Food

When did consumers begin staying home all the time?

People usually assume it’s a direct result of the COVID pandemic, but the trend actually began earlier. “There’s a long-term structural shift toward all of our lives becoming a little more home-centric,” Circana Senior Vice President David Portalatin explained on the Food Institute Podcast. People are working from home, entertaining at home, and eating at home.

It’s no wonder restaurants are worried about what the future holds. But take heart! As Portalatin puts it, consumers still need “to have those occasions where we say, ‘You know what? We’re going out. We’re going to have a great experience. We’re going to have that treat, that reward that we deserve.’”

So how can you get them in the door?

Streamlining menus was an absolute necessity in 2020. The abrupt shift to off-premises dining and app-based ordering required operators to edit menus so they could easily be perused on a phone screen. Add staffing shortages and rising ingredient prices, and shorter menus naturally followed. A Nestle survey found that 58% of operators decided to limit their offerings. 

What now? Is the pendulum swinging back toward more menu selection? Or should restaurants stick to the basics and keep options limited? We’ll look at both sides of the debate.