From plant-based burgers to a UPF backlash. Protein shakes to whole-food simplicity. Sugar-free sweeteners to ‘treat culture’. The UK’s food and drink habits are constantly changing, often contradictory and - without the right data - rarely predictable.
At the same time, away-from-home operators face shifting pressures of their own. Margins are tighter. Compliance demands are growing. And in a market that never stands still, operators need partners who can help them maintain momentum and remain relevant.
So amongst all of this, how can your foodservice brand stay one step ahead?
The trends that truly matter to operators
Not every consumer trend deserves operator attention. A new product or flavour twist may dominate TikTok, but operators are asking a different set of questions:
Will it sell?
Will it fit my menu?
Will it add complexity?
Will it support my positioning?
Will it help me meet a broader need around health, margin or compliance?
This disconnect between what gets public attention, and what gets traction operationally, means brands must bridge the gap between consumer wants and operator needs.
The issue is not whether a trend is ‘big’, but whether it’s adoptable. Trends only become relevant when operators can see how they will impact menu, kitchen and margin. The ultimate question for brands is, ‘Can we prove this will work in an operator’s world?’
Part of the challenge is spotting which shifts have staying power and where they overlap with operator needs. That takes more than trend watching. Brands need robust foodservice data to identify the signals that matter and translate them into priorities operators can act on.
How do you promote innovation without creating disruption?
Innovation alone is not persuasive; it has to come with evidence that it can be delivered smoothly.
The most effective stories show why a new product or service is operationally safe, commercially credible and easy to execute, so operators don’t have to choose between excitement and reassurance. Brands must therefore express innovation in a language operators trust. Will it drive footfall? Improve compliance? Reduce waste? Boost efficiency? Enhance health credentials? Differentiate the menu?
Effective ‘low-friction’ innovation helps deliver menu energy without unnecessary pressure on kitchens, teams or margins. That means messaging must be empathetic to the operator needs/challenges, benefit-led and evidenced.
Operators are not rejecting innovation. They are rejecting innovation without proof.
Can you show value across different operator realities?
Importantly, the proof that brands surface cannot be one-dimensional, because operators do not work in one fixed mindset.
Omne’s Brands Away From Home 2 report identified four dominant realities that shape how operators prioritise objectives and select suppliers: the Optimiser (focused on protecting margin), the Guardian (compliance and risk reduction), the Creator (guest experience and differentiation) and the Balancer (delivering health without margin loss).
Yet operators rarely make decisions through a single lens. Most have a dominant reality - the one they return to most often - but shift into others depending on the pressures of the moment. For instance, a pub operator may primarily be an Optimiser, looking to safeguard its profit against rising costs, but will seek Creator differentiation during a seasonal menu refresh.
If a brand is anchored in one strength, its supporting story needs to flex. Those that stay relevant know their USP and can express it in multiple languages. In foodservice, relevance across segments, formats and trading pressures comes from consistency at the core and flexibility in the proof.
From crispier fries to commercial relevance
McCain is a strong example of a brand successfully translating consumer momentum into operator relevance.
As more customers order food takeaways via delivery apps, many operators struggle to consistently guarantee crispy fries when so much of the journey is out of their control. With budgets under intense pressure, tolerance for waste or inconsistency is low.
Together with Omne, McCain launched the “Together, let’s take control of crispiness” campaign. It positioned the new McCain SureCrisp as the fry for delivery, leading with a product benefit operators could immediately value: staying crispy in a closed bag for up to 20 minutes.
By speaking to multiple operator realities, including Optimisers and Creators, the campaign cut through category noise with immediate relevance, achieving over 63 million impressions and 57,000 clicks. And its approach pivoted based on performance, prioritising long-term brand equity and share of voice over short-term consideration messaging. The ability to read performance signals, optimise with precision and adjust strategy mid-flight reinforced McCain as a brand that truly understands operator realities.
How brands keep their place on the menu
Ultimately, staying relevant in foodservice means more than keeping up with trends. It’s about knowing which shifts matter, proving they can work in an operator’s world and flexing your message to match different priorities. The brands that succeed will be those that stay rooted in their strengths while translating innovation into the language operators need to hear. Plus, they’ll use a data-powered foodservice CRM to access 400,000+ enriched operator profiles across 20+ sectors and better target, engage and convert leads.
This is where Omne helps foodservice brands stay relevant - turning consumer momentum into operator-ready proof that drives lasting impact.
To learn more, get in touch at hello@omne.agency.
