Bygone days of dine-in bliss may not be back just yet, but there’s no doubt about consumers’ hunger for their return. As government restrictions ease and restaurants start to reopen, foodservice operators need to be ready.
Turning the Tables: Restaurant Operations Prep to Reopen (Part 1)
Topics: Takeout, Quick Service Restaurant, Delivery, Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner, Customer Experience, Menu Strategy, Social Responsibility, Operations, Drive-Thru, COVID-19, Coronavirus
A Downturn’s Upside: Coronavirus Crisis Causes Outbreak of Good News and Goodwill at Foodservice Operations
COVID-19 (a.k.a. the coronavirus) may be an astonishing outbreak, but foodservice is far from broken. Though the dark clouds of coronavirus continue to gather, there have been bright spots that show the industry's resiliency and resolve.
Topics: Restaurant Operations, Trends, Independents, Family Restaurant, Regional, Commercial, Quick Service Restaurant, Casual Dining Restaurant, Meal Kits, National, Local, Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner, Restaurant, Social Responsibility, Sales & Profitability, COVID-19, Coronavirus
Millennial Snack Trends Take a Bite Out Of Mealtime Business
As the grab-and-go foodservice trend continues to take hold of busy millennials, the definition of snacking seems to shift further from between-meal treat to convenient meal replacement. Recent survey results show that 92% of millennials eat snacks as meals at least once a week, 50% four times a week and 26% a minimum of seven times a week.1
With close to 40% of millennial survey participants saying a sit-down meal is too time-consuming and 17% “can’t be bothered to cook a meal,” speed and convenience are key reasons for the snack-as-meal-substitute phenomenon.1 Snacks present a low-cost, smaller portioned food solution that fits their active lifestyles. Nearly half rank convenience as the most important factor in choosing a snack.2
Topics: Millennials, Appetizers/Snacks, Lunch, Dinner, Snack, Better-for-You, Menu
Behave Yourself! How Understanding Snacking Behavior Can Help Spur Sales
There’s a lot of buzz these days about snack trends. A smorgasbord of juicy buzzwords, including grab-and-go, wellness, mash-up, hybrid, clean label, international inspiration and numerous others, feeds the need for foodservice operators to keep pace with consumer demand for menu innovation.
Topics: Trends, National, Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner, Snack, Better-for-You, Consumer, Demographic
What’s the Occasion? Anywhere, Anytime Snack Trends
No longer limited to the occasional treat meant to tide consumers over until the next meal, snacking has become an integral part of their daily eating patterns. With nearly every American (94%) snacking on a daily basis1 and one in four millennials (the Super Snackers!) partaking four or more times per day,2 snacks are now defined more flexibly and enjoyed more frequently than ever.
Topics: Millennials, Snacking, Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner, Snack, Better-for-You, Sales & Profitability, Operations