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| Small Batch(ing) for the masses |
Welcome to CB.com's 2012 food and dining predictions. I've always loved postulating about where food and food culture is headed. Sometimes I'm spot on, and other times I've failed miserably. We feel that we have a pretty good pulse on this industry and want to look into that crystal ball and lay out some educated guesses on what the food retail industry may look like like in 2012 without any of the Nicholas Cage Mayan calendar nonsense.
Let's continue with our educated guessing!
Coming in at number four on our countdown is the movement towards limited and small batch items. For restaurants and consumers that want to be part of a small, eclectic group that can tout a unique item that isn't available to the larger populous, this is their new outlet. Local craft distilleries are making small batches of bourbon, rye, vodka, gin and bitters. There is a movement towards urban neo-ruralism that has apartment dwellers in cities canning tomatoes, keeping bees, raising chickens and churning butter. Sometimes these folks are selling their products to independent grocers and restaurants, bypassing the standardized procurement cycle. The small farmers are the new gastronomic superheros, sourced and touted on restaurant menus. The independent butcher shops are opening across the country with unfamiliar and creative cuts like Denver steak and Petite tender. We are continuing to see more small batch specialty meats, too, like bison, goat and rabbit.
With the conservative and sustainable mindset trumping all prior notions, people are not wasting in large amounts. The mentality of a lot of folks are that when they eat these products, they want to make sure they are appropriately respected and paid homage to. The small batch momentum also is a reflection of our recent past of the casual dining push into large and hearty serving sizes that have added inches to may waistlines in this country. We are currently witnessing a culinary manifesto promoting purity, simplicity, freshness and ethics.These principles could never be churned into a mass distribution system and that's what gives it a competitive edge. The inability to replicate at a large level.
If it's an item you put in your mouth, there's a small batch steward out there giving it a unique spin. Go search for it, you might be pleasantly surprised.
2012 Food and Dining Predictions:
#5 - Cloud Eating and Cooking
