Food plays an integral role in a number of fall and winter celebrations—Thanksgiving, Christmas, Hanukkah and Kwanzaa are the top holidays consumers associate with special dishes, flavors and eating occasions.1
Topics: Promotions, Marketing & Communications, Takeout, Meal Kits, Dessert, Holidays, Seasonal, NILLA Wafers, NABISCO GRAHAMS, Customer Experience, Menu Strategy, Limited Time Offers (LTOs)
In fall, as the weather begins to cool, consumers’ appetite for desserts that include warm, toasty flavors starts to heat up.
Restaurants may find customers are seeking sweets such as pies and souffles, featuring autumnal ingredients like cinnamon, ginger, nuts and apples, according to Clarice Lam, Mondelēz Foodservice brand ambassador, contributor to Epicurious and Spruce Eats, and founder of The Baking Bean, a Brooklyn direct-to-consumer bakery specializing in all-natural seasonal sweets.
“Consumers want warm and cozy dishes for the fall—flavors that remind them of the holidays and family,” Lam said in an interview with marketing agency The Food Group.
In fact, more than half (53%) of consumers say they’re interested in seasonally influenced desserts.1
The ingredients, trendiness and other aspects, though, can affect how new menu items are received. To ensure any fall desserts you introduce are a sales success, consider weaving in some of the following features.
Topics: Promotions, Pies/Tarts, Custards/Cheesecakes, Beverages, Ice Cream Desserts, Dessert, Holidays, Seasonal, OREO, SOUR PATCH KIDS, Dessert Ingredients, Creative Inspiration, Branded Ingredients, Flavor Profiles, Limited Time Offers (LTOs), Nostalgia, Foodservice, Shakes/Smoothies/Frozen Beverages, Comfort
Time-Tested: Which Pandemic Practices Could Become Permanent?
Over the past year and a half, operators have addressed emerging pandemic-related consumer preference, safety and other needs by introducing innovative menu and operational changes—and a number have shown some staying power.
Topics: Technology, Promotions, Marketing & Communications, Mobile, Independents, Family Restaurant, Takeout, Business & Industry, Quick Service Restaurant, Casual Dining Restaurant, Ice Cream/Yogurt Shop, Delivery, Meal Kits, Donuts/Pancakes/Waffles, Cookies/Bars/Snacks, Ice Cream Desserts, Cakes/Cupcakes, Breakfast, Dessert, Snack, Holidays, Chocolate, CHIPS AHOY!, OREO, Family, Cookies, Dessert Ingredients, Grab-and-Go, Labor, Convenience, Foodservice Industry, Menu, Creative Inspiration, Customer Experience, Consumer, Flavors & Ingredients, Menu Strategy, Food & Beverage, Sales & Profitability, COVID-19, Coronavirus, Curbside Pickup, Fast-Casual Restaurant, Off-Premises, Consumer Behavior, Value, Limited Time Offers (LTOs), Nostalgia, Digital/Online Ordering, Touchless, On-Premises, Foodservice, Sweet, Fresh
Falling for Another Flavor: Consumers Cool to Pumpkin Spice, Get Sappy for Maple
Pumpkin spice sure is nice, signaling the start of the holiday season and boosting business for foodservice operators across America, where the love affair with the perennial fall flavor seems to pile up sales like so much foliage.
Topics: Desserts, Millennials, Snack, Holidays, Seasonal, Consumer
Leaves aren’t the only thing changing this fall season. Snacking trends are changing too as snack-hungry consumers (in particular, millennials) drive consumption to new heights. According to Technomic’s latest Snacking Occasion Consumer Trend Report, snack attacks are increasing in frequency, with 83% of consumers in 2016 snacking on a daily basis, versus 76% in 2014.1 As their lifestyles become more fast-paced, consumers look for quick food fixes in the form of snacks. And, as healthy snacks grow in popularity, many people are becoming more flexible in how they define snacks and when they consume them.
Topics: Millennials, Snack, Holidays, Seasonal