In a day and age where consumer trends are evolving faster than corporate strategy plans, it’s essential for companies to stay ahead and have the capability to predict and forecast consumer needs and trends before they happen. As every manufacturer caters to a different aspect of both retail and foodservice, it’s critical for companies to cater directly to what their customers are looking for.
The CEO of Idan, the leading company in customizable breading and seasoning products for foodservice businesses, Giorgio Nadi, analyzed the foodservice industry and projected the following trends to define its future, including:
- Upcoming Trends: Starch Coatings.
- Customization.
- Convenience.
- Digital.
- Transparency.
Upcoming Trends: Starch Coatings
There has been a significant increase in demand for starch coatings, particularly from french fry and frozen food processors.
The vast majority of products offered by frozen french fry processors involve using a food- starch based coating. Each of these products require unique starch coatings that show various performance characteristics in texture, aesthetics and flavor. All of these characteristics must hold their integrity even after being fully cooked and held in a warmer temperature.
The best coatings for frozen foods result in light, airy, almost invisible coatings not bulky, heavy, and oily outcomes.
Customization
Customization has increasingly become important because of the myriad offerings that exist within this particular category. Every manufacturer caters to different aspects of both retail and foodservice, therefore it is critical to have the capabilities to uniquely formulate a starch coating precisely to what processors are looking for.
Companies must be able to add value to brands by relieving customers of the challenges related to R & D and streamlining the process of bringing a product to market throughout a food system. Idan has the capability to customize unique flavors and products depending on customers’ needs and maintaining a consistent taste and texture of the brand identity throughout.
Convenience
When it comes to frozen food processing, convenience is everything for foodservice. Restaurants want consistency and quality combined with time-saving products like fully cooked frozen french fries.
Additionally, we will begin seeing foodservice companies becoming one-stop-shops for all of their customers’ needs and becoming better-rounded with their service offerings.
Digital
We have, and will continue seeing, a massive rise in digital as the focus shifts to convenience. Increased connectivity and the “always-on” mindset must be adopted by companies to ensure they maintain and continue to grow their customer base.
Companies also will be required to shift more toward digital as quickly as their customers do. Customers will demand more access to vendors as their consumer needs come much more frequently.
Transparency
We will start to see a shift in the foodservice industry towards traceability and transparency as consumers continue to hunt for the connection between what they are eating and where it came from. Consumers are more likely to choose a product when they feel they are supporting their communities and participating in something greater than just a meal.
Consumers also are looking for more wholesome, unprocessed food items that are freshly prepared and not loaded with preservatives and chemicals. Therefore, having a transparent and traceable appeal to menu items validifies consumers’ beliefs that their dining choices are accomplishing much more than filling their hunger.
