May 24, 2013

Women in Foodservice

Industry News
Taco Bell Debuts Gourmet-Inspired Menu July 5

Taco Bell will bring gourmet inspired bowls and burritos with its new Cantina Bell menu, an industry-changing partnership with chef Lorena Garcia that launches nationwide Thursday, July 5. The expanded menu, with suggested prices fewer than $5, delivers extraordinary value, incredible convenience, accessibility, and is inspired by...

Read Full Story // read more about: Taco Bell, Menu Development, Menu Innovations
Industry News
Pizza Patrón’s Big Gamble

Pizza Patrón caused a national stir—and was the victim of protests—this week with a promotion that offered free pizza to anyone who ordered in Spanish. But the Dallas-based company stuck to its guns in an effort to assert its unique brand positioning and communicate with its core clientele. The concept’s “Pizza,...

Read Full Story // read more about: Pizza Patron, Pizza, Promotions
Industry News
Cinnabon Spotlights Chocolate-, Cherry-Flavored Items

Cinnabon bakeries are now adding chocolate and cherry flavors to its world famous cinnamon roll and blended beverages. Now through Nov. 3, Chocolate-Covered Minibons, Chocolate-Covered Cherry Chillattas, and Cherry Tangy Chillattas are available at participating bakeries.

Read Full Story // read more about: Cinnabon, Beverage, Desserts, Menu Development, Menu Innovations, Promotions
Industry News
Sandwich Occasions on the Rise, Technomic Finds

Sandwiches are the cornerstone of lunch and dinner menus at both limited- and full-service restaurants, where they are offered more than any other entrée. More consumers report purchasing sandwiches away from home today versus just two years ago, due in large part to operators' innovative responses to consumer demands for lower...

Read Full Story // read more about: Subway, Sandwiches, Consumer Trends, Ordering
Industry News
Starbucks to Acquire La Boulange for $100 Million

Responding to customer demand for more wholesome and delicious food options, Starbucks Coffee Company announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire San Francisco–based Bay Bread LLC and its La Boulange bakery brand, as well as to hire renowned French baker Pascal Rigo.

Read Full Story // read more about: La Boulange, Starbucks, Beverage, Growth
Food Safety
The Fruit Solution

Walking into some quick-service restaurants these days can make you feel like you’ve just wandered into the produce section at Whole Foods. A colorful cornucopia of fresh fruit—from deep-yellow mangos and light-green apples to purple pomegranates and ruby-red strawberries—is getting highlighted in every menu category....

Read Full Story // read more about: Daphne's California Greek, Evolution Fresh, McDonald's, Pinkberry, Wendy's, Menu Development, Menu Innovations, Ingredients & Dayparts
Industry News
Subway Leads Industry in Familiarity, Product Quality

When it comes to familiarity, product quality, and intent to purchase, consumers rank Subway higher than any other quick-service brand, according to a new study. Dairy Queen, Wendy’s, Five Guys, and Chick-fil-A round out the top five of the Harris Poll EquiTrend Study, which measures and compares brand health for more than 1,500...

Read Full Story // read more about: Chick-fil-A, Dairy Queen, Dunkin' Donuts, Einstein Bros. Bagels, Five Guys, McDonald's, Papa John's, Pizza Hut, Subway, Wendy's, Healthy Menus, Loyalty, Marketing, Menu Development, Operations, Sandwiches, Consumer Trends, Health
Franchising
Turn Sustainability into Profitability

Christi Hogin and her business partners Michael Jenkins and Chris Khaleghian opened their first Tossed unit in the heart of Los Angeles’ Financial District in March. Hogin and Jenkins, both lawyers, and Khaleghian, a former Johnny Rockets and Subway franchisee, built several sustainable elements into the salad store that not only...

Read Full Story // read more about: Tossed, Green, In the Store, Women in Foodservice, Sustainability
Small portions give customers control over health, values, and variety.
Menu Innovations
Small Portions a Big Idea

Small portions are very big these days.

Many 2013 trend predictions determined that small plates and snacking are expected to be popular among chefs and restaurant operators this year. While diners are still eating during the traditional meal times—breakfast, lunch, and dinner...

Read Full Story // read more about: Pei Wei, Qdoba, Starbucks, Taco Bell, Wendy's, White Castle, Wow Bao, Menu Development, Consumer Trends, Health, Ingredients & Dayparts
Restaurant operators learn valuable tips at restaurant industry's largest show.
Industry News
2013 NRA Show Guide
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Read Full Story // read more about: Cosi, Competition, Growth
NRA CEO Dawn Sweeney helps protect restaurant operators interests.
Executive Insights
The Advocate

The most powerful woman in the restaurant industry isn’t intimidating, nor is she larger than life. She isn’t cold, tight-lipped, terse, or abrasive. She doesn’t talk down to you. She doesn’t double-book you and cancel at the last second.

Certainly one might expect...

Read Full Story // read more about: Healthy Menus, Competition, Women in Foodservice, Growth
Food production systems like hydroponics help restaurants use more local goods.
Ingredients & Dayparts
Can Quick Serves Save the World?

