Sirha Lyon devoted 3 sessions to the economic revival of the Food Service after the health crisis.
Invited to the last of this series of talks led by Michel Tanguy, Florence Berger, Associate Director of Food Service Vision expert on the French market, Ludovic Mey, chef and owner of Apothecaries and Food Traboule in Lyon, a food court of a new kind in the Vieux Lyon, and Antoine Ménard, COO of Paris Society in charge of the group's development. All three were asked during this conversation to give their analysis of what happened to the behaviors and expectations of the French client after long months of deprivation of the experiential part, a term "in fashion" as Antoine points out. Ménard, synonymous today with rediscovered conviviality, which makes all the salt of a restaurant outing.
QR Code entered into the customs
In terms of usage, everyone agrees that the crisis has accelerated certain things, mainly through digital means. The QR code for example. From Food Service Vision surveys, Florence Berger draws the following conclusion: "It is accepted by the consumer, not necessarily requested, but it is a passage, a change of use that has taken place. Which is understood by the consumer and which is widely accepted by two-thirds of French people we interviewed. It can be a use that is perpetuated. "For Ludovic Mey," it's part of tomorrow ". For Antoine Ménard, this is a fait accompli but for Paris Society, the priority was not to find how to adapt to the constraints of the crisis thanks to digital technology but to use it to prepare for the way out of the crisis, the offer de Paris Society being difficult to reconcile with the click & collect: “We sell a plate, we sell a drink, but we also sell an experience that involves a place, a musical atmosphere, and entertainment. And suddenly it was quite difficult to transport to the consumer at home. We preferred to continue working on our new offers, new openings… We will have to provide additional reasons to make people want to go to a restaurant. "
Optimism for the start of the school year
What will remain of common uses in times of crisis? The hydroalcoholic gel, undoubtedly the only barrier gesture which will last according to Antoine Ménard, the concern for the origin and the eco-responsibility of what one ingests and the appetite for the terraces, the large spaces where one can live the restaurant in all user-friendliness. Florence Berger notes that, while a little over 50% of the people interviewed by Food Service Vision tend to focus on local products and traditional dishes, 47% are more interested in discovering new cuisines. This reflects a need "for renewal, and for originality, which is stronger than a few months ago. So catering must also bring that, taste discovery. "
This third and final talk ends on an overall note of optimism for the back-to-school forecast. As Ludovic Mey sums it up so well: "Anyway, when the weather is good in a nice setting, when there is a great experience, customers come. It will always work for sure. "Florence Berger translates it into figures:" What we could nevertheless observe over ten days of the reopening of the terraces is that 1 in 4 French people returned to the restaurant with the weather conditions that we all have in mind. We really interpret this figure as a real rush to restaurants. The forecast is that nearly 90% of them will have returned to restaurants by the end of the summer. "
