The year 2021 brought no “back to normal” for the restaurant industry.
Instead, at the end of the year, the foodservice sector seems in danger of repeating the darkest days during the pandemic. With the rise of the COVID-19 omicron variant, fresh uncertainty is the reality for restaurant operators nearly two years after the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Packer has reported periods of resurgence of foodservice demand, but the sector was far from normal even before the concern about the omicron variant.
According to the Independent Restaurant Coalition, more than 90,000 restaurants and bars have closed since the start of the pandemic, and 86% of restaurant and bar owners said in early December they will close without another round of grants from the government's Restaurant Revitalization Fund. With the omicron variant causing new concerns in December, OpenTable reported in early December that reservations dropped 48% in New York City and 39% in Chicago compared with 2019 levels.
At least for the start of 2022, the foodservice sector will face more uncertainty, requiring produce suppliers to maintain flexibility to meet changing market needs for the ailing sector.
These are the foodservice trends from fall 2021
Dec. 9
By Amy Sowder
The appeal of familiar, comforting food in an uncertain world is fading, even though we’re heading into winter when carbs are king.
Cooped-up consumers want new experiences, culinary adventures and fun dining fare.
Restaurant menus should experiment with unusual produce items or common ingredients used in new ways, said Mike Kostyo, trendologist at Datassential, as he explained the latest findings in the United Fresh Produce Association’s Fresh Insights for Foodservice Fall 2021 report.
Foodservice begins upward climb
Dec. 6
By Tom Burfield
It’s been nearly two years since the COVID-19 pandemic burst onto the scene, and produce distributors such as those in Nogales, Ariz., embarked on what many likened to one long rollercoaster ride.
Potatoes USA study looks at foodservice performance in 2020-21
November 21
By Tom Karst
Fresh potatoes have struggled at foodservice outlets during the pandemic, but frozen potatoes have gained market share during the past year, according to a new report from Potatoes USA.
Called the 2020-21 Potato Volumemetric document, the study measures the potato volume data for both fresh and processed potatoes during the marketing year from July 2020 to June 2021 in the U.S. foodservice marketplace.
According to the report, fresh potato foodservice demand totaled 2.89 million pounds in marketing year 2021, down 344 million pounds from a year ago and off 1.12 billion pounds from marketing year 2019.
Recent survey of New York City restaurants finds more than 90% of restaurants have customer-facing challenges
November 19
By Tom Karst
Attendees of the New York Produce Show and Conference will find plenty of restaurants open for business in December, but the recovery from the pandemic continues to be rocky for many operators.
A mid-October survey of New York City restaurants across all five boroughs found that a majority of operators have substantial staffing and customer-facing challenges relating to the city’s vaccine mandate.
To dine indoors, New York City requires that those 12 and older must show identification and proof they have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. In addition, the mandate also requires vaccination for employees at restaurants.
According to the survey of 125 restaurant operators, conducted by the New York State Restaurant Association, more than 90% of restaurants have customer-facing challenges, with the most common being customers refusing to dine after the vaccine mandate is enforced.
At the same time, more than 75% of operators reported they have staff-facing challenges, with the most common being staff refusing to get vaccinated. This has resulted in a significant reduction in available workers at a time when “virtually no restaurant” is fully staffed, the survey said.
Mexican avocado foodservice sales on the rise again
November 10
By Tom Burfield
Foodservice sales that plummeted during the pandemic are edging upward once again, but avocado importers say labor shortages are preventing the business from reaching pre-COVID-19 levels.
Foodservice sales dropped 20% to 50% during the pandemic for West Pak Avocado Inc., in Murrieta, Calif., depending on chain or distributor, said Doug Meyer, senior vice president of sales and marketing.
Tre’dish receives $10 million investment as home-to-home food economy grows
November 4
Industry Press Release
Home-to-Home food technology platform and community marketplace Tre’dish has today announced a $10 million seed funding round as it commercializes and scales operations across the U.S. and Canada.
USDA aims to help schools deal with supply chain challenges for meals
September 29
By Tom Karst
It is lunchtime, but some U.S. schools have reported trouble finding the right foods to put in student meals.
The USDA on Sept. 29 announced further assistance to help school foodservice directors respond to supply chain disruptions. The newly announced assistance follows a mid-September waiver from USDA that helps schools struggling to procure food and supplies from being financially penalized if shortages prevent them from meeting certain federal regulatory requirements for school meals.
The USDA announced Sept. 29 that it would give up to $1.5 billion for assistance to help schools respond to supply chain disruptions.
Food price inflation higher for restaurants
September 24
By Tom Karst
Overall inflation in the U.S. economy was running hotter than food inflation in August, government numbers reveal.
The all-items Consumer Price Index (CPI), a measure of economywide inflation, increased by 0.2% from July 2021 to August 2021 before seasonal adjustment, up 5.3% from August 2020. The CPI for all food increased 0.4% from July 2021 to August 2021, and food prices were 3.7% higher than in August 2020, according to the USDA’s Food Price Outlook report.
