More than 2,000 suppliers exhibited their products at the National Restaurant Association Show in Chicago. The energy on the show floor was high as more than 60,000 attendees visited the booths, sampling food and beverages and watching vendor demonstrations. Here is a look at the top three trends among exhibitors.
Special formulations steal the show
The NRA debuted a new pavilion this year with Alternative BiteStyle, a portion of the show floor dedicated to special dietary needs, including gluten-free, low-sodium and allergies such as nuts and dairy. Whether consumers need a special diet because of an allergy or illness, or they are just trying to eat healthier, there is an ever-growing collection of companies that offer something made with their needs in mind. Brands such as Udi’s Gluten Free , Hail Merry and WowButter Foods, maker of a nut,- dairy- and gluten-free peanut-flavored spread, specialize in products for consumers with special dietary needs, but there were plenty of traditional suppliers touting their gluten-free or nut-free products. (read more…)
In years past, restaurateurs might mumble under their breath when patrons blew off their reservations or showed up and hogged the table for too long or spoke rudely to the waitstaff. They might send sidelong glances or even, in extreme cases, deal with the rude guest face to face.
But now it’s a digital age and patrons and restaurant owners alike have Twitter and other digital channels to rely on when they feel the need to vent, although the jury’s still out on the advisability of restaurateurs calling out guests for behaving badly. A few weeks ago, the media was abuzz with the story of frustrated restaurant owner of Red Medicine in Los Angeles, who called out patrons by name on Twitter after several failed to show for their Saturday night reservations.
The reactions were mixed, with most in the industry empathizing with the frustration that led to the outburst while opinions varied in terms of whether the public shaming was appropriate. (read more…)
When looking for a place to dine, many consumers turn to websites such as Yelp and Urbanspoon, which can be great at helping diners find nearby eateries rated by their peers, but can often leave holes when it comes to information about those restaurants, especially the contents of the menu. Having an outdated or incomplete menu posted online can mislead prospective diners, which may ultimately result in them choosing another place to eat. It may seem easy for restaurant managers to take control of their online menus, but a restaurant may have an outdated menu posted on a website without even knowing it.
“Restaurants already have online menus, many without doing anything, because of larger Internet forces. Consumers rely on online searches to make dining decisions, so directory and guide companies have been copying menus onto the web for years to use as digital real estate,” said Jim Williams, founder and CEO of MustHaveMenus, which helps restaurants create and manage traditional and online menus. (read more…)
Perdue Food Products President Jim Leighton said the book he wrote and published late last year, “Getting FIT,” is largely an homage to his father and the early business and life lessons he imparted to his son and those around him.
“My father taught me this: No matter what you do in life, you will end up doing it with people. You have to understand that and become good at it. Surround yourself with like-minded people who are interested in you and you them. Have a high level of humility, and high level of passion for the organization and for the goal. Working together, you’re creating something much larger than any one individual could create alone.”
Leighton started life in Battle Creek, Mich., where his father worked for Kellogg & Co. before co-founding Archway Cookies and moving his family around the country to build that business.
Leighton did not immediately follow his father into the food business, choosing instead to start the first health club in Evanston, Ill., after graduating from the University of Iowa, and building that into a company, National Health Management, with clubs in Chicago, California and other markets. (read more…)
People who fail to show up for a dinner reservation cost the restaurant money, whether it’s because of an emergency or mere thoughtlessness. A reservation holds a table that the eatery would otherwise use to feed paying customers, who would then also tip their server.
On Saturday, popular Los Angeles eatery Red Medicine called out no-shows by name on Twitter, sparking a social media debate on whether public shaming is the right way to go. The restaurant tweeted, “All the nice guests who wonder why restaurants overbook and they sometimes have to wait for their res should thank people like those below,” following with two more missives that name names. Managing Partner Noah Ellis told Eater LA that his frustration got the better of him, but he also says he has good reason to be frustrated.
“It’s always been a problem here (at the restaurant and in LA as a whole), but it’s tricky — those restaurants that overbook to protect themselves punish the guests who show up on time for their reservations, but not the people who no-show,” Ellis said. (read more…)
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