Super sandwiches, dynamic desserts, and the new wave of Greek restaurants sweeping the UK
Just a sandwich?
Hello and welcome to the June edition of our Food & Drink Trends Digest, brought to you direct from Egg Soldiers' pioneering hub, Insights Lab!
Earlier this month, we considered emerging UK sandwich trends for 2023/24, particularly in foodservice, and the innovative flavours, fillings and formats being used to great effect as food-to-go's post-Covid recovery continues.
Our Insights Lab team showcased five artisan sandwich creations from across the UK that caught the eye in terms of future development opportunities, with globally-inspired flavour riffs, groundbreaking ingredient combinations, and next-level bread all featured.
“Indulgent, comforting, Insta-worthy 'super-sandwiches' fairly toe the line between on-the-go accessibility and sit-down decadence,” said our Creative Director, Toph Ford.
“They can also seriously deliver on the perception of quality and, if priced right, value for money. Within the UK artisan sandwich arena, XXL sandwiches are becoming something of a norm, mirroring US trends and establishing new levels of food-to-go indulgence among hungry consumers.
“But, regardless of size, choosing the right bread for your sandwich NPD is just as important as the development of flavour-forward fillings. From potato rolls to kaiser rolls, milk bread to rotis; there are certainly plenty of options, with wraps and flatbreads currently in-vogue among high street chain operators.
“Regeneratively farmed wheat, pioneered by suppliers such as Wildfarmed, could add an appealing, altogether-sustainable differential to applicable bread options in this space.”
Check out our full piece on sandwich innovation for 2024 right here!
You wanted cake, you got cake...
Insights Lab also saved room for dessert this month.
During a cost-of-living crisis, translating UK dessert trends can be tricky business, with consumers continuing to curb weekly spending habits in order to save money.
Indeed, many restaurants are now trimming back on the number of sweet options available on à la carte menus with diners cutting back on their eating out spend, often eschewing larger, more complicated numbers in favour of small, sweet hits to round meals off.
But what does this mean for food innovation teams looking ahead with their dessert NPD? As a starting point this month, we showcased five dessert thought-starters as part of first stage product ideation for 2024.
A choc ice collaboration between Mondo Brewing Company and vegan innovator, Vagabond, made the list, with the former keeping with the handheld theme for its new pizza slice and beer operation, Mondo Beer + Pizza. Together, they developed an exclusive choc ice flavour that features Mondo's 11.5% barrel-aged imperial stout, Candy Candy.
Robin Gill’s neighbourhood Italian restaurant Maria G's also got in with its "off menu hack": a combination of its maritozzi and fior di latte gelato desserts.
Allowing diners to combine the two for a custom dessert is eye-catching, bringing customisation into the fold to push perceptions of not only personalisation and a greater connect to the restaurant with a 'hack', but also value, namely getting the best of both worlds in one dessert.
Catch our full piece on dessert innovation for 2024 right here!
FREE WHITEPAPER: UK Hospitality Food & Drink Trends to Watch 2023/24
Egg Soldiers is a pioneering group of expert chefs, product/recipe developers and leading F&B trend experts, with our experience spanning multi-Michelin starred development kitchens, national retail and global food insight agencies.
Through our new Insights Lab, we're delving deep into the food and consumer trends shaping the UK hospitality industry today, delivering cutting-edge insight and bespoke reports that convert these trends into concepts that really reach consumers.
Download our free whitepaper on UK hospitality food & drink trends to watch for 2023/24, and discover how we can help your business tap into the food and drink trends that matter.
Greek, incoming!
While a well-loved cuisine among consumers, with the Mediterranean country a favourite among holidaymakers every year; Greek food is still yet to really make its mark on the UK restaurant sector.
Over the past decade, independent family-run eateries, The Real Greek restaurant chain (and a couple of other smaller operations), a flock of street food operators, and a smattering of modern Greek approaches have enjoyed moderate successes while Italian, Asian and American chains dominate city streets.
Fast-forward to today, however, and there's a growing pile of evidence to suggest Greek cuisine is far from finished in terms of attempting to establish itself as a key part of the UK's restaurant scene, with new openings once again on the rise across London.
Egg Soldiers' Insights Lab has been analysing the potential growth of Greek cuisine in the UK as new restaurant entries continue to emerge, with a focus on the key menu offerings, current consumer drivers and priorities when eating out, and what broader opportunities there might be for innovation teams in 2024.
This month, we highlighted five of those entries, with traditional rustic, modern takes, and fusion among the routes being explored by this new wave of Greek restaurateurs.
Looking to read on? You know what to do.
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⏩ More from Egg Soldiers' Insights Lab
📸 Gram Greatness - our favourite social media spots this month
First up is an inspired spin on the Koji Hardshake, a cocktail cult classic from former London bar, Dandelyan.
Found at The Dead Rabbit in NYC, The Soka Hardshake is a combination of Soka (a fermented sorghum juice-based spirit from innovators, Empirical), soda bread amazake, toasted cream, miso, Lyaness Death Bitters and lemon, garnished with a torched marshmallow 🍸
LA-style smash burger joint Bun & Sum in East London set tongues wagging with one of their latest specials: The Bow Dip.
Featuring two smash patties, American cheese and 12-hour smoked brisket; the burger comes with a pot of beef au jus (cooking juices) for decadent dipping.
As mentioned in our sandwich article this month, we’re all about XXL creations delivering unrestrained indulgence and comfort 🔥
Having mastered the éclair, London-based choux pastry specialists Maitre Choux are now taking on the religieuse, a stacked choux pastry, announcing the launch of a dedicated range this month.
Six flavours make up the new ‘Miracle’ range: Pure Pecan, Deep Purple Blueberries, Persian Pistachio, Italian Lemon, Summer Berries, and Piedmont Hazelnut & Chocolate Haze 🎇
We’re big fans of Luke Farrell and his growing empire of Southeast Asian restaurants in London (particularly Speedboat Bar in Soho), with his Instagram a never-ending stream of F&B inspiration.
Take this Man Duay Tua, a ‘slush’ of coconut milk, red bean, macerated pineapple, sweet potato and Job's Tears, the latter being a grass crop traditionally used to relieve fatigue and insomnia 💤
Over in Saint-Tropez, chef Valentine Costuna recently showcased an innovative dessert featuring a crystallised winemaking by-product.
Those red shards are tartrate crystals from naturally-occurring tartaric acid, otherwise known as ‘wine diamonds’, harvested from a tank of fermented grenache grapes.
Costuna used these shards as a garnish, combined with lacto-fermented honey and burnt vanilla powder, atop a classic ganache with raspberries and a blackberry siphon 🧨
Elis, the second London-based restaurant from Michelin-starred chef Rafael Cagali, took to social media recently to shout about “a totally underappreciated element” from its porchetta dish: banana cachaca salsa.
“Sweet, acidic with a bit of heat, it brings a whole new flavour to this indulgent dish.”
A fresh, zingy salsa is superb for cutting through the fat of pork belly, with Elis’ dish also coming with feijoada-style beans cooked in pork stock 👌
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