Why a Retail Food Consultant Still Matters in an Age of Food Obsession

During my early days of consulting on retail developments (over 15 years ago but who's counting?), food was still very much a mystery to most developers and asset managers. It was the category you filled last, often as an afterthought, squeezed into whatever space remained after the "real" retail was secured. Then MasterChef happened. The show, which debuted on Australian screens in 2009, didn't just entertain: it fundamentally changed how Australians engage with food. We've since seen an explosion of widespread, mainstream interest in everything culinary, from specialty coffee culture and artisan bakeries to natural wine bars, ramen shops, and weekend farmers' markets.

This brings about a legitimate question: When it appears that everyone seems like an expert in food, is engaging a retail food consultant on a development project still important?

The Passion Paradox

Here's what I've observed over the years: this newfound passion and interest in food has a flipside. Speak to almost anyone about food and people tend to get excited. This emotional response drives engagement and loyalty, yet it also clouds objectivity and strategic thinking.

I've sat in meetings where food decisions are driven by personal preference rather than market analysis. "I love Vietnamese food; I think a Vietnamese restaurant would be great for the precinct." Or: "I had an amazing meal at this bakery in Paris. We should get something like that here." The passion is genuine, the enthusiasm is real, yet the strategic framework is often absent.

Food provokes strong opinions because it's deeply personal. We all eat multiple times a day. We all have preferences, memories attached to meals, restaurants that mean something to us. Now, more than ever, this intimacy with the subject makes everyone feel qualified to make calls about what should go where. Personal taste and commercial viability are different things, and confusing the two can be expensive.

Strategic Thinking Through a Consumer Lens

A retail food consultant brings a love of food (and in my case, a career background in the industry) to the work, yet approaches opportunities strategically and through a consumer lens rather than a personal one. The questions shift from "What do I want to eat?" to "What does this trade area need?" and "What gaps exist in the current offer?"

This means looking at:

Demographics and psychographics: Who actually lives, works, or visits here? What are their daypart patterns, spending capacity, and food preferences?

Competitive landscape: What's already trading well? What's oversaturated? Where are the genuine whitespace opportunities?

Operational realities: Does this concept actually work in this location? Can it sustain the rent? Does it program the right dayparts?

Long-term viability: Is this a five-year tenant or a flash-in-the-pan trend that'll be gone in eighteen months?

The difference between enthusiasm and strategy is the difference between "this would be cool" and "this will work."

The Macro View: Orchestrating the Mix

Beyond evaluating individual operators, a food strategist looks at the retail F&B mix on a macro level—orchestrating a portfolio that works as a cohesive whole for an individual precinct or for a cluster of precincts within a centre. This means ensuring the mix covers a range of price points (from grab-and-go to destination dining), dayparts (breakfast through to late-night), usage needs (quick lunch, leisurely dinner, coffee catch-up), and experiences (casual, experiential, celebratory).

Getting this balance right delivers continual activation throughout the day and week, provides genuine choice that serves diverse customer segments, and optimizes revenue across the precinct. A single excellent restaurant doesn't create a food destination; a thoughtfully curated ecosystem does. It's the difference between scattered individual decisions and a deliberate strategy where each tenancy plays a specific role in the broader mix.

Constant Exposure to What's Next

One of the less visible aspects of consulting is the constant exposure to new concepts and markets. I'm endlessly on study tours - both interstate and overseas - observing what's opening and what's thriving six months later. I'm reading industry publications, tracking emerging operators, watching how formats evolve across different markets, and identifying the patterns that signal genuine staying power versus momentary hype.

This immersion means the advice I provide is both achievable and aspirational. I'm not recommending concepts that only work in central Tokyo with a population density we'll never replicate. In an age where consumer taste is continually evolving, I'm also not defaulting to the safe, obvious choices that will make a precinct feel dated before it even opens. The goal is to identify operators and formats that are proven enough to be bankable and fresh enough to create differentiation and excitement.

The Value of Detachment

Perhaps the most valuable thing a consultant brings is detachment. I'm not emotionally invested in a particular cuisine or operator. I don't have a favourite restaurant that I'm trying to shoehorn into every project (to avoid conflict of interest, I work exclusively with developers and asset owners, not operators). My success is tied to the commercial performance of the precinct, not to validating my personal taste.

This objectivity allows me to:

• Push back when a beloved concept doesn't fit the trade area

• Advocate for categories that might not be personally exciting yet solve critical activation challenges

• Identify operators who may not have the polish of established brands yet have the operational rigor to succeed

• Identify red flags early, even when everyone else is enthusiastic

Food as Infrastructure, Not Amenity

The fundamental shift over the past fifteen years goes beyond people caring more about food. Food has become infrastructure for how precincts function. It's no longer the category you fill last; it's often the category you lead with. The right F&B mix can define a precinct's identity, drive foot traffic that benefits all tenancies, and create the social energy that makes a place feel alive.

Treating food as infrastructure requires the same rigor you'd apply to any other strategic decision. You wouldn't choose your HVAC system based on personal preference or design your carpark layout because you saw a cool one in Paris. Food decisions deserve the same level of analytical thinking, market understanding, and strategic planning.

When Everyone's an Expert, Expertise Matters More

The democratization of food knowledge is wonderful. It means consumers are more discerning, operators are more ambitious, and the overall quality of Australia's F&B landscape has risen dramatically. This has also created an environment where the signal-to-noise ratio is challenging. There's more information available than ever, yet not all of it is relevant, accurate, or applicable to your specific project.

My role is to translate passion into strategy, identify what will work in your specific context, and provide the analytical framework that turns food from a category into a competitive advantage. Having better taste than you might be nice (though I'd like to think mine is pretty good), yet that's not the point.

Because at the end of the day, everyone may be a "foodie". Few can tell you why a bakery will outperform a café in your morning activation strategy, or which emerging Vietnamese operator has the operational discipline to anchor your laneway precinct for the next decade.

That's still what we do. And more than fifteen years in, it matters more than ever.

For strategic F&B advice grounded in market analysis and real-world experience, Katapult Consulting can assist to identify the specific opportunities within your development. Follow @food_In_sight for ongoing insights into the concepts and trends shaping Australian precincts.

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