To be honest, being trendy can be a great thing until it's not anymore. One thing you don't want to be trendy in is your restaurants. When a restaurant is strictly a trend restaurant, it can very quickly go bad. Trends end up fading; they pop up, stick around for a short time, and then fade away as the next trend enters. Do you want your restaurant to fall victim to the trend lifecycle? Probably not.
So the question begins: can you find the happy medium between staying on-trend within your restaurant and maintaining credibility as a long-term restaurant? Being on-trend, rather than trendy is an important position to find itself. Again, how do you do this?
Start by not making your restaurant layout, design, or your branding trendy. Instead make those things withstand the test of time. Make those be relevant year after year. Choose classic color combinations rather than what is current. You won't want to pick two typically contrasting colors that are "in" right now. Instead you should consider the classics white and black, especially for things such as linens and waiter uniforms within your restaurant. Picking neutral or long-lasting color palettes will save you money in the long run. You won't be changing out your linens on every whim. Instead you'll be able to continue using the same linens until they're stained or simply unusable. Make sure to create a stable brand image on classics rather than trends. That's step number one.
Step number two: when should you hit the trend bandwagon? When it comes to food. Food trends are easy to incorporate into your restaurant without much disruption into your brand's vibe. Food trends, in general, are easily noticeable. Recent food trends include Kale, Cronuts, Quinoa, and Ramen Burgers. Yes, looking at the list shows that sometimes food trends are odd but that really is part of the appeal of the trend. With the more outlandish food trends, its good that they're simply a trend and nothing more. It gets people to jump on the bandwagon and try them once. For example, restaurant after restaurant started producing recipes that took advantage of the new superfood, Quinoa. People wanted to try it because they heard of its natural powers. So what's a restaurant to do besides simply adding this item somewhere in the menu?
Consider adding a seasonal menu. A seasonal menu right away tells people that these meals are just for a short time. These dishes not a classic entree nor will they be there for long. At the same time they're not promoting that it's a trendy item added to just stay on trend with other competing restaurants. It sounds better and looks better on the restaurant to make it a seasonal item. It makes the restaurant look like they're not trying to hard. Again, for example, you don't want to be that restaurant that promotes the latest trend every single time one pops up. Instead, you want to be the restaurant that people can try new things at, but will still be in the same building with the same classic menu year after year.
The key really is to find a good balance between following the trend and remaining true to your brand. Consider this, if you're a burger joint, chances are you won't be adding rare fruits or elegant side dishes with words that are hard to pronounce. Those things don't sound like what would be in a good old All-American burger joint. Trying this will make your clientele think you're trying too hard. That's a position you don't want to be in, doing this is sure to make you fall victim to the trend.
Achieve success by finding a happy medium between two opposites. As an owner or the manager, you must find a way to stay on-trend to be in competition with your like-restaurants and at the same time, have some significant staying-power in the marketplace. You don't want to lose your position because you leaned to far to one end or the other. Good luck finding that medium, it takes some trial and error but in the end its worth it and its a large key to success. As always, find all the solutions you need at our website, Public Kitchen Supply.
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