We can’t help but feel it—a surging wave of summer vibes after two years of pent-up passion for all the flavors and fun of a season associated with good times and great tastes. The rollback of restrictions is sure to release the foodservice floodgates as menu innovation makes the most of a season of opportunity for sizzling sales.
Hot Sellers: Summer Flavor Forecast Calls for Wave of Appetite-Whetting Trends
Topics: Trends, Seasonal, Better-for-You, Menu, Menu Strategy, Health & Wellness, Culinary, COVID-19, Coronavirus
Food for Foresight: Plating More Plants and Tapping More Tech
There may not be any crystal ball to tell us what the foodservice industry can expect this year and beyond, but there is a feast of research to dig into. So let’s serve up a few juicy morsels that are sure to whet your appetite for what’s on course for the foreseeable future.'
Topics: Trends, Foodservice Industry, Menu, Health & Wellness, COVID-19, Coronavirus, Digital/Online Ordering, Plant-Based
A Season to Savor: Holiday Menu Food for Thought
Every year foodservice operators hope consumers deliver an eagerly anticipated holiday gift: a surge in sales. This year, the market research firm Datassential is the bearer of glad tidings in its Foodbytes Holiday Issue, and there are positive signs that the industry will continue to ring up strong sales long after ringing in the new year.
While many operators are understandably wrapped up in supply chain and labor shortage challenges, the industry can still take comfort and joy in the nationwide rollout of vaccines and the rollback of restrictions. Virus variants may add to an air of uncertainty, but as Renee Lee Wege, senior publications manager at Datassential, put it: “As always, though, the industry has proven time and time again throughout the pandemic just how innovative and resilient it is, and there’s no doubt that’ll continue.”1
Topics: Trends, Menu, Flavors & Ingredients, Menu Strategy, Sales & Profitability, Operations, Fast-Casual Restaurant, Off-Premises
Franchise Frenzy: The Boom in Fast-Casual Segment Franchise Opportunities
Despite the unprecedented challenges the restaurant industry faced in 2020 and 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic—including an estimated $255 billion sales loss1—franchising activity didn’t come to a complete halt.
Topics: Quick Service Restaurant, Casual Dining Restaurant, Delivery, OREO, Cookies, Foodservice Industry, Menu, Menu Strategy, Food & Beverage, Sales & Profitability, Drive-Thru, Limited Time Offers (LTOs)
How The Cookies Crumbl: Cookies Hit Sweet Spot on National Cookie Day and Every Day
Foodservice operators who are hungry for sales can always count on cookies. In fact, the beloved baked goods staple raises so much dough at limited service restaurants, cookies are the segment’s most menued dessert item.
Topics: Desserts, Cookies/Bars/Snacks, Menu, Flavors & Ingredients, Operations, Branded Ingredients, Limited Time Offers (LTOs)