Hot Wings Hotter than Ever as Super Bowl Approaches

The Los Angeles Rams have won eight of their last nine games, the Cincinnati Bengals six of their last seven. As impressive as that is, the teams aren’t nearly as hot as one Super Bowl …

School Lunch Rules Updated Amid Supply Chain Disruptions

The Biden administration has issued transitional standards for school lunches to get cafeterias back on a healthier course as they recover from the pandemic. Here’s what to expect: WHAT IS CHANGING? During the pandemic, schools …

Restaurant Sales Expected to Exceed Pre-Pandemic Levels in 2022

Things are looking up in the world of foodservice. Restaurant industry sales are expected to hit $898 billion this year, up from $864 billion in 2019, according to the National Restaurant Association’s State of the …

Craft Breweries Destined for Post-Pandemic Recovery, Expert Says

Drive down the main drag of Duluth, Minnesota – a city with less than 90,000 residents – and you’ll soon notice something: Craft breweries are as abundant as SUVs in this northern town. Duluth’s Superior …

How Will Fast-Food Value Deals Look Different This Year?

Fast-food value deals are back, but they’re not quite the same as before. Over the past several weeks, brands such as McDonald’s have returned to value messaging for the first time in several years, noted …

Coffee Chains Expected to Continue Thriving in 2022

Demand for coffee outside the home increased substantially in 2021, while traction at the grocery store remained strong – further solidifying the category’s overall appeal and adaptability to shifting consumer behaviors. According to a recent …

Trend to Watch in 2022: Caribbean Cuisine

It’s apparent at deli counters and restaurants all over: Caribbean cuisine is gaining traction with consumers. The National Restaurant Association recently identified Caribbean food as one of its top trends to watch in 2022. AF&Co/Carbonate …

State of the Restaurant Industry: Tech Triggering Optimism

Just 2% of restaurants reported an increase in sales in December. Yet, a survey by TD Bank found 81% of restaurant operators are nevertheless optimistic about the future. Restaurant operators are faced with several challenges …

Ghost-Kitchen Startup Reef Technology Encounters More Operational Problems

Ghost-kitchen startup Reef Technology is temporarily closing about one-third of its food trailers, reported Business Insider. (Jan 13)   This activity comes on the heels of numerous operational challenges the delivery-only kitchen business has faced in recent …

Will Plant-Based Chicken be the Next Big Menu Item?

Editor’s note: The Food Institute has a new Plant-Based Insider newsletter, coming in February! To sign up, click here.  Plant-based chicken is taking center stage in 2022. KFC is the latest chain to introduce a …

What is the Net Value of Restaurant Subscription Services?

More quick service restaurants (QSRs) are rolling out subscription services in the new year to leverage the pandemic pivot towards mobile ordering and remain top of mind with consumers. Throughout the month of January, Sweetgreen …

Latest Issue Amid Great Resignation: Businesses Considering ‘Boomerang’ Hires

The so-called Great Resignation is only picking up speed, it seems. LinkedIn data show millions of baby boomers are retiring early, and millions of Gen Z workers in their 20s are quitting and re-evaluating life …

Restaurant Hiring Was Rising Before Omicron, but What’s Next?

The leisure and hospitality industries posted solid job growth in December, but it remains to be seen how the fourth wave of COVID-19 will affect consumer demand and labor force participation. BLS Report Muted Compared …

Restaurants Tap Dark Poultry Meat Options

Demand for allergy free foods continues to rise as consumers encounter a broader variety of motivations to steer clear of certain ingredients.

Starbucks Imposes Vaccine Requirement for Employees Amid Single-Day New Case Record

The U.S. reported a single-day record of COVID cases with more than one million new infections as the Omicron variant spreads across the country. The total may be partly due to delayed reporting from over …

Life Amid Omicron Rife with Frustration for Retailers, Restaurants

The omicron coronavirus variant is causing headaches for American businesses. With the daily COVID case count surging above the half-million mark in the U.S., governments and businesses are imposing vaccine requirements on both employees and …

TikTok Feels Timing’s Right to Enter Virtual Restaurant Space

Get ready to hear the term “TikTok Kitchen” early and relatively often in 2022. The video-sharing social media platform – which has more than 1 billion monthly users – recently announced a partnership with Virtual …

Breakfast, Brunch Making Big Comebacks

Here’s an eye-opener: even as the pandemic continues, breakfast visits to restaurants have increased significantly. In the three months ending in November, online and physical visits to restaurants for breakfast increased 11% year over year, …

Plant-Based Alternatives Push Further into Fast-Food

Plant-based offerings continue to expand across restaurant menus, as major players like Impossible Foods and Beyond Meat broaden their partnerships with fast-food chains. McDonald’s recently announced plans for a major U.S. expansion of its plant-based …

Is the Fast-Food Industry Ripe for Unionization?

