Top Consumer Trends News

11 Restaurant Trends for ’11

ZenMango, a restaurant marketing firm, released 11 trends in 2011 that are influencing the way customers perceive and use the restaurant landscape. The trends include: 1. Consumers are still eating out less: Fourty-four percent of restaurant consumers stated that they are eating out less often. Women, those over 40, and those earning under $35K per year […]

Baked Goods Hit the Spot for Consumers

Baked goods have always provided nostalgic comfort, but today's new offerings also deliver premium twists, global flavor adventure, and never-before-seen convenience, according to the "Baked Goods: Culinary Trend Mapping Report" from Center for Culinary Development (CCD) and leading market research publisher Packaged Facts. Found in nearly every channel, these newsworthy sweet and savory baked foods […]

Americans Want Sweet, Canadians Want Salty

Cross-border differences and similarities between Canadians and Americans have been revealed via two studies by leading market research company, The NPD Group. According to A Look into the Future of Eating-Canadian Marketplace and A Look into the Future of Eating-United States Marketplace, Americans are projected to increase their consumption of sweet snacks and desserts three times more than Canadians […]

The New School Lunch

Parents in favor of healthier lunch options for their kids usually have to choose between preparing the lunches themselves or sending their kids off to school with hopes that they don’t seek out something processed in the cafeteria. But as demands increase across the foodservice industry for healthy, convenient alternatives for kids, one quick serve […]

American Consumers are Getting Saucy

The return to the kitchen that has been seen throughout the U.S. recession has amped up many food and drink segment, and the sauces and marinades market is joining the upward swing. According to latest research from Mintel, the cooking sauces and marinades category gained 20 percent in U.S. retail sales between 2005 and 2010 and […]

LIVE: Yelp Empowers Operators to Fight Bad Reviews

Yelp!, the online retail and service review site, is on the floor at the NRA Show in Chicago for the first time to help restaurateurs learn how to deal with negative reviews. Luther Lowe, business outreach manager at Yelp, told QSR at the show that many restaurant operators are not comfortable “with the idea that […]

LIVE: Making Healthy Kids’ Meals Doesn’t Have to Be Hard

Three prominent dieticians told a crowd at the 2011 NRA Show in Chicago that foodservice operators have many opportunities to help combat the growing childhood obesity epidemic. Joy Dubost, director of nutrition and healthy living for the NRA; Judith Rodriguez, president of the American Dietetic Association; and Amy Myrdal Miller, program director for strategic initiatives […]

Pork Summit Kicks Off New Brand Direction

The first annual Pork Summit was held on a warm sunny April weekend in Napa, California. Blue skies and vineyards stretched endlessly, the idyllic setting for this invitation-only event hosted by the National Pork Board. Celebrated chefs and culinary professionals gathered at the Culinary Institute of America (CIA) at Greystone for a truly pork-intensive weekend. […]

Got Something to Say to Saladworks? They’re All Ears

Saladworks announced that the guest relations website, SaladworksListens.com, has been advanced to include immediate customer feedback. The Saladworks guest relations team will respond to every customer submission in real time, including nights and weekends. SaladworksListens.com welcomes all customer submissions by location. Each franchisee’s picture is displayed on the website as well as in their location to […]

Restaurant Industry: The Economy’s Best Friend

The restaurant industry is not only an important source of jobs and careers, it is vitally important to the success of many other industries in the economy. As McDonald’s celebrates its National Hiring Day by adding up to 50,000 individuals to its roster, the National Restaurant Association has compiled a report of its research on […]

Do Consumers Prefer Wendy’s Over McDonald’s?