No longer is local sourcing just a utopian ideal. It’s a practice coming to life and continually gaining momentum in foodservice, with the number of local ingredients on menus growing by 73 percent over the last four years, according to market research firm Mintel.

But, at its most...

Read Full Story // read more about: Chipotle, Mad Greens, Sloco, Green, In the Store, Consumer Trends, Menu Innovations
Celebrity chef Bobby Flay provides strong example of smart restaurant growth.
Alan Philips: Trends to Watch
Be Like Bobby

My idea of “inclusive exclusivity” started in a boardroom many years ago in Atlantic City, New Jersey. I was making a presentation to a group of executives at the Borgata Hotel, Casino, & Spa to explain how they could import the feel of New York’s hottest nightclubs and...

Read Full Story // read more about: Bobby's Burger Palace, Burgers, Growth
Industry News
Dunkin' Donuts Grows Healthy Menu With Turkey Sausage

Helping guests greet the warm weather with more smart choices, Dunkin’ Donuts announced a permanent addition to its DDSMART menu: the Turkey Sausage Breakfast Sandwich.

A breakfast sandwich option under 400 calories, the new sandwich features a fried egg topped with turkey sausage...

Read Full Story // read more about: Dunkin' Donuts, Breakfast, Healthy Menus, Menu Development, Sandwiches
Industry News
Offering Value Isn't Enough; Taco Bell Wants to Redefine It

It may seem like a lofty goal, but Taco Bell is dead set on not only redefining value at the quick-service level, but also delivering it to consumers in a variety of ways.

Specifically, the brand is focusing on four key areas: the low- and high-price end of the menu, new menus and...

Read Full Story // read more about: Taco Bell, Menu Development, Executive Insights, Promotions
Low calorie menu options boost quick service restaurant sales.
Health
Slimmer Items, Hefty Sales

The lower the calorie counts in restaurant menu items, the better for business, according to recent research by public policy research organization Hudson Institute.

The report analyzed 21 of the nation’s largest restaurant chains, including quick-service brands like McDonald’...

Read Full Story // read more about: Healthy Menus, Consumer Trends, Menu Innovations, Ingredients & Dayparts
Corner Bakery's new menu items use fresh ingredients to offer premium quality.
Breakfast
The Corner of Innovation

In a push to distinguish itself from growing competition in the fast-casual bakery-café space, Corner Bakery Café is doubling down on menu innovation.

The 22-year-old, Dallas-based chain recently leveraged its high-quality kitchen equipment and capabilities, as well as more than 40 fresh...

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Superfoods like whole grains and oatmeal offer healthy menu alternative.
Healthy Menus
The Other Side of Super

Superfoods have swept the culinary world into a frenzy, enticing consumers with a taste of the exotic and courting them with nutrition and functionality, to the point where restaurants across the country are trying to stake a claim in this fledgling movement.

Quick-service restaurants are...

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Women leaders like Flatbread Grill's owners successfully launch new brands.
Finance
Cleared for Launch

Starting any business can be a difficult prospect, but in an industry where men have historically outnumbered women, the roadblocks to doing so can be even more challenging when you’re female.

For many female foodservice entrepreneurs, being taken seriously as a business owner is...

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McAlisters Deli franchisee says casual dining experience helps in quick service.
Sandwiches
What You Can Learn from Casual Dining

David Blackburn has been in the foodservice business his entire adult life. Since 1979, the McAlister’s Deli franchisee has cataloged more than 25 years of experience in the casual-dining sector, spending 16 of those as regional vice president of operations at O’Charley’s....

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Operators must protect their quick serve business from credit card fraud.
Point Of Sale
How to Prevent Credit Card Fraud

Every merchant that accepts credit and debit cards is required to be compliant with the Payment Card Industry (PCI) Data Security Standards (DSS), whose next set of standards will be released in October 2013. Yet despite these compliance requirements, the food and beverage industry had the...

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The Boston Fire Department was treated to free meals at Firehouse Subs.
Charitable Giving
Nurturing Boston

As soon as he learned about the April 15th Boston bombings, Dave Tucci, the New England area representative for Firehouse Subs’ DMA, called the Firehouse franchisee closest to the bombings.

Tucci was relieved to find out that all employees at Firehouse’s Copley Square location...

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Innovations like the Marinara Tower were featured on the NRA Show floor.
Back of House
Recapping the NRA Show

As the lights went out on the National Restaurant Association’s Restaurant, Hotel-Motel Show (NRA Show) in Chicago on Tuesday, there was plenty to consider about the future of the industry.

The show featured no shortage of technological advancements, not just in computing hardware...

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Fast casual brands attract customers with alcoholic beverage programs
Beverage
Buying into Booze

Fast-casual restaurants were once able to claim premium food, modern décor, and all-around upscale service as hallmarks of their category. But with more quick-service chains retooling in those areas to compete for post-recession consumers, fast casuals have been left to search for new ways to...

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