Americas
Chipotle increases prices
Enjoying a burrito or bowl at Chipotle is going to cost customers more in the future. Chipotle’s chief corporate affairs officer Laurie Schalow has announced that the burrito chain will be increasing prices by 2% across the US – a total 3500 stores – blaming rising inflation.
This represents the first price rise in a year and is a consequence of the company facing headwinds on various fronts. Chipotle reported earlier this year that the cost of food, beverage and packaging costs had increased. In particular the price of beef, dairy and avocados have all spiked.
Chipotle blanced out the news of the price increase with a promise to continue to serve customers consistenly generous portions.
The announcement reflects a wider trend across the foodservice sector, with other operators including McDonald’s coming up with new ideas and deals to retain customers.
Nestlé USA names new CEO
Martin Thompson has been named as the CEO and US market head, effective 1 January 2025. Since joining the business as part of the acquisition of Starbucks consumer packaged goods and foodservice products business in 2018, Thompson was appointed president of Nestlé Coffee Partners, the business covering Nescafé, Starbucks at Home and Seattle’s Best in 2020. Under his leadership the division has delivered consecutive years of growth and market gains.
Steve Presley, CEO of Nestlé Zone Americas, says he expects Thompson to “inspire the same innovation and growth mindset he fostered within our winning coffee business as he takes on the broader CEO role”.
Asia Pacific
Buoyant foodservice equipment prediction
The Asia Pacific foodservice equipment market has been projected to grow at a CAGR of 6.3% from 2024 to 2030, according to the Asia Pacific Food Service Equipment Market, industry report, published by Grand View Research, an India and US based market research company.
The growth of the market, valued at $13.1bn in 2023, is largely attributed to rapid urbanization and expansion of the hospitality industry, coupled with increasing demand for ready-to-eat food.
Technological advances including the development and integration of AI and IoT are accelerating this growth as it enhances efficiency.
Viral matcha trend depletes stocks
One of the big success stories of the year, matcha tea has gained a global following, enhanced by seemingly endless feeds of photos and videos of people posing with the green drink on social media. It is served by every international coffee chain with an eye on trends, including Starbucks, and the popularity has now resulted in a genuine scarcity of matcha tea in Japan where shops are saying that booming sales over the summer months left them without the raw materials to create the trendy drink.
Some matcha tea brands including Marukya Koyamaen reported seeing six months of sales in just one month. Seasonal harvesting and climate change also contribute to the fact that there is not enough supply to meet rising demands.
Europe, Middle East and Africa
UN cultural heritage status for Ivory Coast essential
Attiéké – made from fermented cassava flour – is enjoyed for breakfast, lunch and dinner. While it first originated in Ivory Coast, it has since become very popular across West Africa where it is also known as Ivorian couscous and often enjoyed with fish.
The Ivory Coast fiercely and proudly protects the dish and earlier this year the African Regional Intellectual Property Organization registered a trademark to prevent cassava produced in other countries being sold as Attiéké, much like is the case for Champagne.
The UN’s list of intangible cultural heritage as a designation aims to safeguard traditions that represent the cultural diversity of humanity.
Dave’s turns up the heat in the UK
Cult US fried chicken brand Dave’s Hot Chicken has taken its number of stores to 250 after its first launch in the UK market in London.
The headline menu item caked the reaper chicken is made with Carolina Reaper chilli pepper, which was once described by the Guinness Book of Records as the world’s hottest pepper – it is apparently more than 300 times hotter than a jalapeño pepper. The eagerly awaited opening will be welcomed by fans of spice but anyone tempted to order the Reaper will be required to sign a waiver form, acknowledging the risk that comes with consuming heat of this order.
Tina Nielsen
