Ali Sinaei, managing partner, Roundmenu, conducted an expert session at The Big F&B Forum on consumer behavior trends and dining decisions. 
The second edition of the event, hosted by Catering News Middle East, took place on 20 September at The Westin Dubai Mina Seyahi Beach Resort & Marina, with more than 250 F&B professionals in attendance.
Sinaei revealed that diners searching online heavily rely on social media and food photos before deciding where to eat.
He commented: “In terms of content consumption, restaurants need to make their mark online. Our studies reveal that 47% of diners looking online require search related guidance and 30% of those searchers look for food related photography from the restaurant or from other customers.”
Other dining trends Sinaei revealed included:
- 61% of bookings come from promotions
- 71% of tourist traffic to Roundmenu comes from the UAE
- Most popular cuisine choices are pizza (17%), burgers (15%) and Arabic (11%)
- Top delivery locations included Sheikh Zayed Road, DIFC, Downtown and Dubai Marina
- 74% of orders were made over the telephone as opposed to 26% made online
- Average spend per order is AED 81
Supporting The Big F&B Forum were some of the industry’s most influential suppliers: Al Rawdah, Official Breakfast Sponsor; Coffee Planet, Exclusive Coffee Sponsor; Banvit, Official Lunch Sponsor; Soft Drinks Sponsor, Waterfalls Brands, Support Sponsor African + Eastern and exhibitors, TSSC, Rational, Ronai, Pulsar Foodstuff Trading, Hotelity, American Garden and Quooker.
See the social media coverage of the event by following @cateringnewsme on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