Multiple Starbucks locations have examined unionizing of late, which begs the question: Is this a harbinger of things to come in the fast-food industry? Fast-food workers have pushed for a $15 minimum wage, and the …

How Is Lyft’s Food-Delivery Strategy Different?

Ride-hailing service Lyft is entering the food-delivery space in a partnership with online-ordering platform Olo. Though it may sound like Lyft is trying to become the next Uber Eats, it’s setting itself apart with a …

What Are the Prospects for California’s New Animal Welfare Rules?

New rules on animal welfare are slated to take effect Jan. 1 in California, but a coalition of restaurants and grocery stores have filed suit to block implementation for more than two years, arguing they …

Analysis: Four Top Consumer Delivery Trends from 2021

Since the outset of the pandemic, foodservice delivery companies have become a staple of many American consumers’ habits. While they offered a lifeline to hungry consumers earlier in the pandemic during forced closures, many of …

Restaurants Slim Down Menus and Target Innovation Ahead of 2022

As another challenging year for the restaurant industry winds down, operators continue to push back on the permeating impacts of COVID-19. All the while, innovative prospects glimmer on the horizon. Reduced Menus Increased food costs …

What Google’s Top Trending Food Searches Signal for the Food Industry

As another year comes to a close, Google revealed its annual list of top trending food searches. Here’s what consumers were looking for in 2021: TikTok pasta Bacon jam Birria tacos Crockpot chicken Hamantaschen Squid …

Which Technologies Will Push the Food Industry Forward?

Propelled by the pandemic, robotic innovations are still making food-industry headlines. A few of the latest developments include: 7-Eleven partnered with Nuro to pilot a commercial delivery service using autonomous vehicles in the Silicon Valley …

Shake Shack’s Premiumization Strategy Setting it Apart

Menu innovations are a key part of Shake Shack’s strategy, as CEO Randy Garutti noted in the chain’s latest earnings call. Though it has become well-known for its ShackBurgers, crinkle-cut fries and milkshakes, the chain …

Are Autonomous Vehicles the Next Big Thing in Delivery?

Third-party delivery services like Instacart, UberEats and DoorDash have taken the world of grocery, retail and restaurants by storm. So, what’s the next great innovation for these segments? It could be autonomous delivery, using vehicles …

Industry Expert: Consumer Trends Evolving in Chain Restaurant Space

The lingering effects of COVID-19, inflationary pressures, and a desire among consumers for new types of cuisines will impact the chain restaurant space for years to come. That’s according to The NPD Group’s Stephanie Epperson, …

Pizza Chains Grab Bigger Slice of Market as Pandemic Boom Continues

Pizza sales skyrocketed during the pandemic. Major chains saw a combined 6% uptick to $27.5 billion in 2020, according to an industry report from Technomic. And while boom may have leveled off in recent months, …

Which Consumers Are Driving Food Delivery Growth?

New research on consumers who use food-delivery companies like UberEats, GrubHub and DoorDash indicates that today’s food-delivery customers tend to be young and wealthy. Virtual brand company Nextbite’s white paper revealed that 71% of survey …

Consumers Eager to Wine and Dine, According to Restaurant Data

New research shows reason for optimism in the fine-dining space. Merchant Centric, which monitors customer reviews, recently noted that, during the first half of 2021, fine dining had the strongest guest sentiment and star rating …

Labor Shortage Update: Restaurants Limit Delivery, Online Sales to Focus on Dine-In

The labor shortage continues to take a toll on restaurants across the U.S., just as the holiday season gets underway. For example, a California Boston Market shut on Thanksgiving after staff did not show up, …

Lunchtime Rush Coming Back for Restaurants

Online and physical restaurant visits during lunch rose 4% in the year ending September 2021 compared to a year ago when visits were down 11%, based on The NPD Group’s U.S. foodservice industry tracking. “Consumers are …

WATCH: Chip City Brand Highlights Benefits of Owning Supply Chain

Chip City launched just four years ago, under less-than-ideal circumstances. The cookie-and-coffee chain’s CEO, Peter Phillips, had a background in construction and was largely unfamiliar with the food industry. The company started with a mere …

Restaurant Investors Optimistic for 2022 Despite Pandemic Challenges

While some might shy away from investing in restaurants right now, Dan Rowe is doubling down. The way he sees it, even during a lingering pandemic, people still wake up hungry every day, so certain …