Top Trends for 2011

What, pray tell, does 2011 have in store for our industry? What trends will we see the end to, and what new ones will emerge? That is what is on my mind as this new year begins. To start, I thought I'd check out what other people were saying.

According to Andrew Freeman (founder of an SF based hotel & restaurant marketing firm), pies top the list of top trends - small, large, sweet, savory, pies of all types - in fact, pies are the new cupcakes. (full article here)

When the NRA asked 1,527 chefs for their 2011 top trends, tied at No. 1, with 86 percent of chefs identifying each of them as important trends, were locally sourced meats and seafood and locally grown produce. Sustainability came in as the third most important trend, the NRA reported. Nutrition and health were a focus of both Andrew Freeman and the Chefs, including children's nutrition (thanks Jamie Oliver!) and smaller plates. There's a belief that many consumers will choose healthful options over indulgent options more often, although comfort food is apparently not losing popularity either.

Many trends of course come as a response to the troubled economy, including creative use of spaces and multi-use spaces, Eataly in New York is an example. "We are going to see markets opening in the corners of restaurants," according to Andrew Freeman. Lisa Hemenway's Fresh concept, recently opened in Santa Rosa is an example of this concept taken even further, with many concepts under one roof, including a market, deli, bakery, espresso bar, full service restaurant, catering and more.

On the subject of the new trends emerging due to the economy, Rick Bakas's recent blog post included the suggestion that wineries cut costs in 2011 by using less oak. According to Bakas, "A brand-spanking new French oak barrel costs somewhere around $800-1200. A barrel can be used a few times before it becomes "neutral," or doesn’t impart oaky flavor. American oak is an option, but French oak is the preferred choice. Wineries order pallets of oak barrels each year. If a winery buys 500 new oak barrels at an average of $1000 per, that’s $500,000 in barrels." And he concludes, in his opinion, with less oak, they'll make better wine.

As far as the wine industry, one industry blogger's prediction was that the two top trends would be emerging markets and the continued focus on social media and mobile technology. VinTank endorses SCVNGR, the location based software that uses geo-social gaming to engage consumers. The gaming aspect is "sticky" keeping users engaged with competitions; and wineries, restaurants, and other businesses offering rewards for SCVNGR active consumers.

I believe technology in general will remain a focus, how to use it better - not only for promotion and social applications - but also to make business run more quickly and efficiently, in uses such as wine lists on iPads, tableside payment systems, Internet ordering, and discounting websites such as Groupon and now LikeList.

What trends are emerging in your area? What ones do you like and what ones are you not so crazy about? Let me know!

-Margie