Chains Increase Menu Innovation
The tough economy is sparking menu innovation as top restaurant chains vie to raise customer traffic and transactions, according to Technomic research.
Tough economic times typically sharpen a company’s focus on cost-cutting measures, however, foodservice consultants at Technomic have also found a significant up-tick in t menu innovation among the top 250 chain restaurants.
Based on data collected through its MenuMonitor service, October saw the largest number of limited-time-offers (LTOs) and new menu items in the past five years.
The findings, published in Technomic’s Menu Innovation Monthly Report, identified 547 new menu items, 40 percent higher than the monthly average for 2008. Of these, 157 were reported as "back" on the menu, 197 were LTOs, and 193 were new items.
By category, the largest number of new October items were lunch/dinner entrees (273 items), followed by desserts (96), appetizers (49), breakfast entrees (48), non-alcoholic beverages (29), and adult beverages (20), according to Chicago-based Technomic. Side items (17), healthy items (12) and add-ons (3) rounded out the list.
In terms of flavor profiles, notable October menu flavors included pumpkin, apple, cinnamon, pecan and chipotle.
"With consumers cutting back on eating out, restaurants needed to find new ways to bring customers through their doors," said Bernadette Noone, senior program manager at Technomic. "Many chains are using LTOs as a cost-effective way to trial new items before doing large roll-outs."
Operators appear quite open to partnering with suppliers on new products with shorter lead times, Noone added.
In other Technomic news, the company recently entered into a formal strategic alliance with The Association of Foodservice Distributor Representatives (AFDR), which will provide Technomic with exclusive access to AFDR 3,000 plus members for research purposes.
As a first step, with AFDR’s support, Technomic will be conducting a “best in breed” benchmarking study on leading foodservice manufacturers. Technomic also will make the AFDR panel available to its clients, according to a company statement.