More and more restaurant operations are serving up loyalty programs to help drive sales and build customer loyalty.¹ As technology-driven innovations such as app-enabled takeout transform the foodservice industry, restaurant loyalty programs are experiencing a surge in popularity worldwide.¹

In a poll last year of 6,500 internet users in eight countries, multinational computer technology company Oracle found that 65% of respondents in the U.S. belonged to foodservice loyalty programs.¹ The popularity of such programs was highest in respondents from the States, with Brazil (64%) and Mexico (62%) close behind.¹ In Great Britain and Australia, more than half of consumers surveyed said they were foodservice loyalty program members.¹

Let’s face it: Snack trends may come and go, but there’s one constant foodservice operators can rely on, and that’s the pivotal importance of taste and flavor in driving the consumer’s snack choices. 

More and more foodservice locations are adding takeout programs and partnering with third-party delivery vendors to meet rising consumer demand for speed and convenience.* From limited-service restaurants to full-service restaurants to retail operations, takeout helps fill the tall order of satisfying the seemingly insatiable millennial appetite for on-the-go options.*

It looks like meal kits are digging in for the long haul—and the future could be a feast of subscription revenue. Designed to deliver fresh, pre-measured ingredients to time-strapped consumers hungry for convenient meal solutions, the global meal kit market topped $1 billion in 2015, according to the market research firm Technomic.¹

Despite the ups and downs of the U.S. economy, the restaurant business offers a feast of opportunities for growth. With over a million establishments in the United States, the industry is a robust revenue engine that has served up billions in skyrocketing sales.¹

As the foodservice trend of snacks as meal replacements whets consumers’ appetites for grab-and-go options that complement their busy lifestyles, dayparts are becoming increasingly snackified.

Millennial foodies are serving big changes to the foodservice industry. With 50% of U.S. millennials—one-eighth of the entire U.S. population—claiming to be foodies, foodservice entrepreneurs and restaurant operators are feeling the heat throughout the supply chain to cater to this coveted demographic, as millennial foodies drive menu innovation and transform the food economy.¹

As a $6.2 billion behemoth that continues to grow,¹ the snacking industry has a lot to look forward to in 2017. The Hartman Group reported that 90% of consumers snack multiple times during the day¹, powering snacks to eat up ever-greater market share in the food industry. The consumer research firm estimates that snacking accounts for nearly 50% of all eating occasions.¹

As a perennial popular snack and ultra-versatile foodservice staple, cheese has such a universal presence it can easily be taken for granted, and yet its sales are nothing to turn your nose up at.

With all the challenges on their plate, foodservice operators find being forced to eat the high cost of food waste one of the most pressing. The 2015 Restaurant Industry Forecast from the National Restaurant Association (NRA) found that about seven in ten restauranteurs consider food waste critical enough to warrant closer monitoring and increase tracking.¹