Authenticity, comfort and food trucks are steering menu innovation, as chefs work to drive guest traffic — and customer returns — in a stubborn economy, menu expert Nancy Kruse said during the recent Menu Trend & Directions conference.
In the first half of the year, the top 250 restaurant chains have introduced 1,521 new entrée items and 1,726 new entrée limited-time offers, according to Nancy Kruse and her State of the Plate. When sides, appetizers, sandwiches and desserts are added, those numbers swell to 3,191 new items and 2,783 limited-time offerings, according to research from Technomic Inc.
The Menu Trends & Directions conference was held this week in Dallas, and is produced by Nation’s Restaurant News, The Kruse Co. and Technomic.
Given the challenging environment, “the response is a distinct uplift in the amount of innovation as it pertains to menu development,” said Kruse, president of The Kruse Co. and a columnist for Nation’s Restaurant News.
That innovation breaks into three camps: creative comfort that feeds slower evolutionary menu innovation, food trucks that fuel disruptive innovation, and consumers’ desire for authenticity that sparks revolutionary innovation, Kruse said.
Creative comfort
Waffles and pretzels are the hot examples of creative comfort, Kruse said, highlighting such items as Dunkin’ Donuts Waffle Breakfast Sandwich and the Bold Folds offered at Bruxie’s in Orange, Calif., which folds waffles around prosciutto and gruyere cheese, smoked salmon and dill, or lemon cream and berries.
“We are awash in waffle-mania,” she said.
IHOP also has introduced chicken and waffles, bringing American soul food to the mainstream. And Shari’s has found success with its seasonal Fresh Blackberry Belgian Waffle LTO.
Two unique waffle applications can be found at the University of California, Berkley, where waffles are embossed with the school’s insignia, and in grocery stores, where a gourmet caffeinated toaster waffle is now available.

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Trends & Directions conference was held this week in Dallas, and is produced by Nation’s Restaurant News, The Kruse Co. and Technomic.
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