MAGAZINE

It seems to have been a quiet summer this year throughout the hospitality industry, as operators keep their heads down and news remains slow. But after the summer of sports, I’m sure many are still recovering. 

A recent report by Meaningful Vision showed that sales for the first half of 2024 declined by 1% for the foodservice sector. While fast food and coffee shops declined in sales, bakery and sandwich outlets saw a rise in positive figures — turn to page 11 to learn more.

 From the above figures and speaking to industry members, a lot of blame seems to fall on the slow start we had to summer — with it only arriving in July after we suffered through a very wet May and June. One can only hope that the late arrival of summer will allow it to stick around for a little bit longer. 

Continuing with economic trends, in this issue Jane Renton discusses the threat of renewed inflation and a slowing economy (page 14). We deep dive into the upcoming lunch! show with a page-turning preview starting on page 20. Fast food is the name of the game this month, as we focus on trends in the sector on page 37. Richard Piper takes us to not just one, but two operators and I pay a visit to Sexy Buns for a street food focus (page 32). 

If our cover has you inspired, or hungry – now’s the chance to enter the National Pizza Awards at nationalpizzaawards.co.uk. And for those still interested, this is a final call for entries for the Street Food Championships – so get on it now: streetfoodchampionships.co.uk.

Until next time, 

Tamsyn Halm, editor