Today, people are more food, health, and image conscious than ever before. All of these factors help determine current food and diet trends, which can greatly impact your restaurant.
As a restaurant, being conscious of what food and lifestyle choices people are making can give you a huge advantage. So, let’s take a closer look at the current food and diet trends and how they might impact your menu.
Gut Health
Gut health is the first trend consistently making its move in food and dieting over the last few years and is now poised to make a bigger push than ever.
“Back in 2017, our experts predicted the naturally occurring probiotics in fermented foods like kimchi and “pickled everything” would blow up the food world. In 2019, expect even more innovative probiotic integrations in food…”
Mindy Haar, PhD, the associate dean of undergraduate affairs at the New York Institute of Technology (NYIT) School of Health Professions, believes that gut health will continue to gain traction. Probiotic pills, though, won’t get the limelight. Fresh foods that can balance the microbiome will.
“In 2019, more individuals will seek their probiotics from fermented foods and drinks such as yogurt, sauerkraut, and kombucha tea,” Haar told Healthline. “Since high-fiber foods act as prebiotics fueling probiotic growth, there are now more reasons to consume fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and legumes.”
So, finding ways to integrate these microbiome enhancing foods into your menu is definitely something to consider.
Low-Carb
Low-carb diets such as Keto, paleo, and many other low-carb lifestyles are at the forefront of the fat loss frontiers. “A number of health experts believe that 2019 is the year of the plant protein.” In addition, “Health, environmental, and ethical concerns will cause more people to eat less animal proteins”. So, adding some plant-based options to your menu may be a reasonable idea. These include things like bean pastas, soy, tofu, or quinoa.
Hemp
Hemp and CBD are also a great option to consider.
It’s trending in both food and dieting for its versatility and anti-inflammatory effects. “Hemp hearts, seeds, and oils are nothing new to food and body care lovers— they’re in everything from waffle mix to dried pastas,” the company stated. “But a new interest in the potential benefits stemming from other parts of hemp plants has many brands looking to explore the booming cannabis biz.”
Hemp food products have still yet to make it mainstream. But, they are coming up fast and something to keep your eyes on – particularly in you live in a hemp/cannabis-friendly state.
Un-Dieting and Intuitive Eating
Lastly, with more attention than ever on health, nutrition, and food science, research is disproving the effectiveness of dieting.
Rather, the focus is shifting from fat loss to health. People are realizing, albeit slowly, that un-dieting and intuitive eating is an anecdote to all the fads and trends. Therefore, focusing on foods that help people feel good will have a larger impact on your menu and customer satisfaction.
In Summary
Monitoring food and diet trends is important. You can determine how these trends can impact your menu. From new menu items, or simply changing a description – your menu can be updated to reflect and capitalize on these food and diet trends.
