Restaurant Trends: Top Things You Should Know in 2022

Over the last couple of years, the restaurant industry has seen both highs and lows. Restaurant owners have often had to scramble to keep their businesses open as they dealt with a challenging labor market, supply chain issues, and rising food costs.

Restaurant owners are nothing if not resourceful, however. The hospitality industry is in a constant state of flux and good owners know that you need to stay on top of restaurant industry trends to ensure continued success.

When we talk about restaurant trends, we're not just talking about food trends. Restaurant owners need to think about the latest trends in decor, service, supply chains, technology, and business structure. Chasing trends can be difficult and sometimes costly but can make a big impact when handled correctly.

In this blog, we're going to examine the current trends in the food and beverage industry and give you some tips on how you can use them in your restaurant.

What do we mean by restaurant industry trends?

When most people talk about restaurant trends, they are generally referring to restaurant food trends. Some examples of these would be farm-to-table practices in the 2000s and molecular gastromy in the early 2010s.

If we take a step back, however, we can see that there are specific trends in every section of the hospitality industry. An example of this would be fast-casual restaurants in the 2000s. In fast dining, the trend in service was focused on flipping tables and ensuring diners were in and out within a set period of time.

Food and beverage industry trends

The restaurant industry can be fickle. The hottest restaurants can quickly turn cold, with businesses left in a lurch as they try to adapt to changing tastes. With this in mind, we've put together a list of what we think are the biggest and best restaurant industry trends of the year.

Food delivery is king

The last couple of years have been particularly difficult for sit-down restaurants. Those businesses that didn't offer delivery services quickly found themselves without any way to make money. Sadly, many restaurants ceased trading. Restaurants that adapted and opened themselves up to food delivery services realized what a vast market of new customers was out there waiting for them.

Despite the fact that businesses are now back up and running, food delivery has shown itself to be one of the restaurant industry trends that isn't going away. According to research from Beambox, 60% of US diners use food delivery services every week [1]. If your restaurant doesn't offer a delivery service, you're missing out.

Thanks to third-party delivery services and in-built point of sale (POS) technology it's easier than ever to set yourself up for food delivery. If you're an Epos Now customer, your POS system can integrate seamlessly with Epos Now Delivery. This integration sets you up with popular third-party delivery services in minutes so you can start delivering delicious food to your customers right away.

If you do decide to start offering delivery, it's worth researching third party delivery services and seeing which one would be the best fit for your business. Each one will have its own fees, rules about who can deliver the food, and delivery ranges.

Contactless payment is very important

Restaurant industry trends come and go, but convenience is always at the heart of hospitality. The enduring popularity of fast food restaurants despite their relatively low food quality is a perfect example of this. When your customers walk in the door, they're asking you for the convenience of cooking their dinner for them.

Contactless payments is another aspect where you can offer your customers convenience. After all, what could be easier than paying for a meal by simply touching a phone or card to a POS terminal? According to Next Gen Personal Finance (NGPN), 51% of Americans use contactless payments everyday. [2]

Epos Now offers both card machines and integrations that can help you embrace this trend towards contactless payments. Epos Now Order and Pay, powered by Yoello, allows your customers to order and pay for their food straight from their phones. It also provides you with a unique QR code diners can scan to get access to your online menu. 

Technology is becoming a common sight in the kitchen

There was a time not that long ago where the most advanced piece of technology in the kitchen was a stand mixer. Now, specialized kitchen technology is spreading to more and more kitchens, making life easier for chefs and servers alike.

The restaurant industry is famously a noisy and stressful place. Kitchen technology is generally designed to cut down on miscommunications and to improve efficiency in both the front and back of house.

The Epos Now Kitchen Display System (KDS) is a great example of how technology can help your staff give better service. The KDS connects your front and back of house via two touchscreens. As your servers add orders through your POS, the KDS immediately alerts the kitchen to exactly what the customers want. This eliminates human error in your orders. The screens can also display helpful information such as customer allergies and special requests.

Join the plant-based revolution

At the end of the day, restaurant trends always come back to food. The tastes of the general public are always changing and if it makes sense for your business you should always try to cater to them.

Over the years several restaurant industry trends have stuck around. One such trend is the rise in vegetarian and vegan cuisine. Plant-based diets are particularly popular with younger people and in 2021-2022, vegan cuisine sales have increased by 2.5% [3].

The beauty of plant-based food is that more and more options are available every year. In addition to traditionally healthy meals for veggies, plant-based "junk food" options have become more and more popular.

Get the best in restaurant POS

It can be difficult to find success in the restaurant industry. The Epos Now POS solution is designed to make things easier for restaurant owners and help them increase their profits.

If you're interested in finding out more about Epos Now, get in touch with our expert team below.