Did you know that food is the top spending priority for Gen Z, accounting for 23% of their discretionary spending? Or that, when choosing where and what to eat, this generation seeks out operations that deliver on food qualities such as clean, fresh, and nutritionally beneficial?
Download this report to better understand the ABCs of Gen Z. You'll be equipped with insights to attract this food-savvy generation to your foodservice operation.
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In today's highly competitive environment, restaurant marketing requires precise, dependable, and complete consumer data. Data acquired about your actual consumers can be used in both online and offline marketing campaigns.
As technology evolves and client tastes change, successful marketing techniques must be examined and updated accordingly. Every stage of the client's journey should be examined. For example, how do new consumers find your restaurant on the internet? Is your website optimized, and does it provide a good user experience? How can you keep consumers coming back for more? Click here to read the full article. Menu prices rose at an accelerating rate in May, with customers typically paying 7.4% more for an item than they did a year ago, according to new government figures.
The year-over-year increase was the sharpest upswing in restaurant prices since 1981, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) noted in updating the Consumer Price Index (CPI). The rise was particularly sharp for full-service establishments, with charges running 9% above year-ago levels. Prices at limited-service restaurants, where labor expenses are usually lower, increased year to year by 7.3%. Click here to read the full article. If you've dined out at a restaurant lately, you've likely noticed a big swing in the cost of your bill. Food inflation and rising costs have increased the price of a foodservice meal over the past few years, up 9% in April compared to April 2019, contributing to a 4% decline in consumer visits to U.S. restaurants this April compared to a year ago. Click here to read the full article.
State of the Plate: The daypart went dark during the pandemic, but customers are returning and chefs are inspired, with everything from Elote Mexican Street Corn Hash at First Watch to Chengdu Chicken and Waffles at Nue. While most of the morning drive-time menu will remain geared toward convenience, the larger breakfast revival will be facilitated in no small part by extraordinary levels of innovation as chefs raid the global pantry to fashion creative, multicultural eye openers. Click here to find breakfast menu inspiration.
Nearly 38 million birds in domestic flocks have died in outbreaks of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) from coast to coast since early February, but USDA data suggest the threat is fading. With one day to go in May, losses for the month were on track to be the smallest of the year. A viral disease that spreads best in cold conditions, bird flu typically dissipates with the arrival of consistently warm weather. Click here to read the full article.
The good news for the restaurant industry is that sales growth continued to be positive in April. The industry experienced a 15-month streak of improving sales year-over-year. The last time industry sales growth was negative was February 2021, when restaurants were coming off a new high in the number of COVID cases at the end of 2020. But the unwelcome news is that the growth rate has been slowing considerably, with April’s 5.3% sales growth the weakest during that same period. Further weakening is expected in the months ahead, as the industry continues lapping over increasingly harder sales hurdles. Click here to read the full article.
More consumers are opting to dine in-person amid fewer COVID-19 restrictions, while 29% plan to decrease their delivery app usage in the coming months, according to a survey of 1,000 U.S. consumers from Next Insurance emailed to Restaurant Dive. In the past 90 days, 71% of consumers went out to eat and sat inside a restaurant, while 32% said they ate at a restaurant but sat outside. Local, non-chain restaurants may be experiencing a boost from this shift. In the past three months, 27% of consumers have dined at a local restaurant. Seventy-two percent of respondents have spent money on local restaurants, and 65% say they feel better about buying from a local restaurant than from a chain. Click here to read the full article.
Foodservice food and beverage suppliers showcased the latest innovations at the National Restaurant Show held in Chicago May 21-24. Scattered among long-established Windy City brands, such as Vienna Beef, Eli’s Cheesecake and Grecian Delight, were restaurant operators from around the world sampling products that speak to consumer trends and at the same time ease the struggles the industry is facing in terms of labor and economics. Click here to read the full article.
Learn how to profit from the strong demand for ethnic cuisines. Millennials and Boomers seek out exciting new and different global flavors. Discover why promoting these foods is smart business.
When was the last time you thought of Italian food as ethnic? Blinked twice to see potstickers on the menu at a casual theme restaurant? Exactly: Ethnic food is a mainstream phenomenon. According to the Emerging Global Cuisines: Culinary Trend Mapping Report, released by the Center for Culinary Development and Packaged Facts: “Emerging global cuisines are literally opening up a whole new world of culinary experiences to American consumers of all ages, due to the nearly infinite range of ingredients, forms, and flavors they offer.” The report goes on to cite the fact that well-traveled Baby Boomers and adventurous Millennials alike are drawn to the emerging flavors and specialties of such countries as Peru, Morocco, Korea, and Japan. Pick up any menu these days, and you’re sure to find global flavors in abundance. Simply put, borders no longer exist when it comes to taste. And as operators look to attract new diners, they’re turning to these worldly inspired cuisines to capitalize on the demand. So, what’s driving this desire for diversity? Here are a few reasons for the continuing trend:
According to Datassential, tots menu growth is predicted to outperform all food and beverage over the next 4 years! Arm your operators with this incredible growth opportunity with Basic American Foods Potato Tot Mix.
