The 2025 Bar & Restaurant Expo featured celebrity chefs, expert mixologists, and food suppliers. Key themes included authenticity, “unreasonable hospitality,” and organically growing and cultivating a staff.
Influencer marketing can be highly effective for F&B brands. However, the strategy requires authentic storytelling and carefully crafted content, according to experts.
Despite his unrivaled work ethic, celebrity chef Robert Irvine has learned the value of delegating, and listening to, employees. “I learned to listen, because you get more from listening,” he told FI.
And that’s OK. In many ways, being authentic isn’t about the best product or service or value or lifestyle; it’s about being human, which is being vulnerable. Vulnerability is the heartbeat of authenticity, the subtle brand drumbeat that brand advocates and consumers can hear. Without a heartbeat – without being occasionally vulnerable – it will be hard to resonate and grow the brand in a way that feels organic, fresh, and authentic.
Optimism grew around the world last year as the pandemic receded and economies improved, an Ipsos poll of 24,000 global citizens indicated, but that consumer optimism faded as 2023 dawned. Many of those queried expressed …
New flavor trends are emerging at the intersection of persistent food inflation and pent-up consumer demand leftover from COVID lockdowns.
