The Healthcare segment continues to see new innovations and trends as growth remains strong.  Three main trends are in patient experience, expansion to retail service, and wellness and healthy eating initiatives.

Patient Experience—Many hospitals have already progressed to room service, moving away from traylines to hotel-style room service with meals “on demand” with more choices.  Senior living facilities are also innovating with casual café’s, and retail with grab-and-go options.

Retail—In hospitals which offer both retail and patient meals, retail sales can account for 60% of sales. C-stores and coffee shops or kiosks, are now often part of the operation.

Wellness- Menus have expanded with healthy made-to-order items, plant based and healthy culture-crossing cuisines, workshops on healthy cooking techniques, meals-in-a-box for staff, and newer buildings built to WELL Building Certification.

The manufacturers Stiefel Associates represent seek to fill equipment needs within these trends toward healthier eating, retail options, and patient experience.

As we move into the 3^rd decade of the century, fine dining is moving toward the “art of dining”, or perhaps even fine dining as “theater”.  On the food side we anticipate the continued development of plant-based food alternatives to meat and dairy, with accompanying adjusting cooking methods for products based on soy, peas, cashews, almonds, and other products. The interest in CBD oil will see new experimentation using this oil in food and drinks. There will be continued push for local foods, foods with a story. These foods may be from a local family/owner, direct delivery from a nearby artisan, or even regenerative organic certified farms.  Cooking equipment which is both smart and efficient will accompany the dining trends, along with equipment designed for dining as theater.

Chain growth continues to look positive, especially with the pizza sector, with forecasts for 2023 projecting a 10% growth in North America, Africa, Russia, and Australia since 2018.  Latin America, China, and the Asia Pacific are looking at close to 20% growth in this time frame.   Quality ingredients, technology, and youth culture are key aspects to this growth. Plant-based food offerings, and online ordering will continue to expand, as successful chains grow with targeting marketing, quality food, community participation, and consistent but accommodating service.  Stiefel Associates has extensive experience assisting chains with equipment to keep them on the leading edge of service and growth.

By the end of 2024, we expect the decade long growth in this market will have expanded to capture 4% more of all food sales, amongst total growing food sales of 38% in this ten-year period.  With mobile consumers wanting “on-the-go” and “no waiting” food solutions, customers are seeking out fuel stations that offer more the gasoline, chips, and soda.

Stiefel Associates represents several key items common in C-stores, including microwave and hi-speed ovens, to industry—leading water filters for soda and coffee machines.

Dealing with B & I consumer perceptions will continue to challenge B & I operators.  While contemporary serving stations are commonplace, studies show 69% of customers perceive their dining facilities as “traditional” as opposed to trendy. While B & I has distinct advantages in the ability to rotate their menus, they also have challenges competing with delivery services. Consumers hunger for new and exciting cuisine options, whether Spanish, Brazilian, Peruvian, or Chilean, as well as a continued focus on nutrition, will inspire new dishes, herb gardens and other healthy options in dining rooms, with much focus on wellness.  Ventilated ceiling systems, common in Europe, and other seamless ventless systems, along with a continued need to reduce water consumption, are technology trends growing strongly in B & I.