Identifying Customer Desires

Food Aficionado Smart Brief: Volume 17

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Welcome back to another edition of The Food Aficionado Smart Brief! Happy Monday, we hope your weekend allowed you to recharge and get prepared for another opportunity-filled week! Consumer desires grow each and every year, with 2022 being no different. Here are some of the key points that Americans are focusing on this time around.

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Consumer Desires to Focus on in 2022 1. Contributing to Personal Wellness Personal wellness has received a ton of attention over the past year or two and is now a top trend for 2022. Health and wellness have been a major trend for a long time, but it has now gone deeper than simply going to the gym. People have begun to look inward for new ways to heal and grow, leading to many new areas of personal wellness. A focus on gut health has sparked a revolution in the food industry. Processed foods are on their way out, as new un-refined ingredients have started making a grand entrance. Additionally, there are new topics to focus on like sleep quality, stress levels, work-life balance, and many more. As a restaurant owner, you should keep these trends in mind and begin trying to lean into the personal wellness concept. Whether your actual ingredients will change, or simply the way you market to your customers, personal wellness is something to consider.

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2. Fit Into Their At-Home Work Lifestyle Since the start of the pandemic, the “work from home” lifestyle has exploded. No one really thought about working their desk job from home a majority of the week until they were forced to. Now, the people have spoken and at least 70% of respondents from nearly every industry want to work remotely. For restaurants, this should definitely be involved in the game plan moving forward. This may include offering more delivery services or adding menu items that best suit the at-home work life. Furthermore, you may also want to think about offering family meals or bundles. Families bond over their meals and your restaurant can be a part of that experience just by supplying a quality meal.

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3. Works With Gen-Z Preferences Although you don't have to target everyone and everything, Gen-Z children are now taking their piece of society as they enter their young-adult stage. Gen-Z has a different lifestyle and tastes than past generations, so some change may be needed. To begin, healthy snacks are dominating compared to large, bulky meals. In fact, 54% of Gen-Z respondents say they prefer short meals or snacks during the day. However, only 3% mentioned fruits and vegetables when referring to their snacks. This makes us think: are they really concerned about eating healthy or is it just the fast-paced way of living that draws them towards snacking. Moreover, additive-free food and less meat are taking up a large portion of Gen-Z's diet. Overall, maybe you don't have to completely re-brand to appeal to Gen-Z, but the youth holds the power for what is “hot” and what isn't.