Michigan produce wholesalers roll with it
September 14
By Amy Sowder
“It feels like the foodservice business is close to back to normal. Maybe not 100%, but by leaps and bounds,” said Jim Bommarito, president of R.A.M. Produce Distributors LLC, at the Detroit Produce Terminal.
By the end of August, R.A.M.’s sales were up for many stock-keeping units of smaller, fancier specialty produce favored by restaurants, such as petite romaine and artisan lettuces.
Study looks at best places for restaurant rebound
September 7
By Tom Karst
What U.S. metropolitan regions are the most likely to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic?
Researchers at LendingTree think they have the answer.
The researchers analyzed key metrics (including consumer spending at restaurants, job postings in the hospitality industry, and time that consumers spent away from home at retail and restaurants) across the 50 largest metro areas to find the places where the restaurant industry is most likely to recover this year.
Foodservice packaging needs draw attention
August 31
By Tom Karst
Produce packaging design for foodservice customers is perhaps less demanding than consumer packaging, but both produce shippers and packaging suppliers predict sustainability influences will expand.
Because of the larger pack size and more bulk shipment, less plastic is used in foodservice. What plastic that is used can evolve toward more eco-friendly options, sources said.
NYC foodservice suppliers uncertain about new indoor-dining vaccine rule
August 6
By Amy Sowder
NEW YORK — New York City will be the first in the U.S. to require people to show proof of vaccination to dine indoors at restaurants. How will this mandate affect foodservice demand from the area's produce wholesalers?
Mayor Bill DeBlasio told The New York Times that the requirement is an aggressive measure to curtail the third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic as the delta variant sweeps across the nation.
Announced Aug. 3, the mandate begins Aug. 16 and will be enforced Sept. 13.
What the milestone PMA Foodservice show was like, in person
July 28
By Amy Sowder
MONTEREY, CALIF. — While seagulls cooed and squawked atop Spanish-tiled roofs and palm leaves fluttered in the Pacific breeze, produce professionals streamed inside the Monterey Conference Center for the 40th anniversary Produce Marketing Association (PMA) Foodservice Conference & Expo.
“Welcome Back,” in a font resembling the “Friends” TV show, greeted attendees above entrance doors.
Almost 30% of registered attendees were from buyer companies, said PMA CEO Cathy Burns. The new Hosted Buyers Program helped that percentage, inspiring industry members to contribute to bring buyer companies to Monterey that may not be able to attend otherwise.
Inflation could cause consumers to pull back on restaurant spending
July 20
By Tom Karst
Chicago-based data company Numerator has released a new study to understand the impact of inflation on recent and upcoming shopping behavior.
If inflation continues, the survey found that restaurant spending will likely decline for three out of four consumers.
With inflation up 5.4% in June compared with the prior year, there is substantial fear among consumers that inflation will continue and hike prices of groceries, services, and other goods.
‘Perfect storm’ makes restaurant recovery a long haul
July 1
By Margy Eckelkamp
It’s estimated that, because of the influence of the COVID-19 pandemic, 90,000 restaurants have closed either permanently or long term. That’s according to Mike Whatley, vice president of state affairs and grassroots advocacy for the National Restaurant Association.
Whatley joined AgriTalk host Chip Flory to talk about the ongoing challenges facing the restaurant industry.
At the root of many of the woes of hospitality is labor, of which, Whatley said, we are experiencing “the perfect storm in terms of labor challenges ... across the country.”
Americans want to get out of their houses and eat out
June 29
By Tom Karst
Americans are ready to leave their homes and are spending money at restaurants when they are out.
JP Frossard, New York-based analyst with RaboResearch, said that retail spending data from the U.S. Census in mid-June confirm that “after 15 months of home-cooking, home-office, homeschooling, home-everything, all the consumer wants is to be away from home.”
East Coast foodservice demand picking up — in these ways
June 19
By Amy Sowder
Richard “RJ” Durante chatted on his cell phone while riding in the cab of the Nardella Produce truck from the Philadelphia Wholesale Produce Market to deliver to Pie Lady Café in Moorestown, N.J.
Durante and several East Coast wholesalers say foodservice demand is picking up — bit by bit, not in the same way, or, some even say, to near pre-COVID-19 levels.
These are the spring 2021 foodservice trends for produce
May 13
By Amy Sowder
Fresh produce plays a leading role in ghost kitchens, virtual brands and delivery-only concepts taking the spotlight during the pandemic and not stepping offstage soon.
United Fresh Produce Association released its spring 2021 Fresh Insights for Foodservice report, revealing trends that growers, wholesalers, marketers and other industry professionals can use in making decisions.
CPMA: Don’t say the word ‘pivot,’ but fine, foodservice pivoted
April 15
By Amy Sowder
Steve Bamford was reluctant to utter the overused word “pivot,” but there’s good reason it’s been said ad nauseam in the past year.
How foodservice businesses have adapted and innovated since the pandemic began was Bamford’s focus as moderator of the foodservice panel and session at the April 12-16 Canadian Produce Marketing Association’s virtual Fresh Week conference and trade show.
“Like you, we had to make some very difficult decisions,” said Bamford, CEO of Fresh Advancements, a wholesaler in the Ontario Produce Terminal. “It’s amazing how you guys have adapted and moved forward.”