All About The Experience
We recently spoke to Emma Read from Lucid Perspectives to talk all things foodservice for an episode of The Grocery Insider podcast.
One of the standout points was how it is increasingly important for foodservice to create an experience for their consumers whether that be in cafes, restaurants or bars. Emma highlighted how foodservice has responded to how easily it is to have food delivered, they are ‘making the service and the environment that the people go into really great, somewhere different.’ Listen to the full episode of Foodservice Matters with Emma Read.
Increasing consumer loyalty and satisfaction lies in the centre of what makes a foodservice brand successful. Choosing where to dine or grab a coffee is no longer just a decision made over the menu or its general cleanliness. It’s about getting the most out of your visit, creating memorable experiences with you are with.
Of course, this is something that millennials crave and support. If they think it is ‘Insta-worthy’ then they will post about their visit on social media and in turn persuade others to make a visit. Social media is certainly intertwined with foodservice as it is the easiest way to boost public exposure of foodservice brands to a large audience.
Other industries have certainly recognised this too. With the help of the A-list star attended Soul Cycle brand, spinning classes have become a workout and party in one, transforming the fitness class completely. No longer a class to dread, spin studios are transformed into a club atmosphere with energetic dance music and disco lights in a darkened studio to put anyone in the mood cycle and burn some calories.
This is certainly the case for foodservice too. Below we list some of the best places to have a really unique experience unlike anywhere else. But what does this mean for foodservice brand chains? The impact of creating an experience should certainly not go unnoticed to your average food chain. Franchises are working harder to make visits distinct alongside keeping prices low.
Turtle Bay has successfully brought the Caribbean culture to the high street with the backing soundtrack, signature sauces and décor. It’s a brand that has recognised the benefits of expanding its authenticity beyond the menu.
This summer Italian restaurant Zizzi created a multi-sensory ‘golden hour’ restaurant aiming to bring the best of the summer outdoors, indoors. For a limited time only Zizzi made the most of mood-boosting vitamin D and filled their St Giles restaurant with sounds and smells of the summer. The likes of Costa, Greggs and the Harvester seem very dull in comparison when you consider their interiors.
Want to experience the holiday feeling but haven’t got the time or the budget?
Make a trip to The Skinny Kitchen or Ella Cante.
Healthy eating restaurant chain The Skinny Kitchen was created to bring the laid-back dining experience from Ibiza to the busy city locations in London. Changing the perception of fast food and eating out Skinny Kitchen have a menu that cater to all diets from vegan dishes to gluten-free diets and bodybuilders.
For a more traditional dining experience with a Ella Cante is an authentic modern Mexican restaurant with 1960s furniture and candlelit lighting. Chef Martha Oritz’s has created an inventive menu that is the perfect glam spot to enjoy before you head to the theatre.
Need some new photo content?
Make a reservation at Sketch or Sushisamba.
Sketch London is a quirky, 18thCentury townhouse tearoom that transforms into a cocktail lounge every evening. Four separate restaurants that each have their own spectacular design and menu. The Gallery looks like a room created for a Wes Anderson film with its plush blush seats organised in a very satisfying symmetrical pattern. Alternatively, The Glade room has been reimagined as a mythical forest with a fluffy carpet to look like a forest floor. Even the toilets are a talking point as they are each in futuristic space pods in a room with a multicoloured ceiling.
At the top of a city skyscraper the Sushisamba bar has an orange tree that takes centre stage lighting up the entire room. Located on the 38thand 39thfloor you get a 360-degree view of London that creates a very intimate setting in the evening. Their other locations in Miami, Las Vegas and Amsterdam each hold a different but equally special interior that all beg for photos as soon as you arrive.
Keen for the extreme?
Try The Cauldron or London in the Sky.
The Cauldron is a Harry Potter inspired bar that is quickly expanding in the UK and across the pond in New York. Tickets to this bar mean you get to bring out your inner geek and enjoy fantasy themed cocktails dressed in cloaks. “We use science and technology to bring the magic from fantasy books to life in immersive, interactive experience.”
London in the Sky takes dining to new heights lifting you 100ft in the air to enjoy everything from breakfast to afternoon tea and wine and cheese. This dining experience is not for the faint hearted both because of the height and the price of this affair.
So, what is the future of foodservice?
Foodservice is everywhere, whether that be in the food halls at shopping malls to deli counters popping up in petrol stations, foodservice is continuing to evolve. Brands are being innovative with technology, efficiency and variety to continue to excite the consumer and creating a unique dining experience is just one avenue of this innovation.
