In 2011 there were some interesting trends on the Vancouver food scene, such as the food truck craze, Neapolitan Pizzas being everywhere, and the people talking about macarons near the end of the year, and unfortunately many restaurant closures as well.
It’s always nice to be able to predict the future, so here is a list of the top restaurant industry trends in Vancouver for 2012 to watch for. Just to let you know, these aren’t in any particular order.
1) The Year of the Mobile.
It was said that by the end of 2012 about half of the Americans would own a smart phone, according to E-marketer. This statistic probably isn’t too far off for people in Vancouver. With many locals having their 3 year contract expire in 2011, and with cheaper offers on smart phones from providers, it’s inevitable that smartphone technology will be be everywhere in Vancouver.
People already decide on what restaurants to eat at based on review apps,social media recommendations,food blogger reviews and from mobile offers. 2012 will amplify this big time. We are now being disrupted at the point of decision, and a simple review or interaction on the mobile platforms will change your customer’s decision of where to eat.
2) The Year of the Food Blogger
Up and Comer Food Blogger Eat with Jenny
While many of them never claim to be food critics, their voices are trusted and can have a great (or dire) effect on your bottom line sales.
While there’s a certain craft to food blogging, the number of bloggers who consistently blog in Vancouver will continue to rise. And they will be blogging about similar places. Expect to see a rise of the Food Blogger.
3) The Year of Yelp
Yelp in Vancouver has remained rather small compared to its U.S. counterparts. However with the word spreading about their Elite parties where complimentary booze and food are provided every month, you can guarantee that this going to cause buzz.
In 2011 the number of Elites jumped a lot compared to 2010. Though I personally don’t expect it to be a huge jump for 2012, I expect that the word of mouth about these parties will spread and I expect many more people to start writing reviews about restaurants to get their Elite status.
Like my Yelp Elite friend tells me, last time he checked, Urban Spoon never offered him anything free for writing 400 reviews.
I’ve actually even noticed a few Vancouver Food Bloggers who are using Yelp as an extension of their “Marketing.”
Food Blogger and Adventure Eater- Gastrofork
4) The Year of the Adventurous Eater
The new generation of eaters will have emotional loyalty to a restaurant, but will not have the same loyalty of eating at the restaurant. With the ability to research about restaurants at their finger tips, many foodies want to try restaurants that are different, restaurants that are hot, and will rarely return to the same restaurant as frequently as our parents would (unless it’s mostly a geographical convenience). To them eating is like traveling, why visit the same city twice all the time, if the you know the next city is going to be a new adventure?
5) The Year that Cheap Food Goes out the Window
As the price of produce and meats rise, the strong focus on local and sustainable food, and the rise of the minimum wage in BC, you will see price increases. Many restaurants will start aiming for the middle ground, McDonald’s has already started with their upscale burgers. But you’ll see prices creep up slowly, and more frequently through the year.
Restaurants will be working carefully to provide a meal that is priced in the middle ground (between $10-$20) but will be watching carefully for proportion control. Don’t expect to see huge portions of food, but a focus on just the right amount to keep you full without feeling hungry.
6) The Year of the Twitter Special Overload (Just like Daily Deals.)
You know how the daily deal scene just went super nova last year. Well, 2012 will be a big year for Twitter. With more skilled restaurant marketers now focusing on ROI of Twitter in the restaurant industry (such as ourselves) and not so much on brand awareness, Vancouver restaurants are going to be offering great specials on Twitter all the time. You’ll see restaurants tweeting about specials like “Wine Wednesdays” for $5, or “Martini Mondays” for $4. Expect a lot of it!
Rogue Wetbar already offers free drinks to its followers. And people will have many options for different specials to choose from.
Side Story:
I had a tweeter tweet 6 different restaurants at once and ask what their specials were. 4 of them responded (coincidentally we represented 2 of those) and ultimately the restaurant that won out didn’t actually offer any specials. But won out because of the dedication to interact, entertain, and connect. When it was confirmed that she was coming, a call was made to the restaurant to ensure she received a complimentary appetizer. This surprise and delight was the highlight for her and her friend, and she raved about it on Twitter. You’ll see a lot of specials on Twitter, it will happen, but delivering excellent service will still be an issue for many restaurants.
7) The Year that Chinese Restaurants reach out to a greater non Chinese Audience
The Chinese restaurant industry in Richmond and in Vancouver is currently thriving. Chinese restaurants have used newspapers and word of mouth marketing to drive business.
However, Chinese restaurants are looking for ways to continue to expand into different markets, other than with Chinese people. Places such as Kirin, Sun Sui Wah have been doing it successfully for years. So the question begs, why aren’t other Chinese Restaurants doing it?
As this moves forward, it’s hard for food bloggers in Vancouver not to blog about a Chinese restaurants and readers will become more tempted to try out these places. Chinese restaurants have traditionally been much cheaper than your European or American style fare. The value and food quality is generally superb. (I can still get a great meal for what McDonald’s now charges for a meal.)
We’ll start to see more non Asians eating at these restaurants more often. But it won’t quite reach the tipping point. I expect that to happen in 2013. Lin’s on Broadway and Granville has already been capitalizing on this demographic. The only two major things holding some Chinese restaurants back are the lack of great service, and “Cash Only.”
8 ) The Year that Mobile NFC Payments Start to be Important
QR codes are clunky. They are. And you have to have a brilliant campaign to use them. But as more phones start using Near Field Communication (NFC) and with the way phones are being created, you’ll hear more about NFC payments.
We technically are already using them. Ever gone to a Tim Horton’s and they have that Pay Pass that you just tap? That’s NFC. While mobile NFC payment won’t get completely mainstream, Starbucks has shown that people are interested in using mobile payments. My prediction is that we’ll hear more about it in the mainstream media the way we heard about social media in 2011.
9) Gluten Free has Arrived
I run into a lot of people who tell me that they can’t eat gluten. Five years ago in Vancouver it was rarely a conversation topic. While not a huge market, there clearly is a need to be a strong alternative in Vancouver or for restaurants to incorporate gluten free products. Restaurant leaders such as Cosca restaurant are already offering gluten free pasta.
Too many people are searching for them. As a matter of fact, if you’re wondering which local celebrity is gluten free, you don’t need to look any further than Yelp’s current Vancouver Community Manager, Robin.
10) Food Delivery Service Overload
This was more of a trend that started in 2011 but I see it more mainstream in 2012. The market in Vancouver for delivery services is going to be saturated. Even I didn’t see this coming, but with companies like OrderIt, Just Eat, Foodsters, and Foodee, just to name a few, are serving the Vancouver market. And they are doing it aggressively.
More and more restaurants I visit can’t afford to hire delivery drivers, and are looking for ways to ensure they get the extra sales they need (though not at the expense of margin.) Expect more people to be trying out these services, and for more restaurants to sign up with them (even more than one.)
What do you feel will be the biggest up and coming trends that will affect the restaurant industry in Vancouver. Please feel free comment and share.
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