One of the UK’s leading foodservice providers, Bidfood, has announced the latest food and drink trends set to dominate the out of home market in 2024.

This year it’s all about creating a sense of adventure and providing consumers with the opportunity to try something new, as well as focusing on authenticity and provenance. From interesting flavour pairings, to creative, playfully presented dishes, a twist on British cult-classics and an increased focus on health and wellbeing – this year’s trends are tipped to be more exciting than ever!

To support with the unveiling of these trends, Bidfood has launched its 2024 interactive guide, designed to help operators navigate the changing market and consumer behaviours, adapt their menus and fully explore the latest cuisines and flavours taking hold of the industry.

The report also comes with a range of useful support tools, including new additions to the trends video series, expanded web content, tasty new recipes and much more.

Bidfood’s 2024 Trends:

Flavours Less Travelled: Authenticity is one of the key drivers behind this year’s report with 56% of consumers saying they would pay more for a dish if they perceive it as more authentic1. This is heavily reinforced in our Flavours Less Travelled trend, giving consumers the opportunity to feed their sense of adventure by exploring global cuisines in their most original format. Research has shown that the three global cuisines gaining momentum are:

• Authentic Caribbean – Expanding across UK cities in the form of restaurants, pop ups and food stalls, there is growing demand for Caribbean comfort dishes like rich, spicy stews that feature seafood, indigenous vegetables and meats such as goat.
• Authentic Mexican – Although 44% of consumers have already tried Mexican cuisine, they now want to elevate their passion with traditional flavours and ingredients2. Familiar TexMex dishes will continue to be popular, but operators should look towards authentic classics like marinated pork belly tacos or charred corn elotes with chicken.
• Eastern European – From hearty stews to delicious cakes, Eastern European food is becoming more well-known and appreciated. With their array of flavours and familiar UK formats, these dishes offer countless culinary opportunities and unique experiences.

British Fusion: More and more restaurants are starting to merge different cuisines with each other, but although consumers are becoming more adventurous with new flavours, they are still reluctant to spend money on cuisines they are unfamiliar with. In fact, 68% of consumers find British fusion appealing with over a third (35%) feeling this is because it bridges the gap between the exciting flavours of global cuisines and the familiarity of British classics3. Try mixing up your Sunday roasts, English breakfasts and even desserts such as crumble with interesting global flavours.

Mind, Mood and Body: This trend centres around consumers shifting priorities when it comes to their health and wellbeing, focusing not just on their physical health but also their mental health and state of mind. Almost half (48%) of consumers are looking for foods that directly impact their physical wellbeing, and 71% feel the aroma of food and drink can help boost their mood4. Take consumers on a sensory journey with appealing and colourful products to enrich their healthy lifestyle experience, but be mindful when it comes to making specific health claims on your menu.

Rustic and Rural: Consumers are making more mindful choices about where and what they eat when out of home. Farm to fork concepts, provenance and menu stories are becoming increasingly popular. Cosy decor, handmade pasta and bakery products, garden salads, heritage produce and open flame cooking are ways operators can tap into this trend.

Let’s Play: During a cost of living crisis, consumers are looking for something to cheer them up, and provide them with something exciting and out of the ordinary. Colour, playful presentation, novel styling and a touch of theatre will certainly tick the boxes to offer the experience desired. Mixing flavours is another way of adding novelty and can really elevate a dish. In fact, 70% of consumers find the idea of flavour contrasts appealing, with sweet and sour being the most popular5.

• Playful Drinks: With social media taking the world by storm, consumers can’t resist taking a picture of their cocktail to post on their accounts, with 43% of 18-35 year olds doing this every/almost every time6. To leverage this trend, operators are starting to take their cocktail offerings to the next level, creating imaginative, theatrical and themed serves. Incorporating dry ice, colour-changing ingredients and even sparklers will really give it that wow factor!

Catherine Hinchcliff, Head of Corporate Marketing and Insight at Bidfood said:

“This year we’re excited to see that the trends and flavours surfacing are around adventure and trying something new, as well as comfort, authenticity and provenance. All of which will allow chefs to be creative and have fun when planning their menus for 2024.

“Sustainability remains a prominent factor to us as a business, and continues to influence consumer decision-making. This year, instead of being a standalone trend, we’ve incorporated it into all our trends which reflects the way many chefs weave sustainability into everyday ways of working.

“Once again we worked with CGA by NIQ to conduct our own bespoke survey and exclusive research. We also worked with a semiotician and futurist, Dr Rachel Lawes, to get a steer on how food and drink trends will evolve over the next two to three years, as well as visiting and interviewing restaurant operators in London and Manchester to see how they are manifesting on the high street.”

Check out our dedicated webpage for all things trends here: https://www.bidfood.co.uk/food-and-drink-trends-2024/