Sponsored by VE Hospitality Group
From updated beverages to elevated twists on global cuisines, the hottest flavor trends are capturing the attention of adventurous consumers and innovative restaurant groups. V&E Hospitality Group (VEHG), which has grown to 30 restaurants in Miami and Las Vegas, has deep insight into what consumers crave and what they will look for in 2024. VEHG restaurants serve menu items ranging from traditional Cuban to upscale Italian, sushi, Mexican, and American. Company leadership offers insights into some emerging flavors and menu items that are generating excitement.
One of the most significant trends currently is beverages packed with flavor, not alcohol. “On the drinking side of things, at VEHG we are all about mocktails,” says Eduardo Araoz, co-founder and owner of VEHG. In fact, Araoz says, research indicates that mocktails are exploding in popularity. Citing numbers from Datassential, he notes that mocktails have grown 42% over the past 12 months and 190% in the last four years. They appear on 1.2% of menus in general, and on 100% of VEHG’s full-service restaurants.
One restaurant, Café Americano, which has three locations in Miami and two in Las Vegas, offers several flavorful mocktails:
- Cucumber Mint Agua Fresca: Cucumber, Mint, Lime Juice, and Agave
- You Are Peachy: Peach Reduction, Sour AF Lime, Lychee Reduction, and Grapefruit Juice
- Brickell Fresh: Coconut Red Bull, Sour AF Lime, Fresh Cucumber, and Mint
- Flamingo Reef: Rose's Strawberry, Lemon Juice, Grapefruit Soda, and Fee Foam
“In 2024, the focus should be on combining more nutritional values and zero sugar in the mocktails,” Araoz says. The company also plans to explore legacy cocktail favorites that serve as inspiration for new mocktail creations.
Global flavors
Also according to Datassential, Latin flavors are gaining popularity. Smoky, sweet, and complex flavors are appearing on beverage menus, a reflection of consumer interest in Latin flavors overall. The trend now is ethnic and innovative, Araoz says, and Cuban cuisine is especially in demand. “Cuban cuisine is considered one of the global cuisines in America and has proliferated,” he says.
One factor driving this proliferation of Latin flavors is that innovative chefs are devising new iterations of these menu items. In Miami, VEHG operates three Cuban concepts and will soon have 12 full- and limited-service Cuban restaurants. Among them is Marabú, which serves Coal Fired Cuban Cuisine. About 70% of items on the menu are cooked in charcoal ovens. “These techniques have greatly impacted and are trendy in the Miami food scene,” Araoz says. “Marabú is a great proof of it.”
Premium ingredients
Also on the menu are exceptional ingredients. “Quality is another mega trend for us,” Araoz says. “We will be very invested and focused on fresh and prime in 2024.”
Fresh and prime will be keywords not only for meat and seafood, but also olive oil, salt, and pepper. VEHG is curating high-quality versions of basic ingredients because experience-minded consumers are seeking these elevated components in restaurant meals. “Obviously, we have lost and will lose some vendors or deals,” Araoz says. “But it will be all worth it.”
Consumers are also looking for super foods and bowls, and several of VEHG’s concepts plan to add these to their core menus. Superfoods are being rapidly accepted by consumers, Araoz says, and the ingredients make a great addition to Cuban, Mexican, and other cuisines. Bao, or filled steam buns, are also very on-trend and are being added.
The restaurants are menuing the new items as more consumers show interest in sampling global cuisines. Due partly to social media, diners are familiar with foods such as birria (meat stew), ropa vieja (a Cuban beef dish), guava pastries (made with the tropical fruit), and churrasco (grilled meats).
“The fact that consumers are more knowledgeable about these menu items says something about trying and adopting different ways to add variety in everyday dining,” Araoz says.
VEHG operates several restaurants in South Florida. The group consists of the five-unit Havana 1957; three outlets of Oh! Mexico Restaurant & Tequileria; Oh! Mexico Taco Shop; Marabú Coal Fired Cuban Cuisine; the nightlife spot Barsecco; two Paperfish Sushi Bars; three locations of Cafe Americano; Mercato Della Pescheria Italian-Seafood Restaurant; the iconic News Café; and three Cortadito Coffee House operations—with two more scheduled to open within the next few months. Before the end of the year, two more concepts will be added to the portfolio: The Beacon on Ocean Drive, and Salty Flame in the Brickell area in Miami.
In Las Vegas, VEHG operates two outlets of Cafe American—24-hour restaurants in Caesars Palace & Paris Hotel—and Mercato Della Pescheria Italian-Seafood at the Grand Canal Shoppes. VEHG also plans to debut the first Havana 1957 in the Flamingo Hotel in 2024.
