Operations
Industry experts weigh in on 2022 trends
The restaurant industry is facing challenges like never before. Industry experts weigh in on what 2022 holds in part one of our two-part look at future trends.
December 20, 2021 by Mandy Wolf Detwiler — Editor, Networld Media Group
This is the first part of a two-part series on 2022 restaurant trends.
Few people would argue that 2021 has brought its own set of unique challenges for the restaurant industry. From supply chain issues to critical staffing shortages, even the largest restaurant chain has felt the pinch this year.
So what does 2022 hold? QSRweb and PizzaMarketplace reached out to industry experts via email interviews to get their predictions for the new year.
Hiring remains critical
Restaurants will continue to struggle with the number one issue at the forefront now — labor, said Robin Gagnon, co-founder of We Sell Restaurants.
"This issue will carry into 2022 and beyond," Gagnon said. "Hiring will become more competitive and there will be a race to implement any form of technology to assist in overcoming labor issues by replacing hours in the labor schedule with any form of an automated function. As a result of the pressure on restaurants for staffing, (restaurants) will continue to raise pay, increase benefits and become more creative in their hiring practices.
"Restaurants will lean more on younger employees to fill the gap with 'Gen Z' or Zoomers taking on more shifts. This will lead to training on apps that reaches 'Zoomers' where they live, on their phones, to quickly train new concepts for fast onboarding. There will be more employees per location all filling fewer hours as COVID has led to a migration out of the business for those seeking full time permanent roles."
When it comes to hiring, it's not just important to connect with potential employees. It's imperative to do so as quickly as possible because you're in direct competition with other potential employers.
"Response time to candidates will be critical in the next year. Candidates are job shopping not job hunting," said Vivian Wang, founder and CEO of Landed, a mobile app connecting hourly food and retail workers with local employers. "General managers need to respond to candidates in under three hours in order to catch candidates while their interest is high. Anything beyond that is too slow and they'll likely have found something else."
In addition, general manager turnover has increased, so a key theme in 2022 is how to keep general managers happy and increase automation to reduce their rote tasks. Benefits matter as the hiring market became so competitive in this space. In 2022, restaurants will need to pay market or above-market wages for their workers, allow for a degree of work schedule flexibility, and demonstrate a commitment to diversity and inclusiveness, Wang said.
Wetzel's Pretzels recently held an offsite meeting to build growth ideas for 2022, said Jennifer Schuler, CEO of Wetzel's Pretzels.
"One of the areas of focus was 'how do we leverage the incredible growth in our corporate stores in 2021 and continue it in 2022?'" she said. "We opened a handful of successful corporate stores this year and when I wrote that question, what I specifically had in mind was where we could increase our corporate store footprint. Do we open a food truck in California? Do we pursue a new market like Texas where we see population growth? Or do we add another location at Disney Springs? These are the classic strategic questions leaders ask as they think about how to grow their business.
"What came back from the team, was different than those 'classic' answers. Their entire focus was how do we better support our people. How do we provide a development path for talented and motivated corporate store crew members to become general managers and someday, franchise owners? How do we provide new benefits like childcare so that our general managers have the support they need? What if we selected where to build our new stores exclusively based on where we have talented people ready and excited to manage their own store? Rather than picking a market for its population growth, what if we made choices based on the opportunity to drive personal growth for our people? My 2022 prediction is people and personal growth first. The profits will follow."
Supply chain issues continue
Second only to labor challenges are supply chain disruptions. Supply chain issues continue to plague just about every industry as ships off the coasts offload slowly and trucking shortages across the country linger.
Jim Balis, managing director of CapitalSpring's strategic operations group, offered up his predictions for next year when it comes to supply chain issues in the restaurant industry.
"When it comes to supply chain in the restaurant industry, restaurant owners will have to continue to be flexible in 2022," Balis said. "If you're unable to get a specific ounce of chicken breast, you might need to go slightly bigger or smaller. The goal is to stay ahead of the situation and have a plan B and C in the event you need to pivot quickly. The good news is that we're starting to see some relief when it comes to prices and availability. The cost associated with products like cheese, wings and other proteins that had been on the rise are starting to come down. It seems like we're at a stabilization point, and while prices may not decrease drastically, they probably not going to increase significantly either."
Dining returns indoors
Regaining customer confidence and trust in eating indoors will continue to be a challenge for restaurants in 2022. There are still some diners who have concerns due to mutating COVID-19 strains like Delta and Omicron.
"To help regain that trust and confidence, we installed AtmosAir bi-polar ionization technology into Barano's HVAC system," said Al Dimeglio, owner of Barano, a wood fired pizza and pasta restaurant in Brooklyn, New York.
"These devices improve wellness by suppressing airborne and surface micro-organisms and pathogens, including viruses, bacteria, mold, and irritating volatile organic compounds. They have also tested more than 99.9% effective in helping stop the spread of coronavirus in the air and on surfaces in a contained space. They not only help mitigate coronavirus, but they provide clean indoor air throughout my restaurant. We added this indoor air quality enhancement, because not only was it the right thing to do for our staff and our customers but to encourage our guests that it's okay to feel safe when eating indoors."
And those restaurants that have opened their dining rooms have had to focus harder on sanitation. Masks are still required in some large cities, as is proof of vaccination.
About Mandy Wolf Detwiler
Mandy Wolf Detwiler is the managing editor at Networld Media Group and the site editor for PizzaMarketplace.com and QSRweb.com. She has more than 20 years’ experience covering food, people and places.
An award-winning print journalist, Mandy brings more than 20 years’ experience to Networld Media Group. She has spent nearly two decades covering the pizza industry, from independent pizzerias to multi-unit chains and every size business in between. Mandy has been featured on the Food Network and has won numerous awards for her coverage of the restaurant industry. She has an insatiable appetite for learning, and can tell you where to find the best slices in the country after spending 15 years traveling and eating pizza for a living.
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