According to Datassential, it takes an estimated six years for emerging food trends to make it through the menu adoption cycle to appear on chain restaurant menus. The challenge faced by quick-service operators attempting to implement the latest food craze is that by the time something lands on their menus, something else may be trending.
“Operators are very concerned with getting to market fast enough with foods that are on-trend and in demand,” says Nick Spondike, vice president of research and development at Kronos World Cuisine. “Identifying on-trend foods and finding a partner that can commercialize them expeditiously is critical for restaurant success.”
According to Spondike, some of the biggest trends for 2019 will be authentic global cuisine and street food. Consequently, operators should be looking to integrate those types of foods into quick-service menus as soon as possible.
“Today’s consumer demographics are increasingly diverse and they have adventurous expectations of their food,” he says. “More and more, customers are demonstrating that they are open to flavor exploration, and it has become very important for operators to satisfy those cravings for global flavors in a convenient way.”
Kronos, which has long been known for its gyros, has expanded their market reach to provide specialty proteins suitable for traditional street food, regional, seasonal, and world cuisine-style dishes. “Heat-and-serve formats are extremely useful to operators who want to quickly implement food trends,” Spondike says. “These products make it easy to offer new ethnic flavors and familiar fare by providing bold, on-trend specialty proteins. Ultimately, making new menu items available while they are still trending—rather than six years later—will drive a lot of traffic.”
by: ERIN McPHERSON, Associate Editor Journalistic, Inc.
