When you need a tasty bite

By: Ipacs Tamás Date: 2023. 04. 18. 09:46

It isn’t only food industry giants that are writing the success story of finger foods: with the conquest of street food, the category is regularly getting new input for its development. Probably chicken nuggets and wings are sold in the largest quantity globally, but today there also mini versions of hamburgers, wraps, breaded chicken breasts, pizza, sausage and even sandwiches. Some of the new creations are still centred around pulled meats, which are very trendy at the moment. Thin tortilla-based cones and wraps are also popular all over the world, just like various Asian noodles on a stick, and the flavours of India, the Near East and Africa, etc.

Convenience, not luxury

Ákos Bősze
business development executive
METRO

Ákos Bősze, HoReCa business development executive of METRO:

“Finger food isn’t a new invention, it has been present in catering for decades, but the Covid pandemic brought its development to a halt. At least in hospitality, as shoppers kept buying finger food in retail in the form of convenience products.”

Csaba Mossóczy
country representative
Salomon FoodWorld
Hungary

Csaba Mossóczy, country representative of Salomon FoodWorld in Hungary:

“The finger food market is growing all over Europe, and the engine of this growth the rising popularity of street food, together with fast food chains adding appetisers such as chicken nuggets, wings, filled jalapenos, etc. to their menus.”

Salomon FoodWorld is Europe’s biggest finger food manufacturer. They offer 150 different products directly to HoReCa units, and from these about three dozens are available in Hungary.

Elegantly served finger food may be suitable either as appetizer or as a main course

Bite-size trend

Boglárka Enikő Tóth
commercial leader
Nestlé Professional

Enikő Boglárka Tóth, commercial leader of Nestlé Professional:

“Our experience is that the most popular finger foods are mini tortilla, mini Caesar salad and mini burger. In the category Nestlé Professional primarily supplies HoReCa units with finger food ingredients. A good example of this is our vegan and vegetarian Garden Gourmet range, and our Vuna fish substitute.”

Besides finger foods, there are other trends favoured by those who like to try bites of food from different parts of the world: food sharing makes it possible for a group of people sitting around the table to taste many different flavours – this is basically the restaurant version of the finger food phenomenon. METRO’s product selection has all the products a restaurant needs to prepare and serve finger food.

From a culinary point of view, the main finger food trends are largely shaped by the creative, street-food type meals by restaurants and food trucks

Flavours of the world

Csaba Mossóczy revealed that almost one quarter of Salomon FoodWorld’s product selection are vegetarian or vegan products, but in the Hungarian market he sees bigger growth potential in chicken and beef products. Prices are rising with the increase of ingredient costs, but quality convenience products have their place in several different types of HoReCa units.

Enikő Boglárka Tóth told our magazine: from the ingredients of Nestlé Professional, the vegetarian/vegan versions of the most popular finger foods can be prepared quickly and easily. The company regularly adds new products to the Garden Gourmet range. In Hungary 1-2% of the population is vegan, so Nestlé Professional’s main focus is flexitarian consumers, as their proportion is about 50%. The latter go meat-free minimum 1-2 days a week, but they like to do this eating dishes that are similar to their meat variants. //

This article is available for reading in Trade magazin 2023/4.