OAKBROOK TERRACE, Ill. -- Your restaurant competitors are constantly bringing new items to their menus, forever chasing consumers’ attention, so you also should be focused on new and novel flavors.
What follows are five ingredients and menu items percolating at restaurants around the country that are ready for convenience-store consideration.
1. Hot Chicken
Those in Nashville, Tenn., will say “duh,” but hot chicken is just now gaining the reverence it deserves outside of the Music City. Deep-fried and spiced with a fiery cayenne-based sauce, hot chicken is the focal point of a few burgeoning fast-casual concepts, including Joella’s Hot Chicken in Louisville, Ky., and Nashville Hot in Cincinnati. Even KFC rolled out its own Nashville-style hot chicken at the turn of the new year.
2. Curry
Versatile curry can be used anywhere from dipping sauces to salad dressings and soups. Chicago-based research firm Datassential recently identified curry as a menu item or ingredient that’s reached the “proliferation” level on restaurant menus. Not totally foreign and yet still containing a level of intrigue, items that fall in the proliferation stage are perfect for c-store consideration. Seek inspiration from Noodles & Co., whose menu features a Bangkok curry with vegetables and rice noodles, or G Street Food in Washington, D.C., which offers a curry chicken salad sandwich with grapes and walnuts.
3. Pizza Formats
Operators are rolling out new takes on the traditional pizza format with pizza roll-ups, pizza sandwiches and breadstick pizzas. These reformatted hand-helds attract grab-and-go consumers and can be paired with other items as a value meal. In fact, in the past five years, pizza value meals have increased 17.5%, according to Technomic. Consider Mazzio’s Italian Eatery’s Pepperollies (pepperoni and cheese rolled in pizza dough, baked and served with ranch dressing or marinara sauce), or Which Wich Superior Sandwiches’ Cheese Pizzawich, part of the chain’s recently revamped kids’ menu.
4. Queso
A nacho staple, queso traditionally consists of melted cheese and chili peppers. However, Technomic is seeing an influx of nontraditional queso varieties in non-Mexican eateries. Some operators are opting to serve queso in innovative ways, such as atop burgers, while others are incorporating non-Latin ingredients. Technomic data reveals that queso as an add-on increased 35% on menus in third-quarter 2015 vs. a year prior. Wendy’s Green Chile Quesoburger, a test item in select stores, is topped with spicy poblano queso sauce, cheddar, salsa verde, bacon and red onion.
5. Savory Oatmeal
This one may be the most foreign to your guests, but hear us out. Oatmeal has had a happy start in the new millennium, riding the wave of popularity of both whole grains and substantial breakfast fare. The blank-slate food naturally pairs with sweet toppings, but oatmeal and other cooked grains are actually more likely to be matched with savory flavors elsewhere around the world. Give consumers their much-demanded protein boost by topping oatmeal with breakfast meats, sliced avocado, or even a soft-cooked egg. At Savory Oatmeal Skillet in New York, the namesake item features jalapeño cheddar baked oats with roasted potatoes, black beans, corn, tomatoes and a choice of ham, bacon or turkey bacon.
Members help make our journalism possible. Become a CSP member today and unlock exclusive benefits, including unlimited access to all of our content. Sign up here.