Launched after public calls for the Chicken Big Mac – available in outlets in Australia and the UAE – to be added to UK menus, fast food fandoms are helping drive brand decision-making. As the collective mind pushes for a menu change, there’s an opportunity to tap emotionally charged brand love.

Coca-Cola is skipping TV marketing for the Beijing Olympic Games and Super Bowl LVI as advertising shifts to other increasingly influential platforms, such as gaming and social media. The move responds to a demand for brands to meet people in their preferred entertainment spaces.

Pandemic lockdowns and restrictions have had a devastating impact on the restaurant and fast food industries. However, Firehouse Subs has emerged as a success story, shifting its services to better suit a world in the midst of a pandemic without sacrificing the social values it has long upheld.

What’s fuelling the rise of home brew culture? How are brands encouraging sustainable eating habits? And will robots become a mainstay of the dining experience? In this part of Expert Outlook 2022, we speak to three experts about how tech and ethics are shaping the eating and drinking sector.