What Does The Future Hold?  You know this is the time of year that people start prognosticating…predicting the future…what will happen next year so here goes mine…

 Skinny Cocktails will be more prominent in restaurants, bars and retail liquor stores.  Drinks with fewer than 250 calories will be ordered more frequently.  Women, especially, will have a second drink due to the ‘skinny’ concept.

 Touch Screen menus will be present at the table and customers can order

Directly or the Server will put in the order in his own touch screen tablet.

Food, cocktail menus, wine lists will all go high tech.  Fast Food and Fast Casual will see smart phone apps for ordering as well.

 Gluten Free foods will be advertised more.  Won’t be just salads any more.

All sorts of foods will be moved to gluten free.  Not just those with dietary intolerances will opt for the gluten free items.

 Nutritional information including calorie count and fat grams will become more prominent with basic numbers actually on the menu and more detailed information available separately on-line or through smart phone apps.  Customer choices will become more driven by these numbers so Chefs will be forced to trim fat, calories and still deliver taste.

 That being said, entire market segments will be built around indulgence.
“We use lard in our pie crusts”  vs “Our pie crusts are gluten free and use transfat free canola oil.”

 Mini Food/Sliders/Tapas will continue and even increase in menu space.  Small plates will increase for Happy Hours and group tables.  Grazing these small plates will substitute for standard dinners.  However, many will still

leave such events hungry..  People will be uncomfortable asking for these small plates to be passed around or taking the last bite of something, leaving food on the table and opt for a quick fast food burger on the way home.

 Emphasis on healthier kids meals will increase.  The kids won’t like it but Mom and Dad will insist.  Kids will continue to resist and Mom and Dad will give in.   Apple slices will be turning brown in the bag while Missy and Junior continue to chow down on sea salted French fries….

 Fast Food spots will offer more options for sides, pushing salads and fruit cups instead of fries.  But, fries will remain #1 choice. 

 QR Codes on paper menus will take customers to videos showing cooks prepping the item selected ending with the final result, allowing customers to see how the plate is prepared.

 Digital pocketbooks will offer pilot programs cutting out the banks/credit card processor fees or decreasing them dramatically.  The customer’s pocketbook would sync with the server’s hand held device, transferring payment directly from customer account to business account.

 Regional breweries, distilleries will grow.  Local and artisanal foods and beverages, including regional soft drinks will grow in popularity. 

 And, I’m sure much, much more will be in store for us in an ever more interesting 2012.

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