Having run several restaurant companies that focus on healthy eating and with the current plant-based meat fad (yes, I think in general it is a fad, and I’ll explain later), I am often asked about my thoughts on plant-based meats and more specifically, what type of plant-based burger is best for their operation.
 
The begin, I ask two questions that are fundamental in finding the right solution. “Who are you targeting?” and “Are you replacing a current menu item?” 
 
Who are you targeting?
There are two main groups to target by offering a plant-based burger on your menu – True Vegetarians/Vegans and Flexitarians. If your operation is just introducing a plant-based burger option, the answer to this question will determine if you should offer a plant-based meat burger or if you should offer a vegetable burger option.
 
Depending on the survey or poll, Vegetarians/Vegans represent 2-6% of the population. However, according to 2021 research commissioned by Sprouts Farmers Market and conducted by One Poll, nearly one in every two Americans consumes more plant-based meals than meat (i.e. a Flexitarian), with the flexitarian lifestyle proving more popular with Gen Z. Clearly, the bigger market opportunity is to offer a plant-based meat burger and appeal to the flexitarian.
 
Who has the best-in-class Plant-based Burger?
Nation’s Restaurant News is currently conducting a readers poll on “Which Plant-Based restaurant will be the first to go national?” And although this doesn’t answer the best-in-class question, respondents are very passionate about their choice. From a broader list, PLNT Burger and Nomoo are vying as the reader polls “most likely to go national first.” Additionally, BuzzFeed did a recent taste of - “All The Veggie Burgers From National Chains That We Could Get Our Hands On To Find Out Which Ones Are Worth It.” The PLNT Cheeseburger was rated 8 out of 10, the second highest score after the Impossible Whopper which was rated 9 out of 10.
 
What makes a great Plant-Based Meat Burger?
Interestingly, both PLNT Burger and Nomoo use Beyond Meat. And it appears from earlier articles that Nomoo switched from Impossible Foods. Please note, I am not endorsing one brand over the other, simply stating what I have found. With that said, there are some common themes with plant-based meat burgers.
The Burger Patty: Most restaurants are altering the plant-based meat to differentiate their burger. By way of blending the plant-based meat with vegetables, herbs, spices or other secret ingredients. Furthermore, most are making the patties thin. Think 5/1 or 6/1 patties versus a 2/1 or 3/1 patties.
The Burger Build: In almost all cases, restaurants are creating signature burgers, even with the common cheeseburger. For PLNT, the PLNT Cheeseburger has a Beyond Meat Patty, Caramelized Onion, Pickles, NewFields American Cheese, Green Leaf Lettuce, Roma, Tomato, PLNT Sauce, Potato Buen. For Nomoo, The NOMOO has a Brioche bun, nomon × Beyond Patty, nomoo sauce, American Cheeze, Pickles, Onion, Tomato, and Lettuce. Clearly a signature sauce and signature bun are must haves and having other unique ingredients such as caramelized onions, fried onion straws, smoked tempeh bacon or a different cheese like jack cheese will differentiate your burger.
 
Are you replacing a current vegetable-based burger?
If you are replacing a current vegetable-based burger, it is important to know who is buying this burger. Is it a flexitarian or a true vegetarian/vegan. If the latter, you will certainly alienate them and potentially lose this group as customers if you switch to a plant-based meat burger. 
 
Numerous studies have shown that the demand for fake meats is almost entirely driven by meat eaters despite fake meat long being associated with vegetarians. And plant-based meat producers know this fact and realize the vegetarian and vegan aversion to eating animals means they're pretty weirded out by the hyper-realistic fake stuff too. Additionally in 2021 Food & Wine asked several longtime vegetarians what they thought about the plant-based meat boom. The common theme, these vegetarians agreed that more meatless options were only a good thing, but the idea of eating something that's formulated to taste more like meat was also off-putting. It's one thing if you swap your beef burger order for an Impossible/Beyond patty now and again; quite another if you long ago abandoned burgers altogether. Afterall, many vegetarians on the planet have been eating three meals a day without new advances in meat technology for years and they have already learned to live without meat.
 
Why I believe plant-based meat is a fad…
I do believe the demand for meat alternatives will continue, but the industry will not survive unless it continues researching a better product – focusing the needs on affordability and taste. Additionally, consumers are becoming more and more leery of the ingredients and the Orwellian technology used to produce some of these faux meats. I had the opportunity to try several faux meat products from chicken to beef to eggs to shrimp to poke-style tuna while attending the National Restaurant Association Show in Chicago this year. Sadly, these products were disappointing in flavor and texture. And whether by chance or by luck, I had just sampled some amazing blue-fin tuna at one booth and then sampled the poke-style tuna at the next booth. The difference was night and day. I am truly supportive of finding necessary alternatives to meat for environmental and ethical reasons, and I realize you have to start somewhere, but we are not there yet.
 
If your company needs assistance in developing plant-based menu items for vegans, vegetarians or flexitarians let us know! We have an incredible network of talented chefs who specialize in each of these areas. Let’s Talk!

