German restaurants are looking for creative ideas that will help them stay afloat, which includes not only turning to takeaway and delivery services, but also inventing new menus involving methods like sous-vide cooking of the country’s hearty traditional recipes, and creating igloos and little outdoor houses, which cannot be used to eat in right now but are useful for the collection of orders.

What do companies expect the future to be like?

“Due to the ongoing Coronavirus crisis we expect a change in the foodservice sector towards a more flexible offer for the consumers: eat-in, delivery or take away – no matter if it is a branch of a big international chain or an independent restaurant,” says the assistant to the CEO at Wiesheu, Madeleine Franz. “Nevertheless we believe that the demand for freshness, healthy nutrition, veggie/vegan and a new individualism will increase even further. This puts the need for reliable and smart equipment and efficient production processes for the owner or licensee in the spotlight.”

Among the German firm’s new ideas are automatic loading and unloading of ovens in order to save time and energy, as well as ensuring quality, and also smart cleaning systems without refill, a greater baking capacity in the same amount of space and a visual status display.

And finally, what do they expect from exports and the domestic market for the year to come? “We hope that the markets will recover in early 2021 and that restaurants, bars, hotels, cafés will soon be allowed to open again so that ‘normal’ life can slowly return – we expect a tough first quarter with better and more positive prospects for the rest of the year. If this is the case, we are quite sure that also new exciting ideas, concepts and chances will arise out of these exceptional circumstances.”

For its part, CUP&CINO is focusing on personalised presentations of its products through live video calls, showing the latest coffee machine ideas, answering questions and dealing with individual requests. “In our Coffee Competence Center,” the firm says, “the latest coffee trends are presented in an effort to create an impetus and give encouragement bars and cafés in the long term.” The company offers a type of coffee that is monitored “from the plantation to the cup, at every stage along the supply chain, because exceptional results can only be achieved when everything originates from a single source.” Comfort food is another trend that is developing parallel to functional food also now in Germany. These include Cup&Cino’s comforting drinks to help everyone get through the difficult winter season like Praline Latte and Vanilla Latte, perfect for keeping out the winter chill as the festive season gets under way.