In a national taste test, consumers said that Wendy's new French fries taste better than McDonald's fries. Specifically, 56 percent of consumers taking the test chose Wendy's, McDonald's received 39 percent, and 4 percent had no preference. "We're taking on the giant—McDonald's—with our natural-cut fries with sea salt," says Ken Calwell, Wendy's chief marketing officer.  "Consumers are […]

Consumers Want to Know How Far Their Bucks Can Go

U.S. consumers emerged from the recession practiced at stretching their dollars and, now faced with rising food costs, they are turning to the cost savings tactics they’ve mastered over the past few years, according to The NPD Group, a leading market research company that has been continuously tracking America’s eating behaviors for more than thirty years. “During the […]

Health at the Heart of New Subway Sponsorship

Subway, the world’s largest restaurant chain, announced its sponsorship of the American College of Cardiology (ACC) CardioSmart National Care Initiative, which promotes awareness and heart healthiness. The sponsorship is exclusive to Subway among quick-service restaurants. As part of the relationship with the ACC, Subway restaurants will support the CardioSmart National Care Initiative, a patient-centered campaign […]

One Customer Intelligence Solution Provider Buys Another

Market Force Information, a customer intelligence solutions company, acquired Winnipeg-based Tell Us About Us (TUAU), a provider in customer experience measurement and Canada’s largest customer intelligence solution provider. Effective March 15, this marks Market Force’s fourth acquisition since its inception in 2005. The addition of TUAU will bolster its Customer Intelligence suite with more in-depth […]

FDA Proposes Calorie-Posting Regulations, Invites Feedback

On Friday, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) released proposed regulations for the calorie-labeling mandate that quick-serve operators have been expecting since it was passed with health care reform in March of last year. As expected, fast food companies with 20 or more units will be affected by the regulations. The FDA states that […]

Are C-Stores Really That Much of a Threat to Fast Food?

Though convenience stores have presented a rising threat of competition to quick serves over the last couple of years, new data on customer perceptions shows that the threat might not be so serious after all—at least, not yet.  A new report from Mintel shows that 33 percent of people who have never purchased food at […]

Looking For a Free Egg Guide?

Mintel’s January 2011 study, "Dining Out: A 2011 Look Ahead," reports that restaurant breakfast sales in the upcoming year are expected to outpace overall growth in the industry. According to a Mintel forecast, breakfast will experience 2.6 percent real growth in 2011, while the general restaurant industry is predicted to grow by 2.3 percent. Because of […]

Not Just Calories: MAD Greens Puts Nutritionals On Menu

MAD Greens will not technically be affected by the upcoming national mandate requiring restaurant chains with 20 or more units to post calorie counts on their menuboards; the Denver-based salad-and-panini concept has 10 units to date. But the company’s leadership recently decided to add calorie counts anyway—and to go a step further by adding sodium, […]

Social Media Users Love Subway the Most

Subway is the most loved fast food chain in the U.S. according to Amplicate, an online-opinion collating resource that accounts for more than 78 million public opinions of social media users. With a positive rating of 76 percent as expressed on Twitter, Facebook, and Amplicate, more than 6,100 positive opinions were made about the restaurant […]

Craft Brewers’ Retail Sales Increased 12 Percent in ’10

The Brewers Association, the trade association representing the majority of U.S. brewing companies, released 2010 data on the U.S. craft brewing industry. Small and independent craft brewers saw volume increase 11 percent and retail sales dollars increase 12 percent over 2009, representing a growth of more than 1 million barrels (31 gallons per U.S. barrel), […]

More Green for Green

Much has been said about the advantages of integrating sustainable efforts into a quick serve’s operations, but a new study shows that such efforts might not just be good for the environment—they could reap financial rewards as well.  According to a study out of Ohio State University, seven out of 10 customers say it’s good […]

The Battle for Chicago … Food Trucks

Chicago remains the last major U.S. city to get on board with the food-truck trend, due largely to a city ordinance that states operators can serve but not prepare food on the streets. That may soon change, however, as culinary-school grads hungry for jobs fight brick-and-mortar restaurateurs to change the ordinance. It’s a battle that […]

In a Fro-Yo World, Ice Cream Reigns Supreme for Consumers

The rise of the frozen-yogurt segment has been a well-reported trend over the last two years, with many new concepts shopping the healthy dessert. But as spring rolls in and frozen desserts grow in demand, a new study shows that ice cream is still the most popular frozen dessert of all. According to Technomic’s Market […]

Jason’s Deli a Hit with Parents, According to Study

Jason’s Deli, which feeds more than 50 million people annually in 28 states, won the Best Restaurant Chain survey by Parents magazine. The survey measures where families can get the most nutritious foods for the best price while also having the least stressful experience. The results of the 10 Best Restaurant Chains survey appear in the […]