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Drivers shift to eating on the go

January 20, 2017By Mike Hohnen

Companies such as Kraft and Nabisco are repackaging staple foods to be eaten in cars — and minivans and pickups. They’re betting that even the most safety-conscious soccer parents and overscheduled entrepreneurs will gladly snap up mobile meals: yogurt in a tube. Or chips in stacks, not bags. Or portable soup, snuggled into a cup holder.

“People want foods they can eat with one hand,” says Mike Diegel of the Grocery Manufacturers Association. “For some people, the time saved is more important than the process of preparing a meal. We’re looking for convenience in everything we do.”

Boutique and budget — the two Bs are buzzing

December 17, 2003By Mike Hohnen

If you want to join a growing sector of the hotel industry, look no further than the two Bs, boutique and budget. A boutique hotel, sometimes known as a lifestyle hotel, is generally a hotel with about 50-60 rooms, and with a particular emphasis on design. A recent report on the sector from PricewaterhouseCoopers found that lifestyle hotel operators in Europe are planning to add nearly 5,000 rooms to their stock by 2008.

Leading players in the UK include Hotel du Vin, which has just opened its sixth hotel in Harrogate, North Yorkshire; Malmaison, which opens in London in November after a long wait; the Eton Group, which has just opened the Glasshouse in Edinburgh; Alias Hotels, which opened the Hotel Seattle in Brighton earlier this year and plans to open in Liverpool in mid-2004; Myhotels, which has properties in London’s Chelsea and Bloomsbury; and Firmdale, a well-respected group based in London.

Even the big chains are getting into this sector now, particularly Starwood, with its W brand. At the other end of the spectrum is the budget sector. Budget hotels are generally new-build hotels with few frills but an attractive price point. In the UK, the market is dominated by three players: Whitbread, with Travel Inn; Travelodge; and Premier Lodge.

Caterer & Hotelkeeper; 10/9/2003,

The diet that won?t go away…

December 16, 2003By Mike Hohnen

I am beginning to see the first signs that Europeans are getting wise to this diet also.

I see friends avoiding bread etc at parties, mumbling ‘I am trying to avoind carbs…’ I predict it wil be the next big thing herer in Europe in 2004.

In the mean time it is devloping rapidely in the US with all sort of unexpected consequences

See also my next entry today about TGI Fridays from justfood .com

Egg prices skyrocket
The increase in high-protein, low-carb diets has pushed egg prices to
20-year highs, according to many industry analysts. Eggs have long been
considered bad for arteries, though the upswing in those following the
Atkins diet has forced many to re-evaluate their notion of the nutrition in
eggs. Los Angeles Times/Associated Press (free registration) (12/10)

19% of patrons in the casual dining segment are currently following the Atkins diet plan

April 14, 2022By Mike Hohnen

From www.Justfood.com:

T.G.I. Friday’s is to partner with Atkins Nutritionals to
offer Atkins-approved, carb-counted, menu items at its
restaurants. It’s the diet that just won’t go away, isn’t
it?

From this week, the low-carbohydrate menu options will be
available at the chain’s more than 520 US restaurants. The
companies said that 19% of frequent restaurant patrons in
the casual dining segment are currently following the
Atkins diet plan, quoting T.G.I. Friday’s own Diet
Awareness and Usage Report.

The foodservice sector has been gradually latching onto the
opportunities presented by low carb enthusiasts, but this
is the first time a restaurant chain has officially
partnered with Atkins Nutritionals Inc. The idea is to make
it easy for consumers to stick to the diet during eating
occasions outside the home (ever noticed how we don’t have
‘meals’ anymore, we have ‘eating occasions’ instead?).
Securing official endorsement is quite a coup for T.G.I.
Friday’s; phase two in the companies’ alliance involves
co-branding ready meals and desserts for sale through
supermarkets.