Perfect for any day or menu! Your customers will profit by using Basic American Foods Tot Mix for sandwich toppers, appetizers, sides, breakfast potato cakes and more. Click here for recipe ideas!
Phil Kafarakis knows the pandemic has created dire situations for many restaurants. At the same time, he’s also encouraged by the resilience displayed by many operators.
“I think this pandemic gave people an opportunity to be creative,” said Kafarakis, the president of the International Foodservice Manufacturers Association (IFMA), in a recent interview with The Food Institute. Click here to read the full article. Americans love breakfast so much that some would give up dinner over it! A recent poll asked 2,005 adults which they’d rather give up between traditional breakfast foods and dinner entrées. Results show that people are more willing to abandon the latter (31%) than the former (25%). Click here to read the full article.
Eating and drinking places continued last month to outpace the rest of the U.S. private sector in adding jobs, accelerating their hiring with the addition of 123,700 positions, according to just-released data from the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).
The foodservice industry’s contribution to job growth was part of a strong rebound in hiring economywide in February, according to the BLS data. Overall, 678,000 non-farm jobs were added during the month, driving down the national unemployment rate to 3.8%.Click here to read the full article. It is no great shock that major restaurant brands are more technologically advanced than their small- to medium-sized business (SMB) counterparts, with the former having more resources at their disposal to control their digital platforms and invest in omnichannel growth. However, what may be more surprising is that, among independent establishments, quick-service restaurants (QSRs) are behind those with table service in adapting to the new normal. Click here to read the full article.
Already in decline before COVID, on-premises dining in recent months accounted for less than a fifth of all restaurant traffic, said Hudson Riehle, senior vice president of the National Restaurant Association, Washington.
At the US Department of Agriculture Outlook Forum Feb. 24, Mr. Riehle offered insights on changes in the restaurant business. He participated in a panel that examined consumer eating trends and the price outlook for foods for 2022. Read the full article by clicking here. A restaurant sales downturn that began in December continued into January. The industry posted negative sales growth for the first month since February of 2021. Sales growth was –0.9% in January, a drop of 2.9 percentage points compared to the December growth rate. Despite the disappointing results, the industry is better positioned from a sales perspective compared to over a year ago. Click here to read the full article from Nation's Restaurant News.
Potato sales continue to perform well at retail compared with pre-pandemic conditions, says Kayla Dome, global marketing manager for retail at Potatoes USA.
“If we are looking at over the last five years, (potato sales) are still higher than they were prior to the pandemic,” she said. Read the full article from the Packer here. January marked the second month in a row that restaurant sales dropped from the previous month. According to data from the U.S. Census Bureau, total eating and drinking place sales were $72 billion in January, down from $72.5 billion in December and the November peak of $73.1 billion. Read the full article here.
A study by the World Resources Institute has found that simple changes to the language of restaurant menus can help consumers make the change from animal- to plant-based proteins, according to a blog post that explains the research.
Restaurant Industry Sales Expected To Hit $898 Billion This Year, Up From $864 Billion In 20192/3/2022 Who could have predicted we’d be going into year three of a global pandemic that has gutted much of the restaurant industry, creating a debilitating environment of labor, supply chain and inflationary pressures in its wake?
To say this confluence of unprecedented challenges has been devastating is an understatement. But crises always yield lessons and for the restaurant industry, some of those lessons are illustrated in the National Restaurant Association’s newly released State of the Industry report. To read the full article from Forbes click here. A restaurant considering replacing its paper menus with QR codes, launching alcohol delivery or using a robot to make pizza would do well to consider one key variable: the age of their target customer. The younger generation is far more likely to use modern innovations like alcohol delivery and digital ordering. Their habits point the way to future growth. Click here to read the full article from Restaurant Business.
As with other food products, demand for poultry has soared amid the pandemic and as Super Bowl Sunday -- a day dedicated to chicken wing consumption -- approaches, restaurants and supermarkets are planning ahead. Click here to read the full article from Good Morning America.
Ventura Foods shared five foodservice tends to watch for 2022! Click here to view the trends.
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