Bread was likely first invented 30,000 years ago by prehistoric people. Historians posit that the ability to store surplus grain enabled the beginning of human society – settlements, laws, government and more. Just like our primitive ancestors, we still eat bread today. We also eat grain bowls with kale, avocado, Cotija cheese and chili-roasted almonds.

Food obviously continues to evolve, and so too does the food service industry. From technology-based market disruption to modernizing apparel trends to growth in the fast-casual restaurant sector, our most basic of needs is anything but these days.

The physical act of eating hasn’t changed, but where and how people eat is shifting dramatically. In 1965, according to Nutrition Journal, between 88% and 95% of meals were prepared at home. In 2007, that figure was between 65% and 72%. Now, only 27% of people cook every day, according to a study commissioned by Artisola.

Whether it’s eating out or dining in, we’re increasingly relying on others to cook our meals. And while cultural observers debate whether this is good for society, one thing is clear: It’s a bonus for food service companies – and the promotional products distributors that service them.

‘I’ll Take an Order of Branded T-Shirts’
Fast casual is the buzzword of the moment right now in the restaurant world. Not as formal as table service restaurants but certainly a step up from traditional fast food, fast casual restaurants have seen over 500% growth since 1999, and were expected to grow 5.3% this year, according to the National Restaurant Association. By comparison, sit-down restaurants were expected to grow 3.5%. And of the industry’s Top 10 trendy restaurant concepts according to the association, “chef-driven fast-casual restaurants” were number two behind hyper local food.

Terrin Pickett, web marketing and sales manager at Restaurant Discount Warehouse (asi/307635), says he’s seen this change affect business. “Within the next four years,” he says, “there’ll be a pretty abrupt change in the industry, and a bubble that may burst after a saturation of fast casual.”

As Americans are increasingly drawn to ordering at the counter for a more laid-back and less costly dining experience, there has been a shift in both the formality and quantity of restaurant workers’ branded apparel. While Pickett says Restaurant Discount Warehouse does strong business offering steakhouses and high-end seafood restaurants a more custom experience for its menu design, “that middle section that used to exist has really shrunk,” he says. “We aren’t doing an Oxford shirt or dress shirt – now it’s more of a T-shirt. Owners are simplifying and scaling back where they can, and a lot of that is in uniforms.”

“People don’t need to sit down; they can order from their phone and eat at home.”Terrin Pickett, Restaurant Discount Warehouse

Michael Reisbaum, director of national accounts at Blue Generation (asi/40653), says that traditionally, food-service uniforms were a basic polo or a basic woven. “The deciding factor was the expense food service providers or owners would incur,” he says, “as opposed to considering the idea that staff would be wearing a billboard.”

Five to 10 years ago, however, the look for restaurant workers’ apparel saw a sea change. “Providers began to outfit their teams with a much more retail-looking garment,” he says – great in terms of being trendy and current, but not so much for the practicality of dealing with mishaps like food stains. To hit both goals, Blue Generation applies stain- and wrinkle-resistance to its fabrics, which make them last longer but still easy to wash and wear. The supplier has started offering a fitted, untucked shirt with those performance properties to tap into the casual trend.

“It’s not just about having everyone look the same anymore,” Reisbaum says. “It’s about an image that fits in with your corporate goals.” The contrast can be vast depending on the type of food service: Where caterers may look for subtlety in their logoed apparel, an entity such as an artisan grill cheese maker “wants their logo blasted all over,” he says.

Che’ Macy, marketing manager at Dickies Occupational Wear (asi/49675), says that with the restaurant industry’s push toward experiential dining, customers have more visibility into the kitchen, which puts emphasis on staff uniforms. “Ensuring your back-of-house staff is outfitted with work wear that aligns with the restaurant’s brand is now equally as important as the look of the front-of-house staff,” she says. Work shirts from Dickies, Macy says, are a “promotional mainstay” that work especially well in the craft beer/brewpub vertical.

Reisbaum notes that since kitchen workers are often dealing with extreme heat, technically advanced fabrics that are lighter weight and wick away moisture are particularly popular. Performance fabrics can also transition beyond the kitchen; Blue Generation is doing more quarter-zip, long-sleeve pullovers with color-block logos for restaurant workers.

Macy says the comfort of fabrics is also top of mind at Dickies, which has seen “an increase in businesses opting for embroidered or screen-printed options that transition well between work and life.” The company has focused on growing its FLEX line offerings to meet the needs of these active work environments, she adds.

With an eye toward urban restaurants, Restaurant Discount Warehouse this year launched a line of denim aprons comprised of one full-length bib apron and two bistro-style aprons. It also now offers a denim chef’s coat (with 5% spandex mix for stretch) that features roll-up cuffs and copper buttons. “It’s the style and flair that people are seeking, and a unique urban look,” Pickett says.

Pants have not seen much change, Reisbaum says, with most styles remaining a standard poly-cotton-twill fabric with a flat front. He is, however, seeing an uptick in shorts – again echoing the casual trend in both front and back of house – in black and khaki.

