Despite rising costs, 2025 is shaping up to be a fairly strong year for many restaurant chains, with top players like Cava and Chick-fil-A thriving by mastering efficiency, marketing, and customer experience. The smartest brands are pricing strategically and leveraging technology to drive success.
The latest FI Fast Break news podcast touches on how Americans are scaling back on summer travel plans due to economic uncertainty.
QSRs are revolutionizing the dining experience by integrating AI, mobile ordering, and kiosks, but success depends on balancing efficiency with human connection. Intouch Insight’s 2025 Emerging Experiences study highlights how industry leaders are using innovative tech to streamline operations.
Brinker International’s unexpected turnaround has propelled Chili’s to stunning same-store sales growth of nearly 26% in fiscal 2025, defying industry trends and revitalizing a brand that seemed stagnant for decades. Chili’s transformation is rewriting the playbook for restaurant chains.
Despite Chipotle’s recent sales slump heading into 2025, investors are not worried about the future of the company. Although Chipotle stock has fallen 27% since December 6, its modest performance is peanuts compared to the fast casual sector, and its historic strength signals it can brace the bump.
The latest Taking Stock with Teens survey by Piper Sandler reveals a generation of U.S. teenagers with rising annual spending (up 6% from last year). Chick-fil-A and energy drinks currently dominate teen preferences, highlighting opportunities for targeted marketing strategies.
With food-related holidays happening almost daily, brands are capitalizing on events like National Burrito Day (April 3) to drive sales, boost loyalty program engagement, and introduce gamified promotions. Restaurants from Chipotle to Taco Bell are taking advantage, rolling out limited-time deals.
The Magnetic 100: Restaurants report by dcdx reveals the top brands captivating Gen Z, with McDonald’s, Wingstop, and Starbucks leading the pack due to their organic online engagement and unique customer interactions.
Consumers are reshaping retail by prioritizing convenience, with Millennials driving trends like smaller store formats. Meanwhile, shifts in spending patterns reveal a preference for luxury or value over mid-priced options.
The pressure is on restaurant chain CEOs to deliver fast in 2024. Private equity is largely to blame, according to one industry leader.
Tuesday brought big business news, as Chipotle announced that its chairman and CEO, Brian Niccol, had accepted a similar post at Starbucks.
U.S. consumers love fast food and those who follow a plant-forward diet are no exception. Which quick service restaurants (QSRs) are plant-based consumers seeking out this year?
Restaurant automation reduces service time, increases consistency, and eliminates labor from the restaurants that use it.
Major fast-food restaurants have raised prices by 60% on average between 2014 and 2024. McDonald’s is the worst offender with average menu prices increasing more than three times the national rate of inflation over the past decade.
They say when one door closes, another opens. That may very well be true, but for restaurant brands and their clientele, the wrong door can sometimes lead down a disastrous path – just look at …
One great benefit of loyalty programs is that they help businesses, like restaurant chains, build a relationship with a customer. To inspire consumers to join your program you can use price or other incentives.
From chefs to retailers to restaurant operators, catching fire with a dish that went viral on TikTok can ignite a fan base (and bolster quarterly revenue).
McDonald’s has nearly as much brand magnetism with Gen Z as Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson or Ariana Grande. And in 2023, the purple-hued force of attraction that connected the burger giant with young consumers was …
Teens are trendsetters. They are typically early to the next big thing and most of their spending is discretionary, making them a lucrative demographic to study.
There has been a sizable population shift to America’s Sun Belt as well as its suburbs and rural areas in recent years. That fact has reshaped the nation’s commercial real estate, experts say.
Three things remain constant in life: death, taxes, and Chick-fil-A. In Piper-Sandler’s recent survey of teen spending in the U.S., the Georgia-based restaurant chain still struts its stuff above Starbucks and Chipotle and accounts for …
The grocery space has been upended over the past three years and leaders must face new challenges with patience, according to Placer.ai’s Retail Trends Forecast 2023 report.
The meaning of “restaurant venture capital” is changing. While the term has historically referred to funding for brick-and-mortar restaurants, the restaurant venture capitalists of today have shifted their focus to investing in foodservice technology. Last …
Here are key stats on what, and where, Gen Z is eating these days, according to Piper Sandler’s Fall Taking Stock with Teens survey.
Much like remote working and zoom conferencing, long waits at the drive-thru line are a pandemic vestige that just won’t go away. And that’s causing line balk among consumers. As COVID-19 took hold in the …
It’s difficult to project how the fast-casual industry will perform in a recession. The current version of the industry hasn’t really seen one. To be sure, the fast-casual concept predates the financial crisis of the …
For Earth Day, The Food Institute takes a closer look at recent industry efforts to meet the growing sustainability expectations of consumers. RETAILERS Sam’s Club recently revealed new sustainability efforts for its Member’s Mark private-label …
Teens are spending more money (+9%) and food is a top priority, according to Piper Sandler’s Taking Stock with Teens Spring 2022 survey. With these themes in mind, below are key findings that food industry …
Restaurant chains are entering the great unknown, taking bold leaps into the “metaverse.” It’s the latest endeavor by fast-food brands to reach potential customers where they’re at. The Food Institute investigated exactly how the strategy …
Gamers are proving to be an influential demographic in the food industry. In fact, research from Wunderman Thompson Commerce’s Future Shopper Report 2021 shows that globally, 84% of online shoppers are gamers. With this in …
This week, in The Food Institute’s quick-hitting, audio news podcast, we examine restaurant chains’ recent appeal to video gamers, increasing support for U.S. agriculture, and more. The Food Institute Podcast · FI Fast Break News …
Newsweek recently released its America’s Best Loyalty Programs 2022 list and several food brands stood out. In the grocery category, Kroger, Sprouts Farmers Market and Publix Super Markets landed the top spots, while Jersey Mike’s …
Demand for allergy free foods continues to rise as consumers encounter a broader variety of motivations to steer clear of certain ingredients.
Jennifer Kaplan, a former instructor at the Culinary Institute of America in St. Helena, California, thinks Chipotle just released a menu upgrade that’ll be well-received. The chain recently added nutrition filters to its app and …
