Food, like fashion, is in a constant state of flux.

By correlation, the same can be said of the foodservice industry. Add in the omnipresence of social media and the wild world of viral food trends, what’s hot today will be hotter tomorrow before the next big thing comes along and takes the spotlight. While predicting where hospitality trends are heading is trickier than ever before, foodservice professionals can look to some signs that can help them navigate the inevitable changes. Here is a collection of trends that will continue to play important roles throughout 2025. Buckle up.

1. Interest in Technology

From increased automation in the back of the house to rethinking how kiosks/apps/AI ordering and more can support the front of the house, technology continues its reign as a leading conversation piece for foodservice professionals. Indeed, the subject warrants its own thorough explanation, which begins on page 28.

2. Honey, I Shrunk the Kitchen

With the rise of real estate prices — and really everything for that matter — something had to give. Back-of-the-house square footage was one such sacrifice.

“My customers, the ones that are trying to be innovative and proactive, are coming to us and asking, ‘What piece of equipment can we utilize to get rid of three or four pieces of equipment?’” says Shawna Snyder, vice president of national accounts at Avanti Restaurant Solutions, a California-based foodservice equipment dealer.

Shrinking kitchens have been on the radar of Kip Serfozo, FCSI, director of design, for Maryland-based consulting firm Cini-Little, for some time. More recently, he’s noticed a trend of foodservice operations utilizing commissaries in areas where real estate is less expensive. “They have a larger central kitchen they can use on a requisition basis and centralize their cooking and supplies,” he says. “From there, they can ship out to the point-of-use restaurants, so they don’t have to have such large back-of-the-house areas.” Serfozo points to resorts, workplace, and collegiate dining as operator segments embracing this trend.

Equipment flexibility has become a necessity, Serfozo adds. A few examples he points to from Cini-Little projects: walk-in coolers being replaced with reach-in refrigerators on casters for ease of mobility; an increase in plug-and-play equipment; and a previously dedicated closet for mops and cleaning supplies becoming a stainless-steel cabinet.

3. Labor: Quality, Not Quantity

In the not-so-distant past, labor shortages dominated the hospitality industry. While that remains an unresolved issue, these days, finding quality labor has become the priority.

“People have learned that just getting a body in place is actually a really bad decision,” says Snyder, who works closely with chain restaurants. Investing in proper training and not skipping any steps have been key. “You have to be a little bit pickier in the beginning to be able to find the good people that really want to work to get that qualified labor,” she explains. “It’s about hiring the right people who align with the company’s vision and standards.”

“It’s very hard to find labor to begin with within budget, but then it’s even harder to find someone who’s trained or at least has some kind of culinary background,” says Eli Huff, FCSI, owner, SFG Consulting, an Oklahoma-based foodservice consulting firm. One way he hopes to solve that issue is through his work on culinary school boards, including Oklahoma City’s Francis Tuttle Technology Center. “We try to engage young culinary students early, so they at least have some of the basics skills,” he says. Another solution is with equipment. “For the schools I work with, the combi ovens have continued to be one of our rock stars. You can program it to where you hire someone who is inexperienced and all they must do is just hit that button.”

Greg Christian, founder of consulting and foodservice provider Beyond Green Partners, has plenty of insight on labor. His company, which prepares 5,000 meals a day for Chicago-area schools, boasts 87% employee retention. He credits “sharing power” with the company’s high retention rate. “A couple of years ago I decided to share power, realizing that I had all the power. A lot of the power is housed in the employee handbook. I put a committee together that’s constantly rewriting the rules of the company,” he says. Additionally, he says cross-training helps create a more agile staff. “If you don’t want to keep learning, you can’t work for us,” he says.

4: A Changing Chain Landscape

Between the large number of bankruptcies — the largest ever outside of 2020 according to a report by the Wall Street Journal — and the number of CEO changes, 2024 was a wild year for restaurant chains. And with bigger chains and investors buying smaller ones out of bankruptcy, it shows no signs of slowing down.

“At a drop of a hat, what worked last week is not the way it’s going to work going forward,” says Snyder. “It is 100% the adaptability of the leadership and the team to be able to move through the changes.”

But it’s not all bad news for chains. “The chains that have the strong adaptability in innovative approaches that are more proactive and focused on the customer experience, they’re actually doing really well,” says Snyder. Streamlined menus, harnessing technology, and smaller footprints for the back and front of the house have all played a part in chain growth.

5. Sustainability

Whether it’s environmental, financial, new regulations or a combination of all three, sustainability remains top of mind for hospitality industry folks. Regardless of reason, “business sustainability” needs to come first, says Richard Young, director of outreach at Frontier Energy Food Service Technology Center, a California-based center for commercial foodservice energy research and education. “We start with sustainability of the business and making money,” he says. “We know one of the easiest ways to increase profit is more efficient equipment.” All-electric kitchens continue to gain traction in the U.S. With electricity more expensive than natural gas, says Young, operators need to think about their kitchen design holistically and include different cooking technologies and techniques.

The increase of severe droughts in parts of the country means water becomes more of a precious commodity. “We have to add in water when we’re talking about energy reduction or decarbonization,” says Young. And while the green movement, like a lot of things, might experience changes with the upcoming political climate shift, he very clearly states that the “sustainability train is on the track, and it’s not going back.”

School foodservice operators now take a closer look at water consumption, says Huff. Some top considerations include sink water regulators, alerts when water runs too long and hands-free soap dispensers. “We are reducing human error and allowing technology to regulate some of these things,” he says.

From Christian’s point of view as a school meal provider that runs a 95% from-scratch kitchen, sustainability connects quickly with food waste. To circumvent that, Beyond Green buys from a variety of small ethnically diverse vendors, which he says helps in getting food delivered at times that work for its kitchen and not the other way around, which leads to other efficiencies. “When you get more deliveries, you don’t need as big as a walk-in cooler or freezer,” he explains.