Other trends include gray tones with an urban feel, Pickett says, which is indicative of a move away from bright colors like red. “Even Wendy’s and McDonald’s are now wearing gray and black shirts,” he says, relegating their restaurants’ familiar colors to a pop of color in the shirt’s logo. “Traditional red is still left for In-N-Out Burger, but it’s gearing more toward fashion.”

Logo designs are trending toward the minimal, Pickett says, and restaurants and others are gravitating toward logos in an alternate location, such as on back of a shirt or on the sleeve. These are still produced primarily in embroidery or screen-printing, he says, as well as heat transfer and direct to garment. For something really different, Pickett says, a hip restaurant can opt for dye-sublimation to pull focus toward complex, image-focused artwork. “Typically this is used by startups and brands we haven’t heard of yet,” he says.

Restaurant Wars
People still go out a lot to eat – 185 times a year, Bloomberg reports. But that figure is actually down from its peak in 2000 of 216 times a year. The reason? A collection of technology companies have entered the food delivery space: GrubHub, Uber Eats, Instacart, Door Dash, Postmates, even Amazon. And these app-driven platforms are finding tremendous success; NPD says food delivery sales have increased 20% in the past five years.

These companies can certainly use the cutting-edge promo products that tech firms covet. But as Reisbaum points out, there’s also an opportunity for their contractors to be uniformed. Distributors can create a value proposition for drivers who’ve achieved a certain level of success using on-the-job wearables as an incentive, he says. Reward programs for end-consumers can also inspire customer loyalty; Reisbaum suggests reusable bags, lunch totes, drinkware, flatware and bowl sets with a food service company’s name on it.

“Restaurants began to outfit their teams with a much more retail-looking garment.”Michael Reisbaum, Blue Generation

“Kitting product together is a terrific idea,” he adds. “Maybe there’s a loyalty program where consumers get a mug, a shirt and a tote for placing a certain amount of orders. If they order five pies from Domino’s, you give five mugs and give more people a piece of the action.”

Meanwhile, restaurants have begun to feel the pinch, and are taking measures to make more money (including raising prices) or cut costs. For example, from McDonald’s to Costco, food places of all sizes are steadily rolling out self-ordering kiosks and ostensibly making do with fewer staff.

Pickett says Restaurant Discount Warehouse is looking to build business in segments such as hotels and schools to make up the lost sales for items such as menu covers. From the clear plastic sleeves ubiquitous in diners to higher-end SKUs in leather for upscale restaurants, “Everyone used to have something like that,” Pickett says, “but restaurants now are just printing and laminating to save money.”

Restaurant Discount Warehouse used to handle Pizza Hut’s menu covers, Pickett says, but with the franchise’s pivot to online ordering, pickup and delivery, its sit-down locations have given way to more carryout scenarios. “They’ve eliminated a lot of things we provided,” he says. “They’re obviously purchasing fewer uniforms for fewer employees. People don’t need to sit down; they can order from their phone and eat at home.”

For restaurants, it’s not simply a matter of shifting priorities from dine-in to take out. They’re experiencing competition from grocery stores who are ramping up their prepared food sales (10% growth predicted this year) to meet the demand.

Clearly, restaurants have a need in these times to market themselves. But as a 2017 Trip-Advisor survey revealed, half of U.S. restaurateurs spend less than 10% of their time on marketing activities, and 85% believe they should be doing more to promote their business.

Eat Up

Since the middle of the 20th century, Americans are cooking less and eating out much more.

Restaurant industry’s share of Americans’ food dollars

The good news is that getting attention for restaurants has never been easier. They know it too – TripAdvisor reports that the three most effective marketing channels, according to restaurateurs, are social media, online listing services and search engine marketing.

Joshua White, general counsel and senior vice president of strategic partnerships for Top 40 distributor BAMKO (asi/131431), says promo products in the food service industry can benefit from technology simply because so many people have easy access to the web. “Getting consumer eyes on our customers’ brands is easier than it’s ever been,” says White, whose company’s roster of food clients includes Jamba Juice and In-N-Out Burger. “The ubiquity of screens in front of consumers has massively expanded the ways we’re able to connect with end-users and serve our clients.” The clincher for BAMKO, he says, has been transcending the divide between digital and physical worlds: “We use technological solutions, well-planned campaigns and unique products to build a bridge between those two worlds. It’s massively valuable when done right,” he says.

Distributors are prepared to step in and help. Trust and some face-to-face time can go a long way in this e-commerce era. Pickett says physical samples are crucial, as is follow-up. When dealing with larger food service industry clients buying for multiple locations, “that takes months, and they’re not always the most organized group of people,” he says. “The purchase cycle could take six months of samples back and forth, and some nudging along the way. They need to know exactly what they’re getting before they go forward.”

Sarah Protzman Howlett is a contributing writer for Advantages.