After several difficult years, the Foodservice market found its footing again in 2022. At Horecava — the largest Foodservice trade fair in the Netherlands — three themes dominated the solutions on show: convenience, health, and sustainability.
Here are the three trends that stood out, set against what our own Foodservice Database and consumer research show.
How we collected the data: consumer figures below come from a questionnaire completed by 1,411 Roamler app users in the Netherlands, France, Spain and the United Kingdom. Outlet figures come from our Foodservice Database.
1. Vegetarian and Vegan
The plant-based movement was again unmissable at the fair. Vegan confectionery, snacks and dairy alternatives drew steady interest, and meat substitutes built on jackfruit and seaweed are increasingly standard. The stand that drew the most attention was Redefine Meat, showing 3D-printed meat made from soy protein.
We asked our respondents whether they would order a 3D-printed steak in a restaurant. 42% said yes — a striking figure for a product category that barely existed commercially at the time.
2. Fast Casual
Fast casual answers a specific demand: food that is healthy and good, eaten quickly. The format sits between fast food chains and full-service restaurants — Wagamama, SLA and Poképerfect are the reference points.
Our database shows the Dutch fast casual subsegment expanding: 3,688 locations, up 544 on the previous year. Of those 544 new openings, 482 are independents and 62 belong to a chain — the growth is coming overwhelmingly from operators outside the big groups.
On the consumer side, around half of respondents visit fast casual venues up to five times a year, 18% between five and ten times, and 30% more than ten times.
Horecava's innovation awards reflected the same direction. The equipment category was won by an infrared deep fryer — faster, lower gas consumption, and a healthier output — which is exactly the kind of kit a fast casual kitchen is built around.
3. Low and No Alcohol
A slight majority of respondents — 53% — say they prefer a no- or low-alcohol option when visiting a hospitality venue. Heineken and Amstel lead the category, but smaller brewers including Two Chefs Brewing and Rotterdam City Brewery were showing new alcohol-free lines at the fair.
Our database puts 45% of Dutch beer-serving outlets as stocking an alcohol-free option, and rising. Within bars, cafés and clubs specifically the figure reaches 79% — the venues where drinking is the main occasion are also where the alcohol-free range is most established.
No- and low-alcohol spirits had a strong showing too, gin above all. Asked what they actually order instead of alcohol, respondents named soft drinks first.
| Alternative | Share |
|---|---|
| Soft drinks | 42% |
| Mocktails | 26% |
| Alcohol-free or low-alcohol beer | 23% |
| Alcohol-free wine | 8% |
| Alcohol-free spirits | 2% |
Preferred alcohol alternatives. Base: 1,411 Roamler app users in NL, FR, ES and UK.
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