SheeFood

A Drink to Restaurant Profits

Restaurants are starting to see bucks in beverages. And well they should. On average, 22% of those who have been to a fast-food restaurant in the past month and participated in a Mintel survey for the upcoming Quick Service Restaurants—September 2011 report said they often consider the beverage selection at a restaurant when deciding where to dine. By age, 25-44s are most likely to ponder beverages—at nearly 30%.

I’m not sure when restaurants started to realize that improved profits weren’t the sole responsibility of expensive menu R&D. But some restaurants have been quietly wowing customers with great liquid flavors, and charging a nice premium for it.

The Cheesecake Factory has long served strawberry and raspberry lemonade, which is exceptionally tasty (compared to McDonald’s new strawberry lemonade) because the Cheesecake Factory uses fruit puree rather than syrup.

However, speaking of McDonald’s, it credits its new interesting beverages for a 5.1% increase in global same-store sales.

Flavored teas are certainly part of the ramped-up restaurant beverage trend, which may have been started by such beverage-centric behemoths as Jamba Juice and Starbucks. Jamba Juice offers three exotic fruit tea infusions (passion fruit, pomegranate and prickly pear), while Starbucks goes every which direction with beverages.

This summer, Jamba Juice came out with a limited-time offer of frozen beverages called Fruit Refreshers that featured coconut water and one of three flavors—pineapple, strawberry lemonade and tropical mango.

Even if a restaurant’s beverage bevy is limited to soft drinks, there’s plenty of expansion opportunity, especially with Coca-Cola’s pretty new Freestyle machine. (Theirs was my favorite booth at the National Restaurant Association expo in Chicago in May.) Just within Diet Cokes, the choices are refreshing (diet vanilla, raspberry, cherry, orange, etc.) And, imagine mixing them, as I did—diet vanilla with diet orange. It’s not your average Coke.

Besides hot dogs, Sonic has differentiated itself with beverages—boasting on its menu “Your Ultimate Drink Stop.” I wonder how many people choose Sonic simply because it’s the only place they can get any of six limeade flavors or one of four Real Fruit Slushes or seven Famous Slushes…

Even with all this, I think beverages are flying under the radar when analysts examine restaurant trends. I think beverage variety will continue to increase, profits will be made and customers will like what they taste.

What do you think?

Jody

Brand Spanking New Fruits and Vegetables

Who says there’s nothing new under the sun? Foodservice operators better hope there is. Combine the thunderous calls for more healthful restaurant food, the emphasis on fresh, unprocessed ingredients and consumer expectations for cutting-edge foodservice fare, and chefs are ever looking to pull something magical out of their toques.

Fortunately, the fresh produce industry is on top of it, and they had the opportunity to showcase their R&D results at the Produce Marketing Association Foodservice Conference and Exposition in Monterey, Calif., earlier this month. Here are a few of the newer novel items shown:

• Seedless lemons. At last. What bar drink or water glass couldn’t benefit from pure lemon sans-seeds? Chuck Olsen Co., Visalia, Calif., will have them available within the next few weeks through February.
• Finger limes, shaped like jalapenos, will be available for only the second season in September and October from Shanley Farms out of Morro Bay, Calif.
• Yellow grape tomatoes. Now restaurants can combine red and yellow versions in salads and as edible plate décor. They will soon be available from Andrew & Williamson Fresh Produce, San Diego.
• The color of radicchio is so striking, but it’s a bit bitter to the American palate. Now there’s a new milder-flavored variety, verona, with leaves that form cups to host other ingredients. Verona radicchio is available from Royal Rose LLC, Salinas, Calif.

It’s unlikely consumers will see these fresh bites in the grocery store, which makes them perfect for foodservice operators who want to offer something original to draw customers out of their comfy kitchens and into restaurant seats. -- Grow on!

Jody

Now Serving Produce

Say hello to the shining stars on restaurant menus—fruits and vegetables. These darlings of the tree, vine and field have actually been around since Adam and Eve, though you may never have seen them in a restaurant, unless you carried a magnifying glass with you. Their flavor is noticeable in candy, drinks, dressings and sauces now and then, but until recently, non-fried versions have not been easily spotted when dining out.

But alas, it has become PC for chains to care about health, nutrition and obesity. Plus, they are staring pending nutrition labeling laws in the face. Shriek! What’s a solution to this? Oh yes. Fruits and vegetables.

Apples in Happy Meals, anyone? I wonder how long mothers dreamed this would happen. Their dreams are coming true. But let’s give some credit to Burger King, which has already had fry-shaped apples on the menu. Good for them for making the fruit more pleasant to look at by making it appear like the most popular thing on quick-serve menus.

Here is some other menu encouragement:

• The Cheesecake Factory recently announced its new SkinnyLicious menu with nearly 50 lower-calorie items. For example, according to the company, “The Small Plates & Appetizers and fresh-baked Flatbreads categories feature dishes all under 490 calories, while the entrée Salads and main courses are all served with 590 calories or less.” The chain hasn’t said it, but fruits and vegetables are the best way to lower calorie counts beyond cutting portion sizes.
• BJ's Restaurants recently introduced a line of  "Enlightened Entrees," each with less than 575 calories, priced $6.95-$10.95. Check out the entrees on its website. They couldn’t do it without fruits and vegetables.
• This summer, Wendy’s boldly launched Berry Almond Chicken Salad using fresh berries. This is something big for a quick-serve restaurant, because chains easily turn to fruit-flavored syrup and make the dish sound “seasonally refreshing” in marketing messages without the benefit of the actual fresh fruit.
• In the upscale-restaurant world, bars are discovering a love of mocktails, non-alcoholic drinks made with fruits and vegetables. Whodathunk?

Restaurants often start food trends. Maybe more consumers will eat fruits and vegetables out and think how crazy they are to pay the price when they could easily have that at home.

Tell me what you think.

Jody