The Americas
Impossible Foods launches crispy chicken fillet
Set to appear on restaurant menus in the near future, the latest offering from the plant-based chicken company was launched during the National Restaurant Association Show in Chicago. The product is made with a pre-cooked fillet coated with a rustic panko-style breading, seasoned with a blend of pepper and herbs; the texture designed to deliver a crunchy exterior with a tender white meat-style interior. According to CEO and president Peter McGuinness, it is perfect served with sandwiches, sliders and tacos. The crispy chicken fillet is the latest addition to the Impossible range, following beef sliders and Impossible steak bites.
Fast casual operators rule the Technomic Top 500 list
While quick-service and casual dining slugged it out with competing new deals last year, The Technomic Top 500 ranking of foodservice operators has found that fast-casual chains served as a shelter from the storm for many consumers in 2024. Fast-casual chain sales among the Top 500 grew 9% last year, exceeding the 2.3% growth of quick-service and 1.3% growth in casual dining. The segment included some of the restaurants with the highest growth: Chipotle, Wingstop and Jersey Mike’s Subs added more than 200 units last year, for example, helping to offset the closures of struggling chains, according to the Technomic Top 500 Restaurant Chains report.
Asia Pacific
China Airlines offer Japanese Banquet Cuisine on selected flights
China Airlines has partnered with Taipei’s Toutouan, the only overseas-certified branch of Tokyo’s renowned restaurant Toutouan, to bring Japanese cuisine with a natural flair to its flight services. Until 30 June passengers in Premium Business Class and Business Class can enjoy an elegant Japanese dining experience. Passengers traveling on major routes to Japan can savor a specially curated menu by Toutouan Taipei’s Japanese executive chef, Araki Hironaka. This menu celebrates the connection between nature and urban life, capturing the beauty and emotions of the changing seasons through the art of cuisine. The Refreshing Green Breeze kaiseki meal served on bord is a reflection of the transition from spring to summer.
Japan faces up to rice crisis
Amid rapidly increasing prices of Japan’s favorite staple, consumers in Tokyo have been seen spending hours queuing to buy rice. The price of rice has nearly doubled over the past year amid rising inflation and supply shortages. Government data shows the price of rice rose 98.4 percent year-on-year in April, following a rise of 92.5 percent year-on-year in March. The Japanese government released rice to the market from its emergency reserves after prices for the staple soared by 98%. In Tokyo’s Aeon stores, purchases of the ‘stockpiled’ rice were limited to one 5 kg bag per person on the first day of trading.
Europe, Africa, Middle East
Regeneratively farmed flour for Shake Shack buns
Shake Shack UK has announced a partnership with Wildfarmed making it one of the first fine-casual restaurant chains to introduce regeneratively grown flour into its buns. It represents a continuation of Shake Shack’s Stand For Something Good® mission, which prioritizes everything from premium, ethically sourced ingredients to employee development and deep community investment. Buns will contain 25% Wildfarmed flour. Made from regeneratively farmed wheat, grown in the UK using methods which put nature first, Wildfarmed flour is grown using a regenerative agriculture approach. To celebrate the partnership, Shake Shack has launched the Wildfarmed Combo in UK restaurants: cheeseburger + crinkle cut fries for £10.
Glovo and Delivery Hero fined €329m for abusive practices
The European Commission (EC) has issued large fines for Spanish delivery operator Glovo and its parent company Delivery Hero following an investigation that concluded the two shared “sensitive” information, agreed “not to poach employees,” and split markets before their merger in 2022. The actions took place between July 2018 and July 2022 and were made possible by Delivery Hero’s entry into Glovo’s shareholder base after the German multinational acquired a minority stake in the Barcelona-based company in 2018. An EC statement said that Delivery Hero and Glovo “progressively eliminated competitive restrictions between them” and “replaced competition with anti-competitive coordination at various levels”.
Tina Nielsen
