Missing the ‘sweet spot’?Missing the ‘sweet spot’?

Fern Glazer

Restaurant consumers are paying more for their meals these days but are less satisfied with the value they are receiving, according to new research from The NPD Group.

Operators who offer and promote meals in consumers’ “sweet spots” — the price ranges they perceive as offering the greatest bang for the buck — stand to increase traffic in today’s still-weakened economy, NPD officials said.

However, many restaurateurs who for various reasons have been forced to raise their menu prices over the past several years may be pricing themselves out of the value equation, the research firm said.

“I don’t think [operators] are delivering on consumers’ expectations at their price point,” said NPD analyst Bonnie Riggs. “[Consumers] are not h...