“Foodservice performance is five years behind pre-recession levels despite being in a strong position compared to the rest of Europe,” was the message from data monitoring and analysis specialists The NPD Group, presenting at a recent market data event organized by British seafood authority Seafish.
“The aim was to look at what key consumer trends mean for the foodservice sector and how small changes can make a major difference,” said Seafish Market Analyst Julia Brook.
Representatives from Kantar, market research company RDSi, and Experian Marketing Services also presented at the event and collectively identified five current key trends in foodservice.
“The first is “goodbye blind loyalty,” which relates to consumers no longer being loyal to a favorite restaurant. With new outlets opening every week, the challenge for restaurants is to maintain a unique value in order to retain promiscuous consumers,” explained Brook.
The second is “squeezed middle,” which is where consumers opt for a cheaper functional option, unless they are looking for a premium eating experience, which effectively squeezes out the middle tier of eateries.
“Authenticity, freshness and transparency” is the third trend, which conveys the idea that consumers will only pay the menu price if they feel that the meal warrants it, and if they approve of the freshness and provenance of ingredients. Research has shown that consumers perceive ingredients with stated provenance to be healthier for them, as well as providing an emotional focus.
“Healthy indulgence” comes in fourth, and shows that consumers are increasingly demanding healthy food that tastes good too. They are no longer prepared to compromise on flavor, but will pay a premium for food that offers both.
“The fifth trend, “niche cuisine goes mainstream,” is where increasing consumer confidence enables them to be more adventurous in trying new foods and eating at ethnic restaurants for example,” said Brook.
“The impact of changing behavior is being felt across the market, with small chain outlets capturing the growth of casual dining occasions, and major brands biding their time, investing and innovating their way through. Independents however, have felt the fall in the number of customer visits the hardest, as without a large financial safety net, a few months of slow trade can spell the end for many.”
So how do these trends impact on seafood?
Primarily, there is a need for food service outlets to innovate in order to stay in the game, to promote themselves and to engage consumers using social media.
Fish and chip shops do this increasingly well, and cater for passing trade as well as loyal (or not) customers. These have an excellent opportunity to boost trade, to include more unusual items such as shellfish and to offer healthy options such as grilling. In the United Kingdom, the average spend per person on seafood in a fish and chip shop is GBP 6.19 (USD 9.42, EUR 8.84), but for those selling shellfish, the average spend is GBP 11.54 (USD 17.55, EUR 16.49).
Seafood offers outlets in the “squeezed middle” category the opportunity to create a unique selling point (USP) and to use promotions to tempt customers through the door. A little creativity is needed here, and the winners will be those who offer the best value for money.
A new European directive will make it illegal to discard whitefish species caught in EU waters from 1 January, which means that merchants will be faced with finding markets for small-sized fish. These fish will be sold more cheaply than larger specimens, which offer better yields for processors, but offer new prospects for chefs.
If consumers are wary of trying new species, they may be happier with the use of "white fish" as a descriptor, which then offers outlets the flexibility of switching species if price/availability is an issue, while avoiding the cost of reprinting menus.
Use of a descriptor could also be turned into a selling point in line with the need for authenticity, freshness, and transparency, perhaps something along the lines of “we do not commit to a species, as we use the best quality available on the day.” However, the quality, taste and texture of the white fish used must be taken into consideration to ensure customer satisfaction and repeat purchases.
Seafood offers the perfect opportunity to tell a story based around its “authenticity, freshness and transparency,” and the use of provenance will add to the perceived value of the meal. A growing number of restaurants are using “catch of the day” boards that show which boat the fish was caught by, with point of sale material telling the story of the fishermen themselves. Well trained staff are an important part of the equation, and giving key members the opportunity to visit fish markets, fish farms and the like gives them useful knowledge and helps to sell more fish!
“Healthy indulgence” gives restaurants the chance to communicate the guilt-free luxury qualities and natural health benefits, particularly of oil rich fish and other species high in omega 3 such as crab, mussels, salmon, fish roe and oysters.
In the “niche cuisine goes mainstream” category, restaurants can stay ahead by keeping up with the latest flavor combinations and trying out options such as sharing shellfish platters.
“The information unveiled at our insight event highlighted a number of challenges, but also a wide range of opportunities for businesses looking to boost their sales of seafood, and we are confident that the food service sector will rise to the challenge,” said Brook.