#plantbasedburgers #fauxmeat #burgers #vegetarian #vegan #foodtrends2022 #restaurants #restauranttrends

We are excited that Tony Tahmosh, CSW has joined Matrix Restaurant Consulting. I recently asked Tony to outline the opportunities and challenges operators will face in 2022 as they look at their beverage programs, specifically the future of wine sales and how to react to consumer shifts in wine consumption. Here's what Tony said....

State of the Beverage Industry
Consumer Beverage Spend in the U.S. increased by almost 2% in 2021, and is currently valued at $146 billion.  Although wine consumption continues to decrease, the U.S. Beverage Industry is projected to continue to grow at an average rate of 1.7% through the end of 2026.
Here are some challenges and opportunities in today’s beverage world.

Some of the challenges operators are facing today....

• The importance of wine as a viable sales channel will likely continue to decline in the restaurant industry due to overpricing on the menu and consumers placing a higher value on other alcoholic beverages. And because of the ‘dine at home’ trend, a result of the COVID pandemic, consumers have become more educated regarding the retail prices of wines. Restaurants may find that wine is not in demand at these higher prices and thus questioning the cost to maintain deep stocks of wine. 
• With movements like mindful drinking and “sober curious” gaining popularity, research indicates that alcohol consumption has declined in the U.S., with younger generations drinking less as they show greater interest in holistic wellness and health. This trend is expected to continue at least through the end of the decade.
• The challenge of recruiting younger, health-conscious, multicultural consumers into the wine category, combined with the aging of the older core wine consumer, remains. These consumer groups have different values and spending patterns. The wine industry has done little to alter their marketing message to attract or retain either consumer cohort. 

Opportunities for Operators to Increase overall Beverage Sales

• “Better-for-you” beverages, featuring clean labels, natural ingredients, less sugar, fewer calories, and caffeine alternatives are on the rise. Products with these qualities have been in high demand, as the pandemic only heightened people’s focus on wellness, immunity and stress reduction. The next wave of “better-for-you” drinks spotlight ingredients that have perceived health benefits such as superfoods, probiotics, prebiotics, antioxidants, vitamins, minerals, botanicals, and protein. This trend is impacting every beverage category, particularly tea and kombucha, energy and sports drinks, and bottled water.
• CBD is another ingredient to watch. Although the FDA has not approved the use of CBD in foods and beverages sold in interstate commerce, some marketers are bringing products to market. Molson Coors recently introduced Verywell, a line of sparkling waters with hemp-derived CBD and adaptogens, through a subsidiary. The drink is currently only available in Colorado.
• Many wineries are prospering by focusing on premiumization. Their customers have been trading up for years, paying more for better quality. 75% of the wine sold in the U.S. costs less than $10 a bottle retail, and those wines are suffering from shrinking sales, sometimes by more than 10 percent a year. Younger consumers are interested in luxury products, at least ones they can afford. While COVID continued to accelerate premiumization, and while total volumes of wine sold are dropping, wines in the premium segment increased the volume sold at higher prices in 2021, and this trend is expected to continue for several years.
• Celebrity beverage endorsements are nothing new. Think George Clooney and Nespresso, Jennifer Aniston and Smart Water, or countless sporting stars endorsing energy drinks. But expect to see more and more vineyards and champagne houses partnering with big names to capitalize on their glamorous images and extend their respective brand portfolios. After John Legend or Brad Pitt, Cameron Diaz is the latest celebrity to venture into the wine business with her “clean” wines. The range comprises of an organic and vegan French rosé and Spanish white with no added sugar, with Diaz tapping into both the wellness trend and that of the growing thirst for ‘pink wine’.

The hospitality industry continues to evolve and shift at a rapid rate and Matrix Restaurant Consulting is here to help you navigate through the ever changing beverage world.

#Beverages #BeverageTrends2022 #wine #RestaurantTrends #Restaurants2022 #CBDFoodProducts #CBD

People report recently announced their Fourth quarter Workforce Index, and our industry will continue to face challenges in finding quality job candidates and will continue to tax restaurant operators into the last quarter of the year. It will be an especially difficult time as operators also face the pressures of decreased guest counts. It is a vicious downward cycle that will continue to result in restaurant closures.

So how can operators succeed in such a challenging environment?

• Slow your growth: Now, more than ever, is the time to slow growth. And at a minimum, growth needs to be manageable, ensuring you can properly staff and manage your new operations.
• Get back to the basics: This is a concept that Joe Lee, the former Darden executive, constantly preached. Far too often we are looking for the proverbial silver bullet - that gimmick or initiative that will suddenly bring in customers. But it doesn't need to be that complicated - focus on well executed products and invest in your management and hourly staffs. Look at your business as a marathon and not a sprint.

Matrix Restaurant Consulting can help you get back to the basics and to become that employer of choice.

For more information, here is the link to the People Report Article: 2016 Q4 Workforce Index