Posted in Trends on September 18, 2024
Food plays an integral role in a number of fall and winter celebrations—Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, Hanukkah, and Kwanzaa all serve up a yearly feast of special dishes, flavors and eating occasions. Thanks to the strong interest in seasonal fare, operators may be able to boost sales by offering holiday-themed menus and events.
If you’re hoping to be part of your customers’ plans to eat, drink, and be merry this year, maximize your holiday dining options—and ensure you’re able to effectively inform customers about them—with the following approaches.
1. Dig Into the Data
There’s no place like home for a holiday meal—at least that seems to be the case for the approximately 81% of U.S. adults who intend to have a home-cooked holiday dinner this year, according to market data and research portal Statistica.¹
Younger generations in particular have a home-for-the-holidays meal mindset, with 88.9% of millennials and the majority of Gen Z planning to cook a holiday dinner.¹
That said, opportunities abound for foodservice operators to feed a need for convenience and value. Sixty-four percent of consumers surveyed said they planned to order at least one holiday food item from a restaurant last year, according to restaurant management solutions provider HungerRush.²
What’s more, 37% said they would order their entire holiday meals from a restaurant.² If dining out, 64% would opt for casual dining over fine dining, quick-service restaurants, or drive-thru options—a clear indication of a preference for a balanced approach that emphasizes convenience while keeping the spirit of the season.²
In 2023, price sensitivity, especially among younger consumers,² triggered a desire for heavily discounted group meals from grocery stores eager to gobble up market share that might otherwise go to restaurants.
The grocery store chain Lidl, for example, offered a Thanksgiving meal deal last year that fed 10 people for less than $30. The cost of goods in a Thanksgiving meal basket had increased 27% compared to 2019, and ongoing inflationary pressure seems sure to keep that cost rising.
A series of restaurant chains linked holiday sales to convenience last year and can be expected to do so again this year. Cracker Barrel, Denny’s, Popeyes, and Ruth’s Chris Steak House all offered value-oriented Thanksgiving meals to-go.
2. Promote Season’s Eatings (and Savings!)
The market research firm Datassential founds that 92% of consumers surveyed feel that “food prices have been too high for too long,” underscoring the market’s hunger for bundled offers and other money-saving promotions.³
Given that 45% of millennials and Gen Zers are dining out less frequently due to belt tightening,² it makes sense for foodservice operators to step up to the plate with discount delivery and to-go offers that combine convenience and value. Eighty percent of millennials and 84% of Gen Z surveyed said they would take advantage of promotional deals.²
To encourage a higher check average, promote full course meal bundles as a way of saving money compared to individual or piecemeal purchases.
Also keep in mind that the holidays are hectic, and food delivery and takeout are more popular than dining at restaurants for Gen Zers and millennials, especially as a last-minute save. Seventy-four percent cited using food delivery for an urgent situation where they needed food last-minute, according to a DoorDash report4—another reason why menuing travel-friendly holiday meals and sides are a good idea for the season.
From a marketing perspective, consider promoting these offers in the spirit of the season online, onsite, on social and in-app as ways to help customers alleviate the high cost of the holidays.
3. Take Tried-and-True to the Next Level
Americans’ appetite for holiday staples remains robust, and U.S. consumers continue to gravitate to traditional comfort foods associated with the season.1 Mashed potatoes and stuffing remain the most prominent side dishes for the Thanksgiving turkey. When it comes to Christmas dinner, chicken tops the pecking order for nearly 60% surveyed.¹
To make the main courses on your holiday menu stand out, consider new twists on old favorites, like Thanksgiving Shepherd’s Pie made with RITZ Crushed Crackers. This takeout-friendly, family-style recipe combines a medley of beloved seasonal ingredients into one hearty holiday comfort meal.
Or get creative with chicken and menu mouthwatering twists like Buttermilk-Battered Honey-Fried Chicken made with HONEY MAID Grahams and Chicken Pot Pie Bites made with RITZ Crushed Crackers.
For Christmas dessert, apple pie still hits the sweet spot and tops the list of consumer favorites (46%), followed by chocolate chip cookies (36.4%).1Baked Apple, Cinnamon Ice Cream, Crispy Topping made with RITZ Crushed Crackersprovides a distinctive sweet and savory profile that elevates it above the typical apple pie.
To satisfy customers’ hankering for innovative applications of chocolate chip cookies, try Chocolate Mousse Pie made with Chunky CHIPS AHOY! Cookie Pieces. Or add a sweet crunchy touch to another favorite by serving Eggnog made with Chunky CHIPS AHOY! Cookie Pieces(which can also be made as a mocktail!) to make the season extra merry.
“Classic recipes remind people of special moments they’ve experienced when food was at the center,” explained Mondelēz International Foodservice Lead Customer Chef Carmisha Ramsey.5 “Coming up with new ways to serve nostalgic recipes is a fun challenge and can be very rewarding when achieved. It’s all about taking something familiar and adding a little new and interesting extra. Many of our brands are nostalgic in their own right. Generations have grown up with OREO. Same for RITZ Crackers and CHIPS AHOY!”5
4. Host Special Events
Encourage customers to make a dine-in reservation by scheduling a festive occasion, like holiday-themed dinners featuring a Santa’s workshop setting and activities like cookie decorating.
For a fun Halloween menu twist, let kids customize their own pumpkin-flavored treat. The trick could be to give them the opportunity to substitute or add NILLA and CHIPS AHOY! cookie crumbles for desserts like Pumpkin Spice Milkshake made with OREO Cookie Pieces and Pumpkin Walnut Chocolate Chip Muffin made with OREO Cookie Pieces.
Consider incorporating cultural celebrations centered on a seasonal tradition as well, such as the Italian-American Feast of the Seven Fishes, which involves serving a seafood-centric meal on December 24. Or create a different menu item for each night of Hanukkah and Kwanzaa.
In addition to individual gatherings, operators can also sponsor promotions that stretch over several weeks, such as making a gift card discount available in December or donating a portion of each meal purchase during the month to charity.
Emphasizing the convenience, fun factor and other benefits on- and off-premise seasonal dining options offer can help operators pique consumers’ interest in their menu during the holiday season–and encourage customers to stop by and enjoy a special holiday meal, or order at least part of one to go.
For more creative holiday-themed menu ideas—and tips on how to effectively promote them—contact us today.
1 Statistica, Holiday dinner in the United States - statistics and facts, 2024
2 Littman, Julie, Report: 64% of diners to order holiday items from restaurants, Restaurant Dive, November 14, 2023
3 Datassential, Foodbytes: 2024 Food Trends
4 DoorDash for Merchants, Restaurant Online Ordering Trends, 2023
5 Mondelēz Foodservice, Updates on the Classics, Chef’s Culinary Corner, 2024