The ABC of Effective Employee Incentives

December 12, 2003By Mike Hohnen

I am personally a BIG FAN of Jim Sullivan – and my copy of his book ‘Mind Your Own’ Business is dog-eard from over use…
Mike
——-

?America?s most underutilized resource is recognition.?
– Dick Kocenivich, Wells Fargo

Using employee incentives, contests, recognition and rewards is commonplace in our industry. But even the best intentions can cause indifferent results if your incentive ideas don?t resonate with the team you?re trying to inspire to perform better. Over the last five years, I?ve had the pleasure of designing and implementing employee and manager incentive and recognition programs for over two dozen of the Top 100 restaurant chains and thought I?d share a few basic guidelines and creative ideas you can use to measure, incent and recognize improved performance among your hourly and management team.

Recognition is Different than Incentives.
The first step is to clarify the difference between employee recognition and employee incentives. Both you and your team need to understand how incentives and recognition differ in order to reap the benefits of both. Incentives are usually rewards that are promised in advance of a desired action; a bonus for exceeding a service goal on Mystery Shops, or exceeding a check average sales goal by 5 percent, for example. Recognition, while it may also be financial, is an after-the-fact event. Recognition is often in the form of a reward, but should always include praise, either public or private when it happens. In other words, if you see it, say it. [Read more…] about The ABC of Effective Employee Incentives

Survey: Hotel fitness rooms need to shape up

April 21, 2016By Mike Hohnen

An new study of business travelers conducted by Lieberman Research Worldwide for Westin Hotels & Resorts finds that working out on the road is an excellent way to relieve stress, a powerful antidote for jet lag and good for your image among business associates.

However, many respondents stated that hotels do not offer adequate fitness facilities for travelers.

The survey of 300 business travelers titled “Road Runners: Working out on the Road,” illustrates just how important exercise is to hotel guests. For instance:

– 90% of travelers surveyed said exercise relieves stress on the road
– 60% of travelers surveyed said exercise helps alleviate jet lag
– 78% of travelers surveyed said workouts are a good way to get over a rough day
– 70% of travelers surveyed said that working out is a good way to bond with colleagues
– 53% of travelers surveyed said exercising is good for their image among business
– 62% of travelers surveyed said they check to see whether a hotel has a workout room during the reservation process
– 59% of travelers surveyed said that the quality of hotel fitness facilities is an important factor in their choice of hotel
– 69% said that a “state-of-the-art” fitness facility would favor that hotel in the selection process
[Read more…] about Survey: Hotel fitness rooms need to shape up

Order a meal for seat 24B

April 21, 2016By Mike Hohnen

High quality meals that you can order from your home or office and that are delivered to you ON the plane.

One of the most interesting first movers in this space is Alpha D’lish. Passengers flying on a number of Virgin Express flights from London, Brussels or Amsterdam can now choose and order from a menu on the Alpha D’lish website (up to 48 hours before their flight), which includes delectables like the ‘Fresh Start Breakfast’ (Bircher muesli with fresh berries, a Waldcorn roll with smoked salmon, cream cheese and chives, followed by a salad of exotic fruits, a Danish pastry and fresh orange juice) and the ‘Oriental Feast’ (handmade smoked salmon and tiger prawn nigiri sushi, a fillet of char-grilled salmon with cucumber, caperberry and wasabi. On the side a sesame noodle salad topped with lemongrass-skewered tiger prawns marinated in Thai herbs and mixed peppers).
[Read more…] about Order a meal for seat 24B

In a hurry? How about falafel and kebabs to go?

April 21, 2016By Mike Hohnen

Pasha’s, a new Mediterranean restaurant chain, opened its first two Miami-Dade locations last month.

There are Italian, Chinese and Mexican quick-service restaurant chains, so why not Mediterranean?

That’s the goal behind Pasha’s, which in the last month opened its first two Miami-Dade locations with plans for another before the end of the year.

Ellek has dreamed for years of finding a way to bring healthy and flavorful Mediterranean food to the United States in the form of a quick-service restaurant.

Pasha’s menu offers a collection of Eastern Mediterranean dishes that run the gamut from spinach pie and hummus to kebab platters and wraps with falafel or grilled veggies. The majority of the items are under $5, and everything is less than $10.

”The food from that part of the world has a lot of healthy components that fit well with today’s trends,” said Ellek, who is part Turkish and grew up in the Mediterranean. “We’re trying to do something that has not been done before.”