After another difficult year involving inflation, conflict overseas and plenty of new legislation, Bidfood, one of the UK’s leading foodservice providers has released the latest food and drink trends set to shape and inspire the industry for 2023.

Despite a tough few years, Bidfood’s latest research has shown that consumer demand for eating out remains strong. In fact, 7 in 10 say eating and drinking out is the treat they most look forward to.[1] To help support operators navigating the changes in consumer habits, and staying ahead of the curve, Bidfood has released its 2023 trends report along with a raft of support tools including the latest instalment of our trends video series, new and delicious recipe ideas, as well as new podcast episodes.

A discovery of food and drink trends for 2023

Retro love: Fancy a trip down memory lane? The Retro Love trend is all about revamping childhood memories and conjuring a sense of nostalgia, particularly through desserts, cakes and cocktails. It’s a great opportunity to bring novelty and comfort to menus. Take your consumers on a journey back in time with some innovative takes on nostalgic dishes!

Flavours less travelled: As travel restrictions become a thing of the past, emerging world cuisines are still leading the way, with a rise in demand for more unusual dishes.  Over 1 in 3 people say emerging cuisines have replaced the more established ones in their regular meal choices. As well as this, research has shown that the four leading cuisines Bidfood identified this year do not have a strong presence on menus, so now is the best time for operators to adopt them and take consumer’s taste buds on a new and exciting journey:

• Cuban – Taking inspiration from Spain and the Caribbean, Cuban cuisine has real potential to take flight, with 46% saying they would like to try the island’s delicacies.
• Sri Lankan – An explosion of flavour, Sri Lanka’s key ingredients include, turmeric, garlic, cinnamon and coconut, but the spice levels can easily be adjusted to favour the consumer’s palate.
• Pan-African – Cuisines from this vast continent produce a myriad of flavours. Made up of comforting stews, soups and rice based dishes, it’s a very adaptable and accessible trend that shouldn’t be forgotten!
• Unusual fusions – More restaurants are combing flavours and formats that normally wouldn’t be paired together especially as 40% of people want to try these unusual fusions. Be experimental and discover a whole world of perfectly paired cuisines, flavour profiles and formats to set your outlet apart from the competition.

Conscious choices: This trend centres on the fact that consumers are becoming more mindful of where they eat and drink out and what they order. Whilst this isn’t new for 2023, the cost of living crisis, as well as the pandemic, have been contributing factors to how consumers think about food and drink.

Pizza evolution: Because of the format and versatility of pizza, it lends itself well to creative and accessible innovation. Gluten-free bases, plant-based and premium toppings make it sit perfectly within different sectors, times of the day and occasions.

In the spirit: The alcoholic drinks trend for 2023, including the top spirits of the year and styles operators are beginning to adopt.

Nature’s gifts: This trend focuses on the role of plants within a dish and the ways chefs are incorporating the fruits, herbs and spices they have found themselves in the wild.

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

“We’re thrilled to see how the food and drink trends landing in 2023 are embracing sustainability, flavour experimentation and a journey through time, which in turn will allow the chefs to have fun while building their menus. Eating out has become a highly valued luxury for many, so it will be important for chefs to consider how they can evolve their dishes and adhere to the more mindful choices consumers are making now.

“We worked with CGA again this year, by carrying out exclusive research and conducting food influencer interviews. We also visited and interviewed restaurant operators in different cities to deliver the useful tools and resources that our customers can implement in their 2023 menu planning no matter where they’re based in the UK.”

For full details and insights on the trends, please read our 2023 Food and Drink Trends guide here: https://bidfood.pagetiger.com/bidfood-trends-2023

[1] CGA by Nielsen IQ, Cost of Living Consumer Pulse, August 2022