Additionally, weighing all items during meal prep plays a major role in Beyond Green’s goal of having a zero-waste kitchen, Christian says. To run a tight ship when it comes to food waste, Christian recommends operators shrink menus. Weighing over-prep every day and keeping detailed notes — think time of day and even possible contributing weather conditions — which he says can be helpful. “It’s a little complex but it gets easier over time,” says Christian. “With that info, operators will start to learn usage trends and hone in on how much to prep.”

4 Menu-Influenced Movements

1. For a Limited Time Only

It’s only three letters, but the LTO acronym for limited-time offer continues to have a vital role in the foodservice industry as operators look for creative ways to drive traffic. Once the domain of quick-serves, these special offers have spread to fast-casual and sit-down restaurants. The challenge becomes how to incorporate these menu items into an operation without compromising flow, food quality or adding costly ingredients.

At Epic Burger’s 11 locations in Illinois, LTOs are a combination of seeing what’s trending and being mindful of seasonal events. An Italian beef burger that paid homage to “The Bear,” a fish sandwich during Lent and a riff on a Chicago-style hot dog so popular it found a permanent spot on the menu, have all been LTOs. More recently a variety of sliders, including beef, turkey and plant-based, were featured. “It’s nice to promote other items that show we’re not just a burger joint,” says CEO David Grossman. “But we also want to be smart and not stray too far from who we are.”

Before adding a LTO, Grossman considers how many additional SKUs it will require, with two being the optimal limit. For those sliders, a specially sized bun was the only addition. Having a vendor who delivers buns fresh five days a week helps have a limited impact on the restaurants’ dry storage. Adding in various decorated holiday cookies from a local vendor provides another way for Epic Burger to keep things fresh throughout the year and keep customers coming back.

2. Fusion Fever

If you’re of a certain age, you will remember when fusion cuisine became a thing. Back then it was limited to the merging of French and Asian cuisines with chefs like Wolfgang Puck leading the charge. Today, fusion comes in many forms with chefs tapping into their own mixed ethnicities to create dishes that reflect their personal and culinary journeys.

For Laura Lentz, FCSI, design principal at Culinary Advisors, fusion cuisine has become a thread in just about every project she does, with the equipment a key piece of the discussion. “It’s not to say operators aren’t needing to be thoughtful about the actual food and how the stations are going to go,” she says. “We are thinking more of it’s a way we are planning for flexibility is trying to make our designs a little more universal so that they can respond to changes in cuisines and blending of cuisines.”

That has led to more pressure on sourcing equipment that can do more than one thing. “Sometimes there will be a need for a specialty piece of equipment that is dedicated to a style of cuisine,” says Lentz. “But it’s become more important to get a good balance between making something that can transform over the life of a design and project but also meet the needs of what the client is trying to do.”

3. Pop-Ups: Here Today, Gone Tomorrow

According to a study by Yelp, there were 155% more pop-ups from May 2022 to 2023, after having already seen a 105% increase the year before. These temporary eateries, whether in empty storefronts, outdoor spaces or other restaurants during off-hours, have proved successful for those wanting to try out a new concept prior to opening and for existing restaurants looking to gain interest in other areas. For diners, the fleeting nature of pop-ups provides an air of exclusivity.

Over the past decade, Executive Chef Joseph VanWagner of Echelon Kitchen and Bar, a wood-fired, vegetable-forward concept that was on track to open by the end of 2024 in Ann Arbor, Mich., has done some 30 pop-ups, including one 30-day residency. When creating a menu, he first thinks about the theme and ways to capture the spirit of a particular event. The space and kitchen setup, including restrictions, are other considerations. 

“If I’m putting my name on a pop-up, I have to be confident in my ability, so I always build a menu I know I can execute to our standards with the resources available,” VanWagner says. He’s done pop-ups with zero heat sources and others in the summer where cold preservation was at a minimum. Plate warmers, immersion circulators, and cook-and-hold and combi ovens are luxuries that help him and his team precision-cook hot food for large groups. “We tend to plate quite intricately, so anything that allows us more time and space without compromising quality is a huge asset,” he adds.

For Chef Thomas Hollensed of Chicago neighborhood diner Dove’s Luncheonette, pop-up menu design depends on whether it’s on- or off-site. “For on-site dinners, I like to branch off from our normal restaurant menu and explore different types of cuisine,” he says, which has the additional bonus of giving staff a chance to learn new skills, dishes and products. For off-site events, he likes to showcase his restaurant’s signature dishes. Travelability of food is another consideration. 

Equipment-wise, a salamander is one of Hollensed’s favorite tools for his pop-ups, which typically have two seatings. “The salamander oven is great because you can quickly heat a large number of things in it and it’s also helpful when sending out a large amount of food at once.”

4. Flights Take Off 

Once mostly limited to the world of wine and beer, flights have found a foothold with other items — be it cocktails, desserts, soup, deviled eggs and even pancakes. “It’s a great way for chefs to test things and get diners to experience what they’re about,” says Lisa Hackworth, product and merchandising specialist for Wasserstrom, a Columbus, Ohio-based foodservice equipment and supplies dealer. She has seen an increase in flights in certain areas of the country, mostly larger cities. “If trends go as they typically do, they start in the large cities and then spread out across the country,” she says.

Ease of shareability and letting diners try something new without committing to a large plate have helped increase flight interest. Hackworth has also seen an increase in menu items that aren’t labeled as flights but by definition are with a variety of similar items served on a long platter or wood board. “It’s very experimental and that’s why it’s taking off,” she says. “If you look at the younger generation today, that’s what it’s all about.”