From food trucks to back to the farm restaurants, as the restaurant industry climbs back from the abysmal years of the economic crash, there are investment opportunities galore for investing in restaurants. Investors who want to start investing in restaurants might want to take a look at predicted trends in the restaurant industry. Some formerly widely popular restaurants have peaked out, but there are some emerging trends that are slated to explode the next few years. So, what are the big ideas expected for 2011 and 2012?
Mobile food has been big business in 2010. Food trucks touting everything from tacos to sandwiches to Italian cuisine have found success with low overhead and the ability to take the food directly to a crowd of potential customers. Well-known restaurants have expanded into this area with catering and recognizable brand food trucks as well. 2011 is expected to bring increased governmental regulation of this niche of the restaurant industry which may affect profit margins. However, it is still expected to be a good bet for investing in restaurants.
Restaurants that show the farm sources for their food or are located on farms have also soared in popularity. Farmers have been made into celebrities; celebrities have become farmers in an attempt to follow up massive sales in books about returning to whole foods. Pleasing health food fans, environmental activists, and the tide of citizens wanting to return to real food rather than highly processed chemical equivalents, these types of restaurants or restaurant chains are expected to perform well for investors venturing into investing in restaurants.
Southern comfort food, soul food, and Old Italian favorites are also making a strong come back. When the economy has tanked and everything is feeling somewhat uncertain, people turn back to the favorites that marked their childhood memories (or, what they wished their childhood memories were). Investing in restaurants that specialize in these types of food can be very profitable. However, with any of these trends, investors should do appropriate amounts of research themselves. Some well-known comfort food restaurants are in heavy debt and have cut all expansion. Some food trucks do not maintain an efficient enough bottom line, even with low overhead, to sustain substantial profits. The location of a farm restaurant may not have access to a large enough customer base. There are exceptions to every trend, especially in the highly risky business of the restaurant industry.For more information on investing in investment opportunities usually o