Trend towards better-quality food and beverage

Trend towards better-quality food and beverageGross lettable area allocated to food and beverage in shopping centres is on the rise and will only grow as consumers associate higher-quality food with better lifestyles, says retail food expert Francis Loughran.Loughran, managing director of food and hospitality consultancy Future Food, says over the past 18 months he has watched the gross lettable area (GLA) for food and beverage (F&B) offerings in shopping centres increase – a trend matched by an increase in retail turnover within the segment, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).Consumers are choosing higher-quality F&B offerings, and retail property developers and owners are now more confident to weight towards this segment.According to Loughran, where once shopping centres typically allocated 4 to 7 per cent of GLA to F&B, now developers and owners are allocating close to 10 per cent, or more in some cases.”We believe casual dining has replaced fast food dining. That category is growing in a very promising direction,” Loughran says.While the trend towards higher-quality and growing space for food offerings has been evident since 2012, it has accelerated in the past 12 months, he adds.There are many economic and lifestyle drivers behind the phenomenon. An improved economy has shifted demand towards better-quality food. Rising inner-city populations have created the ‘evening economy’ whereby dwellers in high-density housing seek to get out and about at night more often. Increased alcohol availability in casual dining is also a factor.”F&B isn’t just about eating, it’s about the experience,” Loughran says. “I don’t think this trend will max out. People will continue to enjoy going out and to enjoy better food.”The implications of this trend for retail developers and owners is obvious: Increased competition for space by F&B operators will likely result in increased rents in this segment and greater allocations to F&B in new and redeveloped centres.However, greater risk for owners and developers accompanies the re-weighting of retail assets towards F&B; get it wrong and your asset won’t perform.Loughran urges developers and owners to engage F&B master-planners early in the process. “People are realising that if they don’t have master-planned F&B spaces they won’t be competitive and they won’t maximise the potential [of the building],” he says.Future Food takes clients through a five-step process to realise the potential of an F&B offering: (1) understanding the project’s vision; (2) analysing data; (3) formulating an F&B strategy; (4) applying the strategy to space and layout; and (5) preparing for opening and future success.To find out more click here