Friday, February 17th, 2012

2012 Food Trends

Mobile Vendors
High streets cluttered with chains are meaning opportunities for street food, pop-ups and food trucks. Little capital, resources, or planning are required. Chefs have greater freedom to try out menu items, restaurant themes and are able to showcases brands in unusual locations including public areas, art galleries and festivals. With even the big names such as Wahaca (pictured), Wagamama and Jamies Italian joining in, look for a lot more through 2012.

Casual Dining
Great food and service are non-negotiable in a restaurant but with cash short, few people are prepared to shell out for swags and tails. There’ll be more small “front room” style eateries like London’s Roti Chai (pictured) and Duck Soup and New York’s Prune, with chairs crammed in, no table cloths, sharing plates and plate licking de rigeur.

Packaging Innovations
As costs are being cut across the food & drink industry supply chain, packaging will become a focus for brand owners keen to improve margins from production to market. Reducing packaging weight/size, also known as lightweighting, is not only an environmentally-friendly move, but it can result in cost savings over the long term.

Healthy Food on the Go
As impulse sales are forecast to continue …

Category: Cool Stuff

 

Wednesday, February 15th, 2012

Today we ❤
Minakani Walls

Minakani, is the Paris-based studio by Frédéric Bonnin and Cécile Figuette, who create wonderful whimsical patterns, mainly for textile but not exclusively. 2 years ago, they’ve launched their walldecor offering custom size, made to order, exclusive motifs printed onto high quality non-woven paper.
Keeping a fresh and unique approach to colour and graphics they produce strong and simple designs, with a candid, vintage quirky, optimistic and poetic feel.
They’ve created fabric patterns for well known brands such as Anthropologie, Kenzo, La Redoute, Le Sportsac, Oxbow, Organic Stereo and Chez Monoprix to name a few.

Their website: http://www.minakaniwalls.com

Category: Cool Stuff