The first food vendors were specialists. Prior to the creation of the modern restaurant, when only the rich had private chefs, public food vendors specialised in one particular type of item for households to purchase in a complete or near-complete form and assemble for the meal at home. As restaurants to serve complete plated meals and household kitchens evolved to allow for more thorough preparation, food sold to the public became less prepared.
The recent trend in specialty food vendors seems to be reversing that. As people are eating out more frequently and the average spend is dropping, whilst restaurants still have a place during special occasions, the casual diner seeks out cheaper, simpler options. Food trucks seem to be everywhere you look, and are the most obvious example, with each one focusing on a particular food with their limited kitchen capacities. But the specialty store front is also expanding.
The popular sweets store Doughnut Time has an astonishing 21 venues across Australia, and focuses on just 15 flavours of doughnut per week, offering no other products. Fried chicken stores are also popular, as are bubble tea stores. Burger joints are quite possibly at their heyday. These stores have short menus, a minimal foot print, and can trade with few or no seats at all. They keep their prices (comparatively) low and appeal to the convenience and impulse markets.
We see celebrity chefs such as Neil Perry (Burger Project) and George Colambaris (Jimmy Grants) opening casual food joints that offer spin off products to their flagship venues. The soaring demand for artisanal and specialty foods also adds to the appeal of offerings that hone in on one product, and do it well.
We’d love to hear your thoughts on the increasing trend towards specialty food sales – email communications@pinnaclepeople.com.au