September 2019 Food Trends
Food | 15th August 2019
Deirdre Moriarty is the Musgrave MarketPlace trends expert. Below she discusses the September 2019 food trends that have caught her eye.
In this month’s update, I’ll be looking at what festival goers are looking for from their food and KFC’s new vegan launch. Have a great month!
Festival Fever
Festivals are becoming more and more popular in Ireland. There have been lots of festivals this Summer, (hopefully you have managed to eat some interesting food and see some iconic bands!). If your business caters at music festival then I’ve got some great facts and figures that might help with your menu planning for the next big festival season. Musgrave MarketPlace commissioned a piece of research to find out what Irish festival-goers are looking for. Here are some of the big callouts:
- 81% would like to see healthier food options at festivals
- 61% don’t budget how much they are willing to spend on food and drink in advance
- 60% of people have tried a dish or food for the first time at a festival
- 56% of festival-goers would like to see more vegan food at music festivals
- 49% are more likely to purchase food and drink from vendors who don’t use single-use plastic
It’s interesting to see that so many people are willing to try something new and interesting at a festival, and are willing to pay a little bit extra for a new experience. So be bold with your menu choices for festival-goers, offer them something a little bit healthier, and keep sustainability in mind when planning your packaging options.
KFC’s Imposter Burger Sells Out Fast
The vegan trend continues to gain momentum, with KFC launching their Imposter Burger in the UK, made of Quorn, the burger was hugely popular and sold out in only 4 days. I haven’t tasted this myself but lots of online reviews are saying that it tastes very like regular KFC chicken. Interestingly with advances in meat substitutes meaning that “fake meat” looks and tastes more and more like the real thing there are some concerns among vegans that they are getting meat-free products. If you are serving vegan and non-vegan options of products like burgers, be sure your staff are fully trained to avoid any confusion and help reassure your vegan customers.
This month I’ll be:
- Meeting with our consultant dietitian Gillian McConnell
- Doing a health-focused food safari in Dublin
- Attending a new product development session in the Ballymun food theatre
Did you enjoy Deirdre’s breakdown of Food Trends? See what Deirdre had to say last month in her August Food Trends roundup.
