restaurant development + design is a user-driven resource for restaurant professionals charged with building new locations and remodeling existing units.
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1 0 r e s t a u r a n t d e v e l o p m e n t + d e s i g n • J U L Y / A U G U S T 2 0 1 5 1. Reimagine, Reinvent, Reallocate, Repeat: Restaurants, retailers and manufacturers must fundamentally reimagine how they go to market and reinvent themselves with a sense of urgency. Reallocate signifcant resources to growth channels and categories, which over the next decade will include a more healthful food supply built on fresher offerings, as well as digital platforms for buying and distributing those items. 2. Act Small to Grow Big: Food companies must accelerate their pace of change and act and think like small companies — or acquire small, more nimble brands. They also must test new products and platforms and be ready to either scale those solutions quickly or fail fast and move on. The "less is more" mindset will play out in productiv- ity initiatives and effcient store designs. 3. Embrace Digital and Big Data: A buildup of research and predictive-analytics teams for consumer and trade customer insights is a must. The challenges of the next decade — including demand for greater transpar- ency and food integrity, falling proft margins, and supply- chain disruptions — can be mitigated with data-driven solutions. 4. Anticipate and Pre-empt the Demand for a Health- Focused Food Supply: Consumers' defnitions of health will continue to evolve. Descriptors like "fresh," "local" and "sustainable" will lose their elitist associations and be insisted upon by all consumers, not just the affuent and the activists. 5. Boost Your CSR Quotient: Radical transparency will be the price of entry for consumers, not just on food companies' ingredient labels but also on their identities as good corporate citizens. Restaurants, retailers and manufac- turers who ignore societal and environmental issues do so at their peril, and they must audit their policies on the three P's (people, products, planet) — but still be mindful of the fourth P: proftability. Everything from antibiotics and humane animal treatment in the supply chain to carbon footprint to employee compensation should be addressed. Be ready to show leadership in at least one of these areas. BUZZ who's doing what Five Get Fit for the Future Strategies A new Technomic report, "Food Industry Transformation: The Next Decade," projects that the food industry will eclipse $2 trillion in annual sales by 2025, and suggests some steps that restaurants can take to ensure they're in great shape to get their share. A Fresh Look for KFC New menu items, a revamped website, new social media and advertising cam- paigns, redesigned packaging and the introduction of a fresh new restaurant prototype are all part of Kentucky Fried Chicken's 75th anniversary celebra- tion this year. As the chain puts it in its celebration announcement, the "fancy redesign" will roll out at restaurants across the country over the next few years. Locations in Louisville, Ky., and Las Vegas already carry the new design, which "brings to life the brand's values while honoring the man who made it all happen: Colonel Sanders. And just like his memorable white suit and ribbon tie, KFC's new design is iconic and distinc- tive, conveying originality, a reputation for quality and, most importantly, show- manship", according to the company.