycle by Manny Silva. It wasn’t online very long before it sold. Rebhun said El Pollo Loco has asked Silva to create more.
“There was a feeling across the board that some of our most passionate customers were ready to log on and take the opportunity to buy gear,” Rebhun said.
Some chains embraced the concept long ago, such as Taco Bell, which sells hot sauce-themed clothing, “formal wear” for weddings and even office supplies. In 2019, it created a pop-up hotel in Palm Springs that showcased its products. In-N-Out has created a fan base for its clothing, such as designer T-shirts and shoes that resemble drink cups.
Others like El Pollo Loco are just now jumping in.
Despite decades of churning out Happy Meal toys, McDonald’s waited until 2019 to launch an online shop called Golden Arches Unlimited.
McDonald’s led the charge for limited edition brand items in 2021 through several partnerships with pop and stars such as the boy band BTS and rapper Saweetie, who used the opportunity to sell merchandise on their own websites. Last month, McDonald’s gave away Mariah Carey T-shirts and beanies to 10,000 app customers.
Also in the last days of 2021, P.F. Chang’s set up an online shop selling $25 T-shirts emblazoned with dragons, $75 bomber jackets with fortune cookies embroidered on their sleeves, $30 bento boxes and $100 utility knives.
“Every brand is going to try to own it in what is unique and ownable for them,” said Rebhun. “Everybody is going to try to find their avenue and their way in.”
Plant-based sandwiches
Plant-based proteins regularly appeared on the National Restaurant Association’s annual list of hot trends before the coronavirus pandemic made economic survival the top priority for restaurateurs.
It has returned to the list for 2022 as fast food chains continue to roll out vegan products. The latest is Chipotle Mexican Grill, which launched plant-based chorizo for a limited time on Jan. 3.
High-tech substitutes for ground beef made by companies such as Impossible Foods and Beyond Meat created a stir in 2019, aimed at consumers called flexitarians who enjoy meat but want to cut back on it for health or ethical reasons.
Since then, other competitors have entered the market with a wider range of products, including breakfast sausage and deli meats.
“The burger craze still rages on,” said Goldfarb of Unreal Deli. “People want plant-based products. They want to be able to veganize pretty much everything else in their lives.”
Based in Woodland Hills, Unreal Deli makes plant-based corned beef, turkey and steak slices. It has more products in development, and Goldfarb expects to open a manufacturing plant on the East Coast by the end of 2022, which could reduce supply chain challenges.
Last year’s focus was placing the product in grocery stores, Goldfarb said, and in 2022 she is aiming to partner with service delis.
“We can help to draw in a newer and younger crowd,” she said in a phone interview.
Rethinking the drive-thru
Consumers’ desire for tech-driven ordering rose during the pandemic and hasn’t receded, according to Quick Service Restaurants magazine, which expects the need for speed to shape business in 2022.
The trend is leading to such innovations as Chipotle Mexican Grill’s Chipotlane Digital Kitchen in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio.
The prototype, announced by the Newport Beach-based chain in December, is designed to operate strictly as a pick-up point for digital orders. It has a drive-thru and a walk-up window for customers to retrieve their purchases. While it has no dining room, there are a few outside tables for guests who want to eat their meals on the spot.
McDonald’s started testing voice-ordering technology at 10 Chicago restaurants in June, the idea being to cut down on human interaction to speed up drive-thru service.
In mid-December, Del Taco opened its first “Fresh Flex” restaurant in Orlando. It has a double-drive-thru with a dedicated lane for mobile orders and pickups and designated parking slots for people who want to eat in their cars.
Even Wetzel’s Pretzels, a snack chain that does a lot of business through kiosks in enclosed shopping malls, opened a prototype drive-thru in Hemet last month.
Packaging
With the growth of off-premises dining, the quest for better packaging also dominated the National Restaurant Association’s 2022 forecast.
Restaurants are not just looking for packaging that helps their food travel well, keeps it intact and maintains proper temperatures. They are looking for environmentally-friendly packaging that is either recyclable or reusable, according to the report.
Irvine-based Taco Bell said it will use more recycled materials; redesign some of its packages, such as removing the plastic from quesadilla bags; and recycle its used cooking oil.
In September, Taco Bell announced a partnership with ecological company TerraCycle to help customers to collect their empty hot sauce packets and mail them in for recycling.
Less is more
With supply chain issues making it tough for restaurants to get all the things they need, including ingredients for their dishes, experts say restaurants will trim their menus.
In Forbes magazine’s food predictions for 2022, chefs say restaurants will be serving fewer items and compensate by offering tasting events or fixed-price menus. Some also predict smaller portions.
California’s lockdown policy for most of 2020 and early 2021 put more pressure on restaurants here than in other states, according to Mike Whatley, vice president for State Affairs and Grassroots Advocacy for the National Restaurant Association.
“The supply chain challenges that restaurateurs are feeling across the country are even more profound in California.”
