LAS VEGAS -- I blame you, Aaron Noveshen. Your presentation at the NACS Show in October, with all its examples of bleeding-edge foodservice trends and concepts, was incredibly exciting and motivating. But as the days have slipped past since the show’s close, that excitement was replaced with fear—fear for our industry in a rapidly changing world.
Noveshen, founder and president of San Francisco-based The Culinary Edge, shared the story of Eatsa, a concept that weds mobile ordering with the old-school automat—delivering speed and convenience but with trendy foods in a hip setting. He explored Uma Temakeria, a spot selling sushi that’s no less portable and cost-effective than a sub sandwich or slice of pizza. And he talked about Sprig and SpoonRocket, two new app-based delivery services that will bring you high-quality foods (grilled salmon with balsamic-butter sauce, smoked gouda mac and cheese with barbecue pulled pork) in 15 minutes.
Fifteen minutes, people.
As the NACS Show went on and I absorbed all there was to see, images of the presentation kept trickling back into my mind. Scanning the aisles, sitting in other workshops, I began to wonder: Will all of this be irrelevant in 30 years? Our industry is in the middle of a strong upward momentum when it comes to foodservice understanding, innovation and evolution. But is it enough?
Of course, I don’t really blame Aaron. (The Culinary Edge is an amazing consultancy worth your attention.) Signs of the changing times are everywhere—on the covers of Fast Company and Bloomberg, in your news feeds, part of everyday conversations with friends and family. And this goes well beyond foodservice, too. In our November issue, Samantha Oller explores the rise of app-based, on-demand fueling services that bring the gas to the consumer. Amazon just launched its one-hour delivery service in my city. The disruptors are everywhere.
But there’s a glass-half-full way to look at these disruptors: They know no segment. This isn’t restaurant vs. c-store, or mass merchandiser vs. c-store. Traditional restaurant, retail and CPG are just as nervous as you are (or should be). No one segment will come out on top, necessarily; rather, it’s those disruptors within the segments who will move on to the next iteration of commerce.
In fact, we can get that glass three-quarters full if we wanted to: You can be a disruptor.
Don’t be like me in the days after NACS, questioning the speed of our momentum, especially when it comes to foodservice. Instead, embrace what comes next. Consider how you can be an agent of change for your company, and how your company can be one for the industry.
To terribly misquote Ferris Bueller, consumer culture is changing at a rapid speed. If we don’t pay attention, it will surely pass us by.
Abbie Westra, author of the Hungry Mind blog, is deputy group editor of CSP and Winsight LLC. Email her at awestra@winsightmedia.com.
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