Local sourcing, new menu-labeling laws and the need to develop limited-time offers at lightning speed were top of mind for attendees at the annual Menu Trends & Directions conference held in Orlando, Fla., last month.
About 75 industry members, many of them top corporate chefs for large foodservice companies, discussed the challenges they face as they await finalized federal rules mandating how nutritional information will need to be delivered and adapt to new consumer attitudes toward eating and food fashion shaped by the Great Recession.
“The recession has had a great impact on where we are today,” said Darren Tristano, executive vice president of Technomic Inc., the Chicago-based consultancy. “The consumer is looking for low prices; they are very value conscious.”
New times, new trends
Consumers also are looking for comfort, so many restaurant operators are capitalizing on familiar fare, said Nancy Kruse, president of Atlanta-based The Kruse Company and a contributing editor of Nation’s Restaurant News, in her annual State of the Plate presentation. Comfort foods served with a twist are omnipresent, she said, pointing to a proliferation of innovative oatmeal offerings, burgers, melts and red velvet cakes on menus.
“Green is a menu megatrend” as well, Kruse pointed out. “I’m talking about the aggressive use of produce.”
And with research indicating that 42 percent of consumers are skipping a meal and replacing it with a “snack,” the opportunities for small-plate dishes is large, Tristano said.
In addition, bar menus and specialty-drink offerings can appeal to this group.
“Customers like to customize their drinks like they customize their food these days,” said Bret Thorn, food editor of Nation’s Restaurant News, in a session on beverages. “But unlike food, it seems Americans are willing to give up what they like for something that is good for them” when it comes to drinks.
Just as modernized comfort foods are popular, among adult beverages, the most popular cocktails are still the classics. In addition, two sources — Technomic and the What’s Hot Chefs Survey released by the National Restaurant Association — noted that locally produced beer and food and beer pairings are among the top beverage trends.
Technomic included organic and gluten-free beers on their trend list, as well as bold and spicy cocktail seasonings. The Chef’s Survey noted that micro-distilled spirits, culinary cocktails made with savory components, and the use of fresh ingredients are big bar trends.
In wine, Technomic found Merlot is the favorite red, closely followed by Cabernet Sauvignon. Pinot Noir was about half as popular, proving the film “Sideways” had little impact on consumers’ long-term wine selection decisions, Thorn noted. Chardonnay was the heavy favorite among white wines.
Among other trends influencing menus are demands for more authentic foods, casualization, street foods and mobile restaurants — everything food trucks generally offer, Kruse said.
Both big and small options lure today’s diners. Huge portions, like KFC’s Double Down, target mostly young males who seem to be “thumbing their noses at the food police,” Kruse said. Small portions appeal to the health-conscious and help to cancel veto votes, or when one diner in a group will nix a dining decision if there is no lower-calorie option.
Ethnic foods also remain popular, Kruse said, predicting that sushi, dosa and satay with Southeast Asian sauces will show up on quick-service menu boards in the near future. At the same time, consumers are clamoring for regionally sourced foods and drinks, even from chains, she said, noting that Pittsburgh-based Eat‘n Park partners with local farms and dairies and blogs about the seasonal fare showing up on its menu. The regional chain, which has nearly 80 locations, started its local purchasing program in 2002.
In general, informal concepts and foods are selling well, and casualization “will be an ongoing lifestyle phenomenon,” Kruse noted. “Fine-dining chefs will continue to drift to mass market,” she added. So expect more competition in the arena of high-end chef-developed burgers, shakes, tacos and hot dogs.
Minds and business
Many consumers’ habits have changed dramatically since the start of the recession, said Technomic’s Melissa Wilson. “Although the recession is officially over, not everyone is seeing that,” she said.
According to Technomic research, 79 percent of customers are ordering takeout and eating in restaurants less frequently, and 83 percent say they try to economize when they eat out.
Many restaurants were responding by offering more coupons and discounts, Wilson said. Other restaurants, noting that some of their customers were cooking more often at home, have started offering cooking classes and running cooking competitions, thus keeping customers engaged and feeling good about the restaurant, Wilson said. She added that there has been a “big uptick” in the number of party platters that are being bought by customers who are entertaining more at home.
In response to customers who are buying more frozen and convenience meals at supermarkets, more chains are venturing into brand extension by offering packaged products for retail sale, Wilson said.
She noted that restaurants’ attempts to stay relevant seemed to have worked and that consumers appear to be feeling good about them.
“They miss you,” she said, noting that 60 percent of respondents to their polls said it was their lack of money that was keeping them away from restaurants. Only 8 percent said their behavioral shifts in response to the economy were permanent.
She also said that although Americans were starting to feel better about the economy, many would retain their “deal mentality” for some time to come. Still, she recommended against further discounting, and instead suggested that restaurants offer new or “enhanced’ menu items or value-added bundles so that customers had a perception of value.
She said chains might also consider further engagement in socially conscious initiatives — such as supporting charities or enacting “green” measures — to earn the appreciation of customers, rather than cutting prices.
In addition, she recommended that restaurants move more toward marketing the indulgent quality of a restaurant experience. “That’s a value proposition, too,” she said, noting that premium products or experiences that are worth the expense are valued by customers just as bargains are.
Menu Trends & Directions was produced by Nation’s Restaurant News along with The Kruse Company and Technomic. Premier sponsors were Bush’s Best, Cavendish Farms, Icelandic USA, Lyons Magnus, Sweet Street Desserts and Ventura Foods LLC.
Supporting sponsors of the meeting were Barilla America Inc., California Milk Advisory Board, CSM Bakery Products, iSi North America Inc., Phillips Gourmet Inc., Sugardale Food Service and Whole Earth Sweetener Company’s Pure Via.
Bret Thorn contributed to this report.
