Flanagan Food News

More than $30 billion worth of food is wasted in Canada each year, and more than half of that waste happens as it is produced, processed, transported, sold, prepared and served, according to Ontario based consulting firm Value Chain Management International’s (VCMI) annual “Food Waste in Canada” report. But by reducing food waste, businesses can reduce operating costs by 15 to 20 percent and increase profitability by the equivalent of 5 to 11 percent.

When running a restaurant, you can have the best food, the lowest prices and the most courteous staff, and still not find people coming through your doors as often as you’d like.

It is a cliché that restaurants sell not food and drink but rather “an experience.” It’s cheesy, but it’s true. Restaurants address a basic human feeling – hunger – but they also set in motion feelings of excitement, anticipation, romance, and comfort and warmth with family and community. In doing so, they often appeal to our sense of nostalgia.

If it is in fact true that it is better to give than receive, then gift cards must be at the top
of a restaurateur’s wish list.

These simple plastic cards could be an important marketing tool – and revenue generator – at this busiest of commercial periods on the calendar.

Like the plethora of phone apps and the massive retail presence that is online ordering via organizations like Amazon, Netflix, Uber and Just Eat, meal kits are out there and slowly becoming a potential disruptor to the bricks-and-mortar restaurant industry. They answer a simple question asked by consumers: “Can I stay at home and have a great meal?”

Sometimes, it doesn’t matter how delicious the food is, how ambient the room looks or how reasonable the prices are; if a guest walks in and some small behaviour rubs him the wrong way, he may never eat there again.

Everyone knows someone who has walked out of a restaurant and stated, “I can’t believe what just happened - I’m never going back!”

Don’t restaurateurs have enough on their plates?

From faltering economies to fickle diners seeking new food trends and tastes, restaurant owners and operators have enough to juggle without adding something called social media to the list.

But hold on: it might be “because of social media” rather than “despite social media” that restaurateurs could see improvements to their bottom line.

Technomic has segmented consumers into seven varying Eater Archetypes to provide an industry-standard that ensures the proper psychological understanding and reflection of the foodservice consumer.

It’s not enough to understand just demographics of any particular segment, but also their values, motivations, and pain points when dining to generate deeper loyalty and more frequent usage of your operation among these Archetypes.

Beautiful plate presentation, smooth operating kitchen staff, and consistent food sales are the dreams of every chef.

These days, however, guests are asking for much more than just "hot food hot" and "cold food cold," as the old adage goes. They want to know who cooked their food and where it came from.

Skip the Dishes popped up as an online food delivery service in Saskatoon in 2013 and grew quite quickly until it was purchased by a similar British company, Just Eat, in 2016.