How the Now Economy is changing the foodservice industry: Gonzalo Olivera, founder of Food for Real
According to Olivera, the new generation of consumers don't want to deal with ‘compromise’.
The Now Economy is the mindset of a new generation expecting to have pleasure, convenience and health with no trade off. Gonzalo Olivera has been analysing how people make food choices for years and he’s passionate about finding ways to shift people’s preference towards healthier options.
He is an expert on marketing strategy and integrated communications, enriched in his role as Growth Director of MullenLowe Group where he leads the agency's APAC growth. Gonzalo has spent a big part of his career in different European markets, like Italy, UK and Spain before coming to Singapore five years ago.
He is amongst the roster of panelists in the upcoming QSR Media Asia Detpak Conference and Awards on the 24th of January 2018 at the Grand Copthorne Waterfront Hotel in Singapore. Find out more about him below.
QSR Media: What are your previous experiences and positions held that contributed to who you are as an industry expert today?
My background is in marketing and communication strategy. I have participated in the creation of about 30 global marketing campaigns for major multinationals – and a lot of that time was spent learning how people form perceptions and act accordingly.
Over the last 3 years, I have focused on studying consumer behavior in the food industry as the founder of a startup called Food For Real.
QSR Media: What are your key business philosophies?
Trust, trust and trust. I love this quote, "The best way to find out if you can trust somebody is to trust them." I believe it’s one of the key differences between the multinational and the entrepreneurial worlds. In the entrepreneurial world, you have a personal brand to protect and you need to be trustworthy.
The secret? Under-commit and over-deliver.
For instance, a debt repaid before its deadline reaps a huge dividend in trust. Then, you just have to assume others will act in the same spirit. Constantly not trusting people has a bigger negative impact than a few isolated disappointments.
QSR Media: What have you observed with the demands of consumers today?
In general, consumers have much higher expectations than they did 15 or 20 years ago. We can get our grocery delivered to our doorstep in a matter of hours at no cost, but we get very frustrated if it’s 15 minutes late – that’s the Now Economy.
It's the mindset of a new generation of consumers who don't want to deal with ‘compromise’. Take for example, the food industry. There used to be foods created exclusively for indulgence which give a sense of guilt afterwards. Guilt was the compromise when eating something really tasty, a trade-off that consumers were able to deal with. Now, ‘guilt’ is too much of a compromise. So the expectation is pleasure with no trade off, no guilt. They want it all, pleasure, convenience and health.
Another change taking place is in transparency. Transparency is probably the biggest untapped opportunity in the food industry. We are about to start the 4th industrial revolution and we have cars that drive themselves, but we still don’t know what is in our food, where it comes from, how it was made or how that affects us. When it comes to food awareness, the last 50-60 years were a huge step backwards. The companies that learn to embrace transparency in the right way will have a major advantage.
The QSR Media Asia Detpak Conference and Awards will be on January 24 at the Grand Copthorne Waterfront Hotel Singapore from 8:30 AM to 4:55 PM.
If you are interested to attend the conference, you may contact Nikki at [email protected] or at +65 3158 1386 ext 238.
Learn more about the event here.
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