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Why People Choose Fine Dining Over Fast Food
Fast food chains are known for the speedy dining convenience that's easy on the pockets. However, this also means compromises in food and environmental quality compared to what fine dining offers. Other reasons why people choose fine dining over fast food include:
Quality
Regarding fine dining standards, only the best quality ingredients are utilized: the freshest fruits, vegetables, seafood, meat, etc. This is one of the reasons why it takes significantly longer to arrange your meal, as the preparation of courses takes longer. However, many consider the wait worth it.
Personalization
In fast food chains, it is harder to request ingredient changes if you have allergies or food restrictions. On the other hand, fine dining restaurants check your preferences and customize your dishes accordingly.
Luxury
People prefer to take their loved ones to fine-dining restaurants for special events like dates, birthdays, and anniversaries. You can expect your tuxedos and dresses to be met with elegance and quality, not just in food but also with the ambiance, location, and impeccable customer service.
Fast Food vs. Fine Dining
Where is the restaurant industry going in 2023? Here are the current important factors that are shaping next year's trends.
Importance of Delivery
After the closure of some physical restaurants due to the global pandemic last 2020, the online food delivery market has become more widely used. In fact, the market grew by around 27% in 2020.
Moreover, it continued to grow in 2022 and is expected to grow to $174.3 billion in 2023. The integral part that delivery services play in the business model of many restaurants today will continue to influence the future. This plays well for the fast food industry since their menu consists primarily of ingredients that could last longer than those of fine dining restaurants.
In answer to this, restaurants are figuring out how to respond to these changing customer needs. For example, some fine dining restaurants are experimenting with menu items that can maintain quality even after an hour of delivery. Some also partnered with services like Uber Eats, GrubHub, and DoorDash to accommodate delivery options.
Preference for Contactless Dining
Some people have gotten used to ordering food through delivery apps and websites and eating in their houses. So even when lockdowns eased up and others continued to go back to dining out, contactless dining is still predicted to continue through 2023. In addition, many customers see the benefit of using digital menus and contactless payment processing that lessens human-to-human contact when dining out.
The Emergence of Ghost Kitchens and Virtual Restaurants
Ghost kitchens are restaurants without a dining area for customers. This type of kitchen is focused only on providing food delivery service. The only way to order from a virtual restaurant is via an app or third-party delivery platforms like UberEats, DoorDash, Grubhub, and more. Virtual restaurants work similarly to ghost kitchens, but the difference is that virtual restaurants are usually attached to restaurant chains but with different menus. Brick-and-mortar restaurants use this business model to add an additional revenue stream without needing to buy more locations or hire more staff. Fast, casual, and fine dining restaurants all benefit from these modern concepts. They are advantageous for expanding their services and experimenting with new dishes.
Personalized Customer Experiences
Customers are becoming more and more conscious about their dining experience. According to a study by PSFK, 79% of consumers want personalized menu items. As a result, restaurants are finding different ways to personalize their customer experience. For instance, some restaurants use technology to collect customer data for personalization. Some companies started promoting mobile apps or giving loyalty or rewards programs to their frequent customers. Some also personalize the customer experience by providing custom dining sets, daily specials, etc.
Influences of Technology
The influences of technology are revolutionizing everything in the restaurant industry. Aside from third-party online delivery apps, technology has opened restaurants with many automation opportunities that will continue in the coming years. Overall, the food automation market is expected to grow by 9.5% annually over the next 5 years. With different automation, customer experiences are drastically improved. Fast food chains like McDonald’s have already subscribed to smart technology like digital kiosks and tabletop tablets for ordering. Meanwhile, fine dining restaurants also place self-service menu kiosks and deploy food-serving robots.
Providing Value
While menu prices are still one of the main factors customers look at when choosing where to dine, there’s still one component of eating out that differentiates fine dining: value. According to Technomic, more people still choose fine dining over casual dining simply because they receive more a valuable experience.
Could Fast Food Override Fine Dining in 2023?
Fast food chains have grown more into the hearts of many people nowadays. However, fine dining will still hold an edge over its cheaper counterparts for the value and unique experiences they can provide and will only strive for perfection to keep their customers coming back.
