we would like to start a discussion on eno-gastronomy as we believe it is perhaps the sector that expresses most fluently the plurality of the presents we are living.
food and wine are knowledge, nutrition, care and conviviality.
they are familiarity, hospitality, perceived identity.
they are also multi-faceted verticals, businesses sustaining wide ecosystems.
an important creative industry linking and activating others.
an agent of mobilization and integration.
through literature and media – books, movies, tv, socials and videogames – eno-gastronomy permeates all corners of pop and internet culture; it has become a formidable communication tool.
awareness about ‘the state of food’ has incredibly evolved in the last decade, or rather returned to be a matter of discussion. consumers and particularly the youth – millennials and generation z – are paying attention.
albeit skeptic of ‘labels’ and critical in the approach to information, buyers seem to have developed a sense of agency towards food that in recent years has fueled organized groups and start-up on a mission to improve the way we eat, and the way food is produced.
in wine we have seen the rise of bio-dynamic and organic vintages.
conversations on food articulate around two propositions: whether we should re-do food – alternative proteins, novel foods, and so on – or undo food – going back to a more traditional way of growing and consuming. both approaches aim to reduce the impact industry and animal husbandry have on the environment as well as tackle food scarcity and inequality. both have devoted proselytes who often and happily alternate different food options, agreeing on the importance of ‘honest’ value. sharing a vision of a ‘greater good’.
changes in eno-gastronomy, however, are about the content as much as about the way wine and food are consumed, the places where they are consumed and how these impact our sociality .
restaurants, eateries, and lunch venues – already orphaned by tourists – have either temporary been closed by regulations or emptied by worried customers and remote workers.
dining-in restaurants have shifted to takeaway, organizing deliveries, adapting menus to customers’ needs and supply chain alterations.
some eateries have added retail areas to sell stocks and products made in house.
reasonably, these changes are already informing and designing the future development of the sector reflecting the needs of a society that would probably behave differently and – with less and differently planned work – is re-considering geo-location, making alternative lifestyle choices.
spaces will change: smaller foot prints, different locations in neighborhoods-communities; redesigned into natural looking, ‘sustainable’ styles, equipped with manicured outdoors and ‘built-in’ safety and hygiene measures.
yet, would it be enough?
the recent medical emergency has been building upon behavioral changes that were already brewing for a while. quick serving and casual eating formats were trending before the pandemic and reacted better to lock-down closures and lower traffic particularly when already equipped with takeaway.
after having worked at home, furthermore, customers seem to be more likely to order food from platforms, micro food businesses, and physical restaurants. food delivery business is projected to reach sales of 151 million USD and 1,333 millions users in 2021, with subsequent annual growth of 6.4% .
restaurant groups are creating white labels and ghost kitchens serving exclusively an online audience.
people have been rediscovering home-cooking, one of the few residues of tactile living in a heavily digitized lifestyle and continue enjoying a comforting, domestic culinary dimension even after being obliged to stay home.
the cumulative effect of these new behaviors will probably not substitute restaurant all together, but it is denting into their businesses with consequences impacting the entire food ecosystems – farmers, producers, suppliers – who are diversifying their distribution network and retooling to develop a direct relation with consumers.
technology is helping restaurants enhance visibility, taking orders, managing takeaway and retail.
food delivery companies have introduced new verticals: groceries and marketplace.
supermarkets – cash-rich winners of the pandemic – are delivering groceries along with prepared meals.
all categories are moving closer together creating more competition and more ‘noise’. operators have increased acquisitions, and investment to enhance communication and services to customers – curb side pick up, click and collect, cashier less stores, voice enable ups, mobile aps and so on.
gamification has entered the supermarket area.
as each segment of the food market fights for the attention of final patrons, the pressure is mounting.
clients are taking advantage of the ‘convenience’ but are also showing signs of impatience towards the intense use of personal information that is enabling retailers operations.
in china – the country that saw the biggest growth of e-commerce grocery ever – the first signs of reaction. net citizen expressing signs of digital fatigue, lamenting nostalgia for old grocery shopping and emphasizing e-commerce companies’ responsibility in causing the demise of small shops. a sentiment echoing the call for the betterment of business in other parts of the world that should warn operators and companies.
a determined breed of consumers and gatekeepers in the food business – seemingly looking for different contents in difference places with different purposes – is pushing for sustainability, honest products, better value proposition, gender and racial equality and shaping a new sociality.
this is a more straightforward, bold and unapologetic approach that would not perhaps crash corporations and big chains in this moment, but it is a force to recon with.
here, diverse ways to start to appraise the present and imagine futures of eno-gastronomy from multidisciplinary and culturally diverse stand points.
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appraisal. at present. is a collection of self-initiated, multi-disciplinary, community driven researches and articles about customer facing businesses. it is produced by praxis in addition to client work.