Foodservice Updates

Quick-Service Restaurants Consider Serving Breakfast All Day

As Americans move further away from the traditional nine-to-five workday, they are reaching for breakfast beyond the traditional hours for the morning meal, according to research from The NPD Group, a leading provider of consumer and retail information. A group of full-service restaurant chains have been offering breakfast foods throughout the day for years, and now some quick-service restaurant chains are considering following suit.

NPD research indicates that servings of breakfast foods are up by 64 percent over the past five years. Forty-four percent of breakfast food servings at major family-style chains were eaten beyond traditional morning meal times. However, only seven percent of breakfast food servings at quick-service restaurants were served beyond traditional morning meal times.

In order to capitalize on the trend, quick-service restaurants are considering making traditional breakfast items available throughout the day as well as introducing new menu items that address the trend. Consumers might see such familiar fare as pancakes, bacon, and eggs -- as well as new twists on those old standbys.

One item that would almost certainly make the menu beyond breakfast time is the breakfast sandwich. According to NPD data, nearly half of all orders (46%) of breakfast foods during non-morning meals include a breakfast sandwich, suggesting that the appeal is mostly due to its convenience.

Source: http://www.npd.com/press/releases/press_070404.html

NRA’s Tableservice Operator Survey

According to this year’s National Restaurant Association Tableservice Operator Survey, 87 percent of fine-dining, 72 percent of casual-dining and 59percent of family-dining restaurants plan to use the Internet as a marketing vehicle. Nearly the same numbers have similar plans for e-mail marketing. 
 
But are consumers interested in restaurants reaching out to them in this manner? Up-to-the-minute data from NRA’s 2007 Tableservice Restaurant Trends report says the answer is yes. If their favorite table-service restaurant offered the option, one in four consumers would likely use e-mail notifications of daily specials and one in five would use cell-phone notifications of daily specials.
 
Thirty-seven percent of consumers have visited a restaurant’s Web site, while nearly 1 in 3 consumers have used the Internet to view a restaurant’s menu. More than one-third of customers have used the Internet to find out information about a restaurant they haven’t patronized before. One in 10 consumers has used the Internet to place an order for dining in, takeout or delivery.

Source: http://www.rimag.com/web-exclusives/articles/e-marketing.asp

Improvement on Salad Offerings

Quick-service restaurants have been aggressively improving and promoting their salad offerings—-and their efforts appear to be paying off, according to new consumer research from Technomic. In its Salad Category Report, the food-consulting firm noted that consumers were more likely to consider quick-service ahead of quick-casual restaurants as a viable source for salad, especially at lunch, although full-service casual-dining operators still dominate all other categories as a top-of-mind resource for salad.

The report also noted that ethnic trends are among the most striking in the salad category. For example, Southwest, Asian and Mediterranean-influenced flavors have been displacing previously-popular flavors like Cajun and Buffalo seasonings. Blue and other strong cheeses are becoming increasingly popular at all types of restaurants and across all price points.

Source:www.foodpubs.com, http://www.qsrmagazine.com/articles/news/story.phtml?id=5367

Consumers Concerns Learned

In a recent study of consumer attitudes in the U.S. toward corporate social responsibility in foodservice, Technomic found that restaurant users rated health insurance coverage, living wages and animal welfare as their top three concerns. Consumers were asked to select among 14 different issues. In general, consumers believe restaurant chains could do more to address their high priority social issues. The chains that consumers view as being most socially responsible are McDonald’s, Chick-fil-A, Subway, Starbucks and Applebee’s.

Source: http://www.qsrweb.com/article.php?id=7326&na=1

Taking the Pungent Aroma Away from Durian

A Thai government scientist, who after three decades of research is one of the world’s leading durian experts, now says he has managed to excise its stink. Working at an orchard in Thailand, scientist Songpol Somsri crossed more than 90 varieties of durian, many found only in the wild, and came up with a fruit that he says smells as mild as a banana. He named it Chantaburi No. 1, after his home province and the location of the research center.

It will please Thai consumers, says Somsri, and might help broaden the acceptability of the durian, unlocking the door to new American and European customers who, like an increasing number of Thais, are likely to reject a fruit with such a pungent aroma. Durian lovers are at once disbelieving of and horrified by the prospect of a no-smell durian. They complain that the fruit is being homogenized like the insipid tomatoes bred to look pretty behind plastic wrap.

The nearly odorless durian, which has not yet been officially unveiled, will obtain final approval in the coming weeks from Thailand’s Ministry of Agriculture. The concept is even more mystifying to those who live in Malaysia, Singapore or Indonesia, where durians are prized for their odor and priced accordingly.

Dr. Songpol says he has developed a separate durian that might please Malaysians and Indonesians. The pungent smell of that durian, Chantaburi No. 3, develops three days after the fruit is picked, allowing for odorless transport.

Source:www.nytimes.com/2007/04/08/world/asia/08durian.html?em&ex=1176264000&en=b9481d6ca4c259e1&ei=5087%0A