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Top 2016 foodie trends to watch out for

Glasses with fresh organic vegetable and fruit juices isolated on white. Detox diet.

Australian tastes are proving to be quite diverse, simultaneously embracing American-style dude-food venues as well as health- and diet-conscious venues with equal gusto, according to a survey on top 2016 foodie trends.

A survey of 400 hospitality business owners, managers and workers on food trends has found that “dude food” (including burgers and BBQ food), craft beer and cider are hot, while freakshakes and nose-to-tail eating is not.

Australia’s hospitality industry is moving towards sustainable eating, with hospitality experts placing locally sourced and home-grown produce at the top of their list of hot food trends for 2016. One in three (32 per cent) also expect vegan, vegetarian and organic food to be hot this year. Another form of sustainable eating – nose-to-tail – is proving to be less popular, coming in the bottom three of identified trends.

The research revealed that Australians value balance and variety, with extreme eating (extremely healthy or extremely unhealthy) and food-specific venues (such as those selling only one type of food such as jaffles) proving unpopular.

Eating out is usually a social experience involving people with different tastes. To please everyone, it is important for hospitality venues to offer some variety on their menus. As the data from Impos’ research shows, if you narrow your focus too much, you risk losing customers.

Meanwhile, artisanal alcohol is on the rise.

According to the majority of people surveyed (51 per cent), hipsters’ love of artisanal products will see craft beer and cider reign supreme in drink trends this year. This is followed closely by locally made alcohol (38 per cent) and craft spirits (31 per cent). Meanwhile, premixed and bottled cocktails are on their way out (4 per cent).

Decadent Freakshake with ice cream and dougnuts on a white backgroundAustralians are no longer content with the standard selection beers and basics at their local. We are more knowledgeable of the alcohol-making process and understand that not all drinks are made equal. In the pursuit to find the perfect drop, we have become more adventurous in what we’ll try. These days if a bar or pub is going to pull in the punters, it’s got to have a diverse drinks list.

When it comes to non-alcoholic drinks, health conscious juices (31 per cent) and cold drip coffee (27 per cent) are expected to remain popular, while freakshakes (8 per cent) and high-end mocktails (9 per cent) are expected to be less popular.

 Sean O’Meara, CEO, Impos

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