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A 30-brand restaurant tour of Australia

The focus on healthy menu attributes, such as grass-fed beef, antibiotic and hormone-free products, etc., seemed to be more prevalent than similar products in the United States.

December 10, 2014 by Darrel Suderman — President, Food Technical Consulting

I recently had the privilege to visit over 30 QSR and fast casual-branded restaurants in Australia over a two week span. Having worked for 15 restaurant chains based in the US, I was curious to assess the restaurant climate down under. This blog summarizes some of the food culinary and menu trends occurring within Australia – as well as some comparisons to the US restaurant climate.

Sydney consumer taste trends

Australia is populated by approximately 24 million people of diverse backgrounds, while Sydney represents the largest city with 5 million people. Asian and Middle Eastern demographics seem to represent the fastest growing consumer groups within the Sydney market, and menu listing for these consumer groups reflect their food preferences. I observed that open grilled Halal chicken served with high quality fresh salads dominate Middle Eastern restaurant chains. These consumers show a strong preference for the authenticity of open grilled cooking and premium quality salads. It is my personal opinion that the restaurant industry will continue to grow both in quality and quantity because Sydney possesses one of the top 5 per capita incomes in the world.

A second prevailing flavor trend is Portuguese that reflect Peri-Peri or Piri Piri hot pepper sauce flavors – depending on how you want so spell it. Since chicken is the least expensive protein in the world now, the restaurant brand that leads the Portuguese menu trends is Oporto owned by QSR Holdings in Sydney. Other brands in this category include Nando’s, Chargrill Charlie’s, Frango, and OGalo.

A third menu trend was healthy menu products such as 100-percent grass fed beef, the absence of antibiotics, gluten-free products, and hormone-free chickens, locally grown, etc. The focus on these menu attributes seemed to be more prevalent than similar products in the United States. And a fourth menu trend was new Chipotle-style restaurant brands - specifically Mad Mex and Guzman y Gomez, which are growing fast. Part of the rapid growth of these brands is the Mexican cuisine, but also the preference of consumers to watch their food being prepared and/or assembled.

Best Restaurants

My favorite restaurants were Mr. Wong’s and Zeus Greek Street Food. Mr. Wong’s is a trendy premium quality Chinese cuisine. Specific products that caught my eye within the QSR and fast casual space included:

• Ribs at Ribs & Burgers (pork, beef, and lamb)
• Hot Dogs at Haute Dogs’
• Greek Flat Bread & Wraps at Zeus
• Cookie Crumble Shakes at Original Meatball Company
• Artisanal hand crafted sausages at Snag Stand
• Wraps at Le Wrap
• Tacos and Burritos at Mad Mex and Guzman y Gomez

I observed that a lot of the restaurant concepts appeared to be new and extremely clean – which probably means they are recent additions to the restaurant scene. Only time will tell which concepts can be expected to grow and dominate. And because of Australia’s demographic population dispersion, picking the right locations for individual brands is critical to successful growth. One thing for sure, the smaller Australian population base will cause the successful chains to expand globally. But overall, the future of Australian cuisine is bright.

With a positive economic future for Australia, I believe more brands will take hold and grow in the country down under, and we will see some of these brands eventually show up in the United States. And maybe we will see some emerging US brands down under.

The 10 Pillars of Food Innovation Spring workshop will be held March 16 – 18, 2015, in Denver. To pre-register or to request a private workshop for your company, contact dsuderman@foodbevbiz.com or 303-471-1443. 

About Darrel Suderman

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