Setting the Trend
Leaders and followers alike share a hand in creating what’s “next.”

Each new year we turn our focus to the trends in catering. The January issue is one of our most popular as readers look for ways to start the New Year off with some fresh ideas. It’s interesting to consider however, that trends by definition are not “new” ideas. They are in fact the prevailing, or most common ideas in an industry. In fashion, we can say that pink is a trend, but it can hardly be considered new or unique when everyone is wearing it!

Of course those ideas have to start somewhere, but how does it happen? In my opinion, trends are born out of the creative minds of talented professionals who needed a functional solution to an every-day problem. It’s not a very magical theory, but I think it holds water.

Caterers are by nature trendsetters. There isn’t a day that passes that you haven’t improvised from the original plan and come up with a new way to fix a situation. The solution has to be viable, it has to meet expectations and budgets, and it has to please the client. Putting resourcefulness and good business sense to work, you and your team work hard and find ways to resolve the issue in a manner that is so perfect it becomes standard practice.

Since all caterers large and small face the same or common challenges, it only makes sense that as one solves a problem, others will learn from it and use the same tactics, clients will begin to talk and, Viola! A trend is born.

When we started gathering information for our 2009 Trends issue, we knew from experience that while some classic styles last from year to year, with only slight modifications, new catering trends are definitely shaped by the world around us. In past years, trends have followed the growing environmental issue or global cultural shifts, and this year trends are being shaped by our economy and the challenges it has posed. We talked to caterers from across the country who are finding creative new ways to work smarter as they react and adjust to value-conscious client requests. They are taking their best ideas and modifying them to fit their current situation and are showing us that a little ingenuity can go along way.

This year, make a resolution to watch the trends being set by your peers. Seek out and use the best ideas available to help keep you on track. And always consider new and better ways to work, save, create and deliver because you may inevitably be setting one of the trends for 2010.

Wishing you a happy and profitable new year!


Nan Hildebrandt is the vice president of marketing for Catersource and publisher of
Catersource magazine. You can reach her at publisher@catersource.com