Food Trends 2024: boost your customer satisfaction

As we all know, the pandemic has drastically changed the restaurant industry and consumers’ lifestyles. Uncertainty over our economy, health, environment and collective identity has taken its toll, while restaurant technology has become increasingly developed. 

To better understand new consumer expectations, TheFork decrypts the impact of these evolutions on the UK restaurant industry. We will also examine the resulting food and drink trends for 2024 through 4 major innovations.

1- Rediscovering ancient products and world cuisines in 2024

Technology and e-commerce have changed our purchasing behaviours, making it easier to order any type of ingredient, even unusual ones. Consumers love to try rediscovered, international flavours, and this has established an appetite for a cuisine culture rooted in 'food memories' and traditions. Ancient seeds, rice, bakery products and tea leaves are some of the essential ingredients making their comeback in 2024. Now could be the perfect time for your restaurant to explore new recipes, diversify beverage and dessert menus, and pay tribute to your chef’s expertise in different cuisines.

🌾New trends your restaurant can explore:

• Ancient seeds like Kerzna, Tamarin, Fonio, Teff, Millet and Sorgho are considered to have magical nutritional powers. 
• Diversify your tea offerings, including matcha, chai, and yerba mate. Consumers are looking for new infusions to suit their moods at any time of day.
• The Fusion key trend: Rice is being rediscovered in all its varieties. Chefs worldwide are celebrating rice’s versatility. Now is the time to experiment with Korean cakes, jollof rice and any other rice-based fusion dishes. 
• The rise of the 'cultural statement' and new gastronomic scenes.

Trends don’t just revolve around flavours. It is also about harnessing a food culture that goes beyond a revival of ancient techniques. Increasingly, chefs want to highlight the best local traditions and reconnect with their origins.

Photo by @wesual

2- Sustainable food practices for 2024

Did you know that 25% of global greenhouse gas emissions come from agriculture?** Food producers and distributors must introduce more sustainable approaches, but as industry professionals, we all have a role to play. 

🌾New sustainable food trends your UK restaurant can explore in 2024:

• Slow food cuisine with organic, seasonal and local products. 

• Low effort, high reward: Choose your ingredients carefully (no more than 5 per dish), use the entirety of each product to reduce waste, and choose ugly vegetables. 
• Plant-based produce: Farming practices can be harmful to the planet. Consider exploring plant-based alternatives for your menu, like animal-free meat, plant-based egg alternatives or plant-based seafood. 

Desirable sustainability: Sometimes, vegan and vegetarian customers might feel that their dietary requirements leave them eating the same foods time and time again. Well, not anymore! Many UK restaurants are now offering burgers, tacos, and even barbecues for vegans. So, why not revamp some of your recipes to satisfy vegan customers?

3- Sustainability and technology in food trends 2024

Can sustainability and technology be two sides of the same coin? A Square report shows that 76% of British restaurants’ clients would appreciate the use of more automation in British restaurants. 

🌾New technological food trends your restaurant can explore in 2024:

• Augmented reality: Some restaurants are betting on augmented reality to surprise their customers. How? With special glasses to show their restaurant menu in AR, for instance.
• 3D-printed food: Whether for ”producing” or cooking, 3D food printing is growing. Examples of uses include serving chefs' creativity, reducing food waste, and improving dishes.
• Metaverse & NFTs at the service of cuisine: Food is a great place to get imaginative. Creativity is in the DNA of the food industry. However, people always crave more, pushing chefs and brands to break new ground. Pushing the food industry to its creative limits has led to the implementation of Metaverse and NFT functionality for food chains. For example, Burger King and McDonald’s have both released an NFT this year. Burger King is offering calls from celebrities, free meals and 3D art. McDonald’s is adding art to their iconic products.

Technology continues to permeate the food industry, delivering unexpected results such as 3D-printed food and NFTs. Those innovations are not meant to replace the gastronomic experience but to sublimate it, transcend it, and make it increasingly exciting. However, time will only tell how durable these trends are. 

4- The future of food: beyond traditional dining

What is the future of food? Is it all about unusual tastes? Or is it more about plant-based, sustainable, locally-grown solutions? 

🌾New non-traditional food trends your restaurant can explore in 2024:

• Use protein sources for gut health: UK restaurants are embracing the protein philosophy. Whether animal or plant-based, this nutritional element has become increasingly popular as an easy source of energy, and critical for building muscle. 
• Plant-based alternatives will save the environment: As more people adopt vegetarian and vegan diets, British restaurants are adapting their Food & Beverages lists to this new trend. 

Mushrooms and fruity flavours: Include mushrooms in your menu and to create gourmet, mouth-watering dishes. For your desserts, experiment with two of 2024’s top ingredients: yuzu and passion fruit!

With these insights into current food and lifestyle trends, we strongly believe that restaurants can dare to be bold in 2024 and diversify their menus. By diversifying your menu offer, y