Food and Drink Trends for UK Hospitality Venues: What’s Hot in 2024
2024 is set to be an exciting year with diverse and exciting trends for UK hospitality. All set against a backdrop of growing consumer demand to be “wowed”, hospitality venues all across the UK are looking at ways to attract diners. London is truly the epicentre of the food scene, a market that never stands still and caters to the bulk of domestic and international tourists alike. This year, it’s set to intensify even further, and the competition to tap into the latest trends to entice crowds heats up.
Here’s a look at the top 5 trends we’re set to see this year across UK hospitality venues.
Fusion Flavours
Keeping up with the latest food tastes often means fusing them – and that’s big on the menu this year! Expect to see Korean tacos to Indian-inspired pizzas, and chefs will delight diners with innovative mashups that pay homage to multiple cuisines. Fusion doesn’t always have to be high-end, either. The emergence of a food-court style offering Arcade, offering several vendors under one roof, blending cool with fast, matched with quality.
Hyper-Local Focus
Food provenance continues to be top of mind and will really come to the fore this year. Farm-to-fork concepts that offer the best the local area has to offer tap into consumer’s demand for transparency around sourcing and supporting local producers. Showcasing the best of what the UK’s diverse landscapes have to offer. “Eating the seasons” has become a term that resonates with conscious consumers, eating the best of what’s fresh and best – the pick of the drop, expect menus to celebrate the bounty of local ingredients.. One pioneer in this space is The Black Lamb, part of Gladwin Brothers, who serve the best of British food and pour English sparklings.
Functional Drinks
January is the time of the year when health-related drinks have their “moment”. However, in 2024 this won’t be only a limited-time thing. As consumers continue to be health-conscious, they are looking for drinks that are satisfying and offer functional benefits. Low and No alcohol drinks really kicked this off, and the trend continues this year, from adaptogenic elixirs to CBD-infused cocktails. Expect to see more benefit-led drinks menus – from boosting immunity to reducing stress. Bartenders will flex into this space by catering to both the health-conscious and adventurous drinkers. Leading quirky venue Mr Foggs House of Botanicals is (as always) on-point with their range of CBD drinks, including those housed in some interesting glassware!
Plant-Based Menus
The plant-based eating diet shows no sign of slowing down in 2024. With more consumers all across the UK choosing to flex more plant and less meat into their diets, this trend is set to up its game in 2024. This year it’s all about being inventive in both a la carte menus as well as for canapes for groups or events. Consumers who seek to incorporate a plant-based diet into their lifestyles want to do so without compromising taste and innovation. Vegetable-centric dishes like those on offer a Mallow in London do just this and set the standard for plant-based global dishes made from area-sourced ingredients.
Craving Entertainment
There is no stopping the juggernaut that is competitive socialising venues up and down the UK. Those venues that perfectly blend entertainment with a diverse, exciting, and innovative array of food and drinks hit the spot for consumer demands. No longer content with team drinks at pub venues like TOCA Social up-the-ante and offer immersive experiences that bring people together and don’t compromise on food and drink offerings too. Consumers who want real “bang for buck” and corporate bookers who want fun, energetic, and memorable moments created for their teams are well catered for in London, from Cricket to darts and F1 arcade games.
In 2024, consumers have high expectations and will be considerate about their spend on a number of fronts. Venues tapping into these trends are sure to position themselves as venues of choice for UK consumers all throughout the year. Cheers to the exciting year ahead all across the UK!
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