Whether it’s conceptualizing and designing a new restaurant space or planning where to take an out-of-towner for lunch, we spend a lot of time thinking about the food and beverage industry. Naturally, we’re always looking for the next big trend, so we turned to global trend forecaster WGSN to shed some light on the future of the food and beverage industry.
While a good meal can make us feel some kind of way, the food and beverage industry will soon take mealtime a step further, shaping dining experiences around human emotion and intellect. Read on for WGSN’s food and drink forecast for Fall 2018-Winter 2019.
The Thinker
In today’s fast-paced and digital-obsessed world, it’s not often that we take the time to sit down and savor a thoughtfully prepared meal. WGSN predicts that, in 2019, the food and beverage industry will take a step back, placing an emphasis on intention and learning. We’ll see this reflected in refined rituals like afternoon tea transformed into an elevated experience – like a six-course meal with small-batch tea pairings.
HumaNature
We’ll be going back to our primal roots in 2019 and relying on instinct to shape our relationships with food, mood, and emotion. There’s a reason we reach for comfort food when we’re feeling off – something about the familiarity or nostalgia of a certain dish inspires a sense of wellbeing. Tapping into this natural instinct, new app Just Eat uses facial recognition technology to suggest a meal that will boost your mood.
Dark Wonder
Your cocktail may come with a side of special effects in 2019. Drinks will get dramatic upgrades as mixologists create beverages with glow-in-the-dark ingredients and color-changing concoctions. Honing in on our fascination with designed experiences, dining will bring a new age of drama as theme restaurants make a comeback. Is anyone having a flashback to an evening out at Rainforest Café or Medieval Times?
WorldHood
Collectively celebrating retro and urban as well as the new and the old, the food and beverage industry will cultivate an “allclusive” sense of global community. Fusion cooking will enter the home kitchen as equipment becomes more easily accessible – think ramen kits from Erik Bruner-Yang’s Paper Horse – and street vendors and restaurants will feel empowered to explore vibrant food mashups from all corners of the world.
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