Trends: Center of the plate at NRA

“Gelato is a perfect example of trends driving business in foodservice,” says Greg Kirrish, NRA’s vice president sales and marketing. “Consumers are looking for high-satisfaction in small packages.”

There were many examples of gelato and sorbet. David Zablocki, founder and sorbet sommelier at Greenpoint, N.Y.-based Wine Cellar Sorbets, sources wines he can turn into premium, all natural fat-free sorbets. His latest sorbets are made from port wine and sake and are available nationally.

On the health front, sweet potatoes were everywhere regular fries used to be. And one of the more curious findings was Texturas kits from Solex Partners LLC. They were created by Spain’s foremost molecular gastronomist, Chef Ferran Adrià, to allow chefs to experiment and make the foods served at Adrià's el bulli, Alinea and moto restaurants.

NRA has a new president. Dawn Sweeney, who started last October, grew annual revenues from $200 million to $785 million in only five years at AARP.

She acknowledged the restaurant industry had challenges, but 82 percent of Americans say dining out with family and friends is a better use of their leisure time than cooking. “Restaurant spending is tied to disposable income, but the good news is that this industry is still projected to show growth in 2008 over 2007 – almost 4.5 percent,” she said.

On a typical day, the nation’s restaurants serve 133 million consumers of every age and ethnicity. And companies in the business of manufacturing, selling and distributing food and beverages to the restaurant industry should see a good year in 2008.

Restaurateurs and foodservice operators are expected to buy $202.5 billion in food and drink from industry suppliers this year. The biggest share of these purchases will come from commercial restaurant services, the category that includes full-service and limited-service restaurants, and they will spend an estimated $163.4 billion, about 80 percent of the restaurant industry’s total food and drink spending. Noncommercial restaurant services (schools, hospitals and prisons) will fork over some $27.7 billion, and the military will spend nearly $3.1 billion.