Speaker Q&A: Simon Stenning, FutureFoodservice.com
Simon Stenning, strategic advisor to the foodservice industry and author of the Future of Foodservice 2025-2030 report, aims to help food-to-go operators/retailers with their ‘longer-term’ strategic planning in his lunch! session this year. Kicking off the show in Keynote Theatre 1 on opening day (10.15am, 19 September), he’ll be explaining how the market will continue to evolve, which consumer trends will be more important, and what the key drivers of change are going to be over the next ten years.
Which café / coffee shop / food-to-go operators have most impressed you this year?
- Coffee Shop: Rosslyn Coffee, for sheer dedication to getting a simple range of coffees absolutely spot on.
- Café: Daisy Green Collection, for a smart offer that not only meets many needs, but appeals to all consumers.
- FTG operator: HOP, for managing to combine ethnic, artisan food, with a mainstream, branded approach.
What advice would you give to someone starting out in the industry?
There are so many opportunities for success, but those can only be reached through a true passion for delivering what consumers want.
What key trends/developments will shape the lunch! market in 2020?
My presentation will deliver foresight for the market in 2030!, but with a shorter horizon I’d pick the following:
- The blurring of lines between Fast Food and FTG, putting pressure on traditional sandwich retailers to adjust their offers to meet changing consumer demands
- Consumer expectations that all purchases are delivered with a degree of ethical, environmental action, whether waste, packaging, resource utilisation, or giving back
Can you tell us a bit about your much-anticipated session at lunch! 2019? – What do you want visitors to take away?
I want to provide visitors with a vision of the key drivers of change for the future of food-to-go, and an understanding of why the market will be different in ten years’ time. I’d like visitors to be stimulated with thoughts about the longer-term perspective, about strategic planning for the future, and recognising that significant changes have happened over the past 10 years.
Are there any other forecasts/insights that you’d like to share now ahead of your session?
If you think back ten years, there were so many brands and concepts that didn’t exist, that have been created since then, and that tools such as Apps only just started arriving with the launch of the iPhone 12 years ago. On that basis, we can expect to see many changes in the next ten years. I will be outlining how our analogue industry will be moving into the digital world, how technology will play a part, both back of house and front of house.
I will also be outlining the key consumer trends, such as ‘Purpose’, that will need to be met by suppliers and operators going forward.
Why do you think that innovation so vital to the food-to-go sector?
Whilst best-sellers will always be the best-sellers, consumers need to see variety and choice, and need to feel that the retailer/operator/brand/concept that they choose to spend their money with, is providing them with relevant, exciting offers. Consumers have a choice – make it at home, or buy something Out of Home, and as such need to be enticed for every purchase, and innovation is an important element of that purchasing decision.
How important is lunch! show to the food-to-go sector?
lunch! provides the industry with the one place to go to, to learn, to see, to meet and to absorb everything that is happening within the broad food-to-go/café/fast food market. It is something to look forward to each year, and one place where you know you will meet/see/catch up with many friends/colleagues/peers etc.
For me, it is an absolute must-attend each year.
See Simon at lunch! 2019
The Future of Food To Go 2030 – Future Consumer Trends and The Drivers of Change: 10.15am on Thursday 19 September in Keynote Theatre 1.
