10 Fast Casual Trends for 2013

Photo Credit: Wendy's via QSRMagazine.comWhat would the start of another year be without predictions? Whether analyzing politics, the silver screen, or stock markets, experts try to offer a peek at the trends we can expect in the coming year.

The restaurant industry is no different. Throughout 2012’s fourth quarter, various consultants, chefs, and operators gazed into their crystal balls and forecasted the hot restaurant ideas and issues of 2013.

The following 10 trends, according to those experts, seem most likely to impact quick-service and fast-casual restaurants this year. Read More

2013 Food Trends Get Technical, Sustainable & Healthy

Photo Credit: miltedflowerEvery year, Food+Tech Connect looks at the trends that are transforming the future of how food is produced, sold and consumed. We always pay particular attention to Phil Lempert’s, CEO of The Lempert Report and author of SupermarketGuru.com, foresights. This year, Lempert’s predictions touch on many of the topics we’ve covered over the past year like food waste, transparency, health and wellness and protein consumption. Lempert also points to the terrible drought of 2012 as a direct cause of increasing food prices and predicts that consumers will use technology to reduce waste and make smarter purchasing decisions.

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How America Eats Today

If we are what we eat, then America is more complex than ever.

We are so obsessed with on-the-go food that even a bowl of cereal is seen as a hassle for some, and the last thing we want to do is turn on an appliance. But as we seek convenience, we also crave complexity, looking for the same bursts of flavors in a bag of chips as we get at a fine restaurant. We want variety. The average number of items sold at a supermarket has ballooned to more 38,000 today from 10,425 in 1977, according to the Food Marketing Institute, which includes some non-food items. Yet at the same time, an increasing number of us are demanding simplicity, prompting brands to trim ingredient lists or promote products as "natural," gluten-free or both. Read More

Turn & Burn - Foodie Trendsetters

Bloggers are hugely impacting the food industry in the local markets, now more than ever. We talk to Elliot Shaffner with F For Food (www.fforfood.com), on how these influential foodies are driving the food trends, chef trends and more.

Fast Casual Nation - Fresh Mex with a Twist

Fresh Mex was one of the first power segments in Fast Casual and it continues to re-invent itself to meet the demands of today's consumer. The segment has been on downturn in the past few years, but Fresh Mex is set to make a comeback surge in the Fast Casual segment with a connection to the new power consumer demographic, the Millennials. In this episode of Fast Casual Nation, Host Paul Barron explores the innovation of Fresh Mex at The Velvet Taco.