What Is The Secret Behind The Street Food Phenomenon?

Convenience is a crucial factor to street foods’ success. Because street food offers better, freshly cooked meals fast, consumers are becoming less inclined to eat pre-packed ready-made food in plastic. Instead, they are now searching for more interesting choices.

The great variation of choice is meeting new dietary requirements, especially with option directed towards vegan and plant based diets. Stemming from sustainability concerns, and supported by an innovative use of ingredients, this trend is continuously growing.

The 5 Characteristics of Street Food

1. On-the-go: It can easily fit into the consumers other plans for the day. Street food is transportable and can be eaten on the move.

2. Accessible: Short, limited menus make choosing easier and faster. Low, affordable prices allow for frequent visits. Street food is in its essence an urban phenomena and makes premium food experiences accessible.

3. Spontaneous: Street food is a sensory experience, driven by spontaneous cravings. It is ideal to try out new tastes in fun, informal and vibrant settings that require no reservations or planning ahead of time.

4. Diverse: Defined by its great variety of choice and traditional foods from other cultures, street food is perceived as the destination for exploration of new foods with authentic and home-made feel.

5. Semi-permanent: Strongly associated with summer, it is a seasonal phenomena, where vendors come and go, continuously offering novelty value. Also, street food can liven up misused urban areas with small pop-up stalls.

Street Food Trends

1. Theater: Part of the attraction of street food is the high energy, multi-sensory atmosphere, with many exciting and varied foods on offer. Bright, theatrical dishes are common, to catch the eye of consumers and create ‘Instagram value’.

2. Authenticity: Authenticity is central to the appeal of street food. Vendors represent different nationalities, are small business owners and passionate about their craft, proud to bring the authentic experience of their heritage.

3. Transparency: Transparency is hugely important in street food, as it signals freshness, reassuring consumers on the quality of their food when buying from temporary carts. Open bowls and breads are used to serve to the foods, displaying the ingredients openly.

4. Veganism: Veganism is the biggest consumer trend affecting street food, looking set to continue growing even further. Fully-vegan street food markets are opening, and existing markets include vegan stalls, appealing to a wide audience by replicating traditional non-vegan foods.

Discover inspiring street food breads by Lantmännen Unibake here.