I find it interesting to engage family, friends and associates on what the most important factors in dining are for them, besides the dollar and value factor. The majority speak to health and wellness, wanting to consume something they view as healthy and good for their bodies and overall health. The next main factor seems to be convenience and trends; they are neck in neck depending on age. Then, the strong third opinions are not only traditional nutritional information and cleaner labels, but also the sustainability of how the items are being produced — basically, is this good for me and the earth?

Manufacturers, now more than ever, must define who they want to attract as their target audience. In the meat arena, I don’t feel it is that hyper-focus on specific cuts of protein. It’s much more on flavor profiles and ease of use. The dynamic of breakfast, lunch and dinner have changed since the pandemic forced us all into new patterns for not only purchasing our foods, but how much time we allot to our food preparation. All of us certainly have seen an increase in meal kit companies vying for your part of their market share. They seem to play on the phycology of “we the experts” have chosen balance nutritional selection for you so you don’t have to think about that aspect of feeding yourself or your family. The meal kit company also has given you a portion-controlled amount, therefore you don’t have to worry about what do with the extra leftover produce or protein. They tout it offers the ability to budget your food consumption and your dollars being spent weekly to feed yourselves. And no food waste!

On the restaurant side of the industry, we are seeing the survivors from the pandemic still adapting to their new norm of feeding the masses. That includes focusing on more take out, having structures and patios built that are there to stay. Staffing concerns and supply chain challenges still are in disarray, a disarray that is prevalent in industries well beyond foodservice and hospitality.

Adding to this paradigm, we are seeing an increase of Covid numbers and the human toll the ever-mutating virus is taking. We seem to be moving, once again, in the wrong direction. Masks, again. I would like to stop time just to catch up so we have a running start and get our country on board with vaccine truth. It’s fairly simple, No one has to die from this anymore.

My query this week is … have you personally changed what you expect from your local grocery store and local restaurant? Do you purchase more online than a year ago or try and keep it all local?

Live well…

Meeting consumer demands of the day?

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