Breg made the point that healthy eating “affects your margins”, and added: “We make money from booze and steak, so if people are pushed towards healthier items, and people eat less, that erodes our income”.
Offering a beverage perspective, Brandon Grusd, operations manager, Fling Bar Services, commented: “We are navigating the health explosion and we are seeing customers be very conscious of that. In terms of the cost of being healthy and the carbon footprint of moving ingredients from here to here, it is a big problem. We’re finding that we are moving towards shrubs, vinegars, and acids instead of lime juice, and we’re seeing that we can save on costs.
"With value, people are more aware — they want to know that they are getting the better products for that price. They may still order an expensive drink because we are in an environment where people are happy to pay for it, but there has to be value for it and if that’s not coming through the drink, it needs to come through the experience.”
Changing preferences
The group reflected on the evolution of how people socialise, with Fay Economides saying: ”Restaurants and nightlife [venues] are morphing, so people want to have food and have a night out. It’s more comfortable. In Greece, this has been the preferred way of going out for the last 10 years. It’s about convenience.”
Alex Economides said: “If you look at the nightclub industry, it’s not really on an upward trend; I feel that there’s decreasing interest in nightclubs or pure beverage venues. And it’s not just a local trend — I was in Mykonos last summer and saw the difference there. The nightlife has decreased very visibly.” Putting a label on the trend, Breg added:
“There’s a name for it — vibe. You’ve got a vibe restaurant here [referring to Rüya]. Vibe is global.”
Entrepreneurship
The conversation covered start-ups and “the need for more female entrepreneurs and restaurateurs,” according to Breg.
In response, Banks remarked: “If you’re an entrepreneur, owner-operator or work in a big hospitality business, it’s long hours and very demanding, so to get that balance between family life, if you want it, a personal life and a career, means this is not the easiest industry to achieve all that in.”
The panel agreed that recent changes in the UAE are encouraging for the industry. “The change in bankruptcy laws about a year ago means that you can be more adventurous,” Breg stated. “That’s how you get innovation and young entrepreneurs to take a risk because they are not as unprotected as they once would have been,” Alex Economides added.
The Caterer Middle East: Food & Business Conference 2017 will take place on March 7 at Grosvenor House Dubai. More than 170 delegates have confirmed their attendance so far, coming together to discuss the opportunities for growth and debate key challenges facing the regional industry.
Some seats are still available and anyone interested in attending should email louby.maktari@itp.com.
For sponsorship opportunities please email stephen.price@itp.com
| Advertisement |
Search our database of more than 2,700 industry companies
