Awareness of restaurant trends can help restaurants stay relevant, competitive, and profitable in the long term. Let’s take a look at the different restaurant trends. 

Ghost kitchens are springing up like mushrooms.

We know that “ghost kitchens” or “cloud kitchens” are becoming more popular these days, and this isn’t a new trend. To be precise, the global cloud kitchen market is projected to reach $112.7 billion by the end of 2030. 

These kitchens are tying up with restaurants and helping them reach customers without needing a physical location. Not to mention, online ordering plays a major role here. 

So, we can expect this industry to thrive for many years to come. 

Automation is intruding on the restaurant industry.

One of the most important restaurant trends in 2023 is automation. Considering the labor costs, many restaurant operations are automated. The global food automation market is projected to grow by 9.5% in the next five years. But do you know that automation isn’t alien to the food industry?

Have you heard about robot chefs?

We are already consuming food such as ice cream, candy, chips, etc., made by machines.

Now AI-powered robots are engineered to cook a five-star meal for you. These machines can chop, mix, and cook food with precision and speed. Thus improving consistency and efficiency in the kitchen. In fact, in India, many hotels have started using fried rice-making machines. 

Besides this, McDonald’s has installed self-serve kiosks in many locations to pave the way for greater efficiency in the food-ordering sector.

So, we can expect automation as an important restaurant trend in 2023.

Plant-based options

We think many people have started to understand the difference between vegetarians and vegans. And the best part is people are becoming more health conscious. As a result, plant-based diets are expected to be popular this year.

If your restaurant provides an exclusive vegan-diet menu with more meatless and vegan options, you can get notable attention.

Table For One will catch more attention

This is one of the emerging restaurant concepts. Now that people have started to go on self-dates to nurture self-love, or because of the increasing number of people who have chosen to dine alone or live alone, more restaurants are offering customized tables for solo diners. 

You can incorporate this trend and add smaller tables and designated seating areas for people dining alone, letting them enjoy their personal time in a restaurant setting.

Health-conscious options

Similar to a plant-based diet, you can also target your customers with low-carb, gluten-free, sugar-free, and keto-friendly options. Because this is a growing restaurant trend that will make that one friend in the gang not cheat on their diet.

Many people are becoming more conscious about what they intake and tend to customize the menu. But if they are presented with healthy menu options, your restaurant can stand unique and attract new customers.

It’s time to embrace sustainability

Did you expect that sustainability would become a necessity? 

Chefs are expected to be more conscious about how they use the food in their kitchens. 

They must be creative enough to reduce food waste. For instance, they can turn vegetable trimming into natural food dyes or meat off-cuts into ketchup.

Sustainable packaging also comes under the umbrella.

With more focus on reducing waste, sustainable packaging is essential. Nowadays, even consumers defer from using plastic containers and cutlery, considering the health risks. 

Try upgrading your delivery packaging by adopting biodegradable takeout to reusable containers.

So, sustainability must be a practice rather than a concept.

Outdoor dining is still in trend

In fact, outdoor dining is gaining more traction become people come out of their four walls to socialize and have food in a different ambiance. Again, if they are dining inside the same four walls, isn’t it that cool? 

Here, the weather conditions also play a role. People are more likely to spend time outside if the weather gets warmer. So, the demand for outdoor dining options is expected to surge. Why not provide some innovative dining experiences? 

Try introducing more international flavors

With time, customers will get bored tasting the same food repeatedly. To make your restaurant dining more exciting, try incorporating international flavors. But it must be authentic and make people want more.

And don’t forget to promote it on Instagram and Facebook so that people become aware of the exotic dishes and visit your restaurant to experience them.

Restaurants must show thumbs up to personalized customer experiences

Another expected restaurant trend in 2023 is focusing on providing a personalized customer experience. Embracing this trend will easily make your restaurant stand out in the market. So, what must you do? Simple, come up with tailored menus, personalized service, and unique ambiance. 

In reality, restaurants have turned to tech to get customer data analysis and digital ordering systems to personalize the experience. Providing such personalized experiences can easily create a memorable and unique experience for customers, resulting in increased customer loyalty and repeat business.

Conclusion

Understanding current and future trends can help restaurants attract and retain customers by giving them the latest and most popular dining experiences. Besides these, knowing the trends can help restaurant owners and operators make informed decisions about their business strategy, such as menu development, marketing, and expansion plans. 

If you are looking to upgrade your restaurant with the help of technology, try using PosBytz restaurant software that can manage and optimize all your restaurant tasks and improve overall efficiency and revenue.