Matt Turner: Restaurants must embrace trends like veganism to survive
Matt Turner, the boss of Diners’ Club Tastecard, has warned restaurants against being complacent and said they must embrace trends like veganism to help avoid the fate of chains including Jamie’s Italian.
HOLLY WILLIAMS: ‘The boss of Diners’ Club Tastecard has warned restaurants against being “complacent” and said they must embrace trends like veganism to help avoid the fate of chains including Jamie’s Italian. Matt Turner, who co-founded the restaurant discount card in 2006, said chains have been hit by a perfect storm of rising costs, falling numbers of customers and over-expansion.
The tough conditions have claimed a raft of victims, including Jamie Oliver’s chains after the celebrity chef’s restaurant business collapsed into administration last month. Speaking to the Press Association, Mr Turner said restaurants need to adapt to overcome “very challenging times” by making sure they move quickly to capitalise on trends, such as veganism and healthy eating…
He said: “It’s crucial that restaurants have their fingers on the pulse about what’s in demand now and what’s around the corner.” “Restaurants can’t be complacent – they have to plug into what the public wants.” He said the likes of nationwide chains Zizzi and Ask have benefited from “embracing the vegan trend early on”. But he said conversations with some of its 6,380 restaurant partners shows the caution among chains…
Tastecard has just run a sell-out week-long pop up restaurant in London offering diners a “hands-off” experience as a way to raise its profile and brand awareness. It has 3.5 million members, up 20% year-on-year and is targeting another 20% growth in 2019 with its app and digital push expected to help drive the increase’. SOURCE…
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