10 Restaurant Trends That Will Change Your Dining Habits In 2015
CONTRIBUTOR
I cover franchising, startups and entrepreneurship.
Opinions expressed by Forbes Contributors are their own.
What new craze will sweep the nation’s dining scene next year? Restaurant patrons have barely begun thinking about their Christmas shopping, but restaurant research firms are already prognosticating about how the experience of eating out will change in 2015.
One of the most fascinating early forecasts I’ve seen comes from Brooklyn-based international food and restaurant consultants Baum+Whiteman, who’ve released theirtop 11 dining trends for the new year, plus 22 hot restaurant buzzwords for 2015. I’ve boiled their predictions down to the ten most noteworthy new trends — and include my own outlook on each one’s potential.
1. Tech takeover
From mobile apps for pre-ordering your meal before you even arrive, to tablets that let you pay tableside, technology “is upending the way dining out works,” Baum+Whiteman report. At some Pizza Hut restaurants, for instance, diners already order by dragging pizza ingredients onto a pie graphic, and McDonald's MCD +0.81% is testing apps for putting in custom-hamburger orders.
With pressure from labor groups to pay higher wages even at fast-food restaurants, operators are looking to cut staff. As some chains face possible $15-an-hour minimum wage rules in some cities, once-unaffordable tech devices start to look more attractive.
What’s coming next? Baum+Whiteman foresee creative uses for Google GOOGL +1.45%Glass, such as Glass-wearing servers using face recognition technology to quickly locate patrons in crowded bars. Data from Apple AAPL +3.09% Pay and other electronic wallet solutions will also make it easier to personalize our dining experience — waitstaff may soon know everything from our names to what we ordered last time we visited.
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Outlook: Because technology can get orders out faster and turn tables quicker, restaurant owners and patrons are equally enthusiastic about using tech to make dining out more pleasant. Growing use of tech was a big dining trend this year, and there’s no end in sight, as discovering best practices and implementating all these new gadgets will take a while. Baum+Whiteman call tech the top restaurant trend for 2015 — and 2016. I’d say probably, for several years beyond that, too.
2. Top chefs get casual
Opening a fine-dining restaurant with four-star aspirations is a big-money gamble that usually involves backers and more than $1 million. Why should chefs take the risk, when they could cash in big franchising a more casual concept, and let franchise owners spend money to open new locations?
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Could Theranos Go From Unicorn To Unicorpse?
CONTRIBUTOR
I write about my journey as a first-time CEO and startup founder.
Opinions expressed by Forbes Contributors are their own.
The trials and tribulations of Theranos, the startup “Unicorn” of the medical technology field, continue to mount. For those who aren’t familiar, Theranos is a medical startup that claims to have developed a highly disruptive and revolutionary new means of conducting blood tests. These claims, however, were called into question by the Wall Street Journal back in October, causing shockwaves throughout the startup world. If a Unicorn like Theranos (with its most recent valuation reported at $9B) could potentially have such major issues bubbling right beneath the surface, what secrets are others hiding?
The story continues to get worse for Theranos. Earlier this week, the US Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services delivered a strongly worded letter to the blood testing startup. According to the letter, the company’s California facility poses an “immediate jeopardy to patient safety,” and the company has ten days to make changes and provide “acceptable evidence of correction.”
Elizabeth Holmes, Founder & CEO of Theranos being interviewed by Matthew Herper, Senior Editor, Pharma & Healthcare, Forbes Media. (Photo by Lisa Lake/Getty Images)
Theranos has hit so many roadblocks in recent months that many in the industry are beginning to question whether or not it will become the first Unicorn company to collapse. I’m not in a position to opine on the likelihood of this happening, but I can say that if that does happen it will be a sobering moment for startups and investors alike.
We brought this on ourselves
Silicon Valley is as narrow and incestuous a place as has ever existed. While there is undoubtedly a lot of talent and passion to be found, I fear that the spirit of opportunity that once existed has given way to the overwhelming influence of the Technocrati. The insularity and groupthink of these elites has led to a damaging culture of excess and intellectual dishonesty in the Valley.
Not too long ago, Jason Calacanis, an entrepreneur and investor, wrote, “When you’re at scale you will make money – it’s guaranteed!” While I certainly respect much of what Mr. Calacanis has to say, this sentiment sums up everything that is wrong with the VC community today.
