If you run a restaurant, bar or fast food business, understanding in advance what the future trends in the sector will be is not only an advantage – it is a necessity in an increasingly competitive and “crowded” market. Two figures confirm this: there are over 330,000 food-serving businesses in Italy, but, in recent years, numbers have been gradually falling, also because of the increasingly fierce competition on the market.
Trends in the restaurant sector in 2025
A new year has just begun: what trends in the restaurant sector will make it possible to steer business performance in a positive direction? From the ever-increasing food awareness of consumers to the impact of technologies in service management, this article contains guidance from industry experts, with suggestions immediately applicable to any business!
Healthy, plant-based cuisine that is also original
As in the year just ended, in 2025 consumers’ attention will be highly focused on the origin of the ingredients and their nutritional characteristics. Dishes in which taste and health go hand in hand will be the favourites, driven by the demand for plant-based dishes prepared with ingredients that have not been excessively processed. One of the 2025 keywords in restaurants will be “originality”, understood as a desire to taste dishes belonging to other gastronomic cultures. Sweet-and-sour, spicy or fermented flavours are given the green light; greater interest in these flavours is, partly, the result of them being made popular by the content creators of the most followed social networks. The two greatest examples, based on Google search trends in late 2024, are ramen (in which interest has grown immensely in recent months) and specialty coffees, such as gourmet coffee.
Sustainable, cheap, zero km raw materials
“Green” consciousness is on the rise, especially among Generation Z, with greater attention on how personal choices affect the health of planet Earth. This will influence which restaurants people choose to eat in and will have a cascading effect on the selection of the required raw material suppliers. There are several advantages (not only environmental) in selecting zero km suppliers. In addition to reducing transport-related emissions, it means choosing seasonal ingredients and favouring local suppliers, who are easier to find, more reliable in their supply and, in many cases, cheaper.
Increasingly bespoke dining experiences
Among the trends characterising the restaurant industry in 2025, one striking trend is consumers’ ever-growing desire for personalised gastronomic experiences, tailored to their tastes; in order to obtain these experiences, consumers are willing to share valuable profiling data with restaurateurs. It is an unmissable opportunity to create specific trend-based marketing campaigns, so businesses should invest in tools to track their customers’ habits and in platforms to increase their loyalty.
The persistence of the staff crisis in the restaurant sector
Problems in finding qualified restaurant staff will persist in 2025, in Italy and beyond. This is confirmed by a recent study conducted by EURES (European Employment Services). To address it, on the one hand, retaining staff who are already operational will be essential, measuring their performance in order to offer productivity-based economic incentives. On the other, it will be necessary to take advantage of existing technological solutions, which can automate some of the tasks that are now carried out by people. This would reduce the staff’s workload and allow them to focus more on customer satisfaction. An example is a self-ordering kiosk, which allows restaurant guests to send orders from their table to the checkout system – all through their smartphone.
Technological innovation, even at table
The latest insight comes from the Annual Report on the restaurant sector by FIPE, the Italian Federation of Public Businesses. According to this study, last year Italian restaurateurs invested more in technology, buying advanced till software (55%), management software (31%) but also online booking services, digital menus, self-ordering system applications and so on. This trend in the restaurant industry will be further driven by the most recent laws, such as the legal requirement to connect the Point of Sale (POS) terminal of the business with the till’s electronic register in 2026. The measure is designed to facilitate the Revenue Agency’s tax-avoidance checks, but will also have an impact on the hardware and software systems in bars and restaurants.
What to ultimately expect from 2025 in the restaurant industry
The analysis of trends in the restaurant industry clearly shows the growing need for technological solutions to meet customer needs and market contingencies, in a sector that has always suffered from lower labour productivity compared to other sectors. Technology applied to restaurant services makes it possible to intercept customers’ tastes and speeds up process management, optimising costs and increasing profits.