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Fast food and food delivery gradually began changing that equation. 2024 was a year of experimentation with AI, with restaurants testing it on customer-facing interactions, like AI drive-thru ordering, with varying degrees of success. The restaurant experience was once solely comprised of human-to-human, in-person experiences.
How rising import taxes may reshape menus, pricing, and sourcing in the restaurant industry. The restaurant experience isnt just about great service and ambianceits deeply tied to ingredient sourcing and food costs. Supplier and Menu Shifts Some restaurants may respond by sourcing more ingredients domestically.
Amid these potential disruptions, operators need a fresh approach to managing food costs. But it goes beyond figuring out how to source the freshest ingredients at the best price. Extreme Weather: By 2035, experts predict that higher temperatures alone will push up worldwide food prices by between 0.9 percent annually.
Your menu plays a vital role in your business marketing. So, let's dive deeper into the steps on how to turn your menu into a marketing tool. Optimize Menu Design for Customer Behavior A menu is often one of the first things a guest interacts with when entering a restaurant, right after taking in the atmosphere and interior.
Steady Online Ordering Brings Food Waste, Donations to the Forefront of Priorities Orderingfood online increases restaurant sales, but it also can potentially increase wasted food if proactive measures aren’t taken – for both the business and consumers at home.
Successfully navigating fluctuating food costs, especially with volatile ingredients like eggs, requires a multi-faceted approach, Mike Stasko Jr., What are the best practices for dealing with food costs for recipes when necessary items are fluctuating in price? How can you avoid rising prices on egg-focused menu items?
When youre updating your online menu or online ordering system, its tempting to just copy over the dish names from your restaurant menu and call it a day. Well-written menu descriptions dont just tell guests whats in a dish; they entice customers, set the tone for your brand, and can increase sales.
While there was a brief dip in consumer awareness of menu price increases in late 2024, the spring of 2025 has seen a moderate rise, affecting dining habits and consumer perceptions of value. “With rising prices tied to eggs and imported goods, restaurants will need to think creatively about their menus,” Fink said.
The tool from the East Coast vegan chain — a digital take on a split-flap mechanical display that appears on its website and in the chain’s ordering app — estimates the amounts of water, land, CO2, and oil saved by eating vegan burgers. The “ PLNT Impact Tracker ” on PLNT Burger’s website wants you to think about what you’re eating.
Menu pricing isnt just about covering costsits about finding that sweet spot where profitability, customer perception, and operational reality meet. Somewhere in between is the number that makes sense for your food costs, your market, and your restaurants unique position. Set prices too low, and youre leaving money on the table.
From salted egg yolks and chili crunch fusions to mushroom-infused teas and freeze-dried fruit powder garnishes, Kimpton’s in-house experts share the standout ingredients, menu items and techniques that will come to the table in 2025. That’s where the NEXT Flavor Report comes in.
A growing number of chefs are shifting their attention to independent operations that focus on foods with wider appeal that need a commitment to excellence. This was, after all, a peasant food, but now is in a class all to its own from utility to high cuisine. Everybody loves food that you can hold in your hands.
From smarter ordering systems to food that travels better, here’s what pizzeria owners can expect in the year ahead. On the customer side, AI is beginning to play a more significant role in online ordering. This not only frees up labor but also reduces order errors.
Restaurant operators searching for something versatile that will cross the dayparts need to look no further than their breakfast menu as waffles have been breaking out of the morning. Profitability: Waffles are a low-cost, center-of-the-plate item and one of the most profitable breakfast item menu offerings. Waffles saw a 15.4
We’re not slashing service or trimming the menu. That level of control has helped us reduce waste by nearly 75 percent during slower periods, in addition to serving our guests the freshest food possible. We also work very hard overall to source items in advance and look at buying products that may be affected in bulk.
A Dilemma of “Super Size” Proportions Amid rising food prices and shifting consumer preferences, the restaurant industry is facing a dilemma of “super size” proportions. percent menu-price inflation rate. Red Robin climbs 3 percent to 78 thanks in large part to its focus on menu and food.
Foot traffic or heat mapping, menu item engagement, or consumer demographics by time of day. Restaurants are already experimenting with using AI to handle drive through orders to allow human employees to focus on customer interactions in the restaurant.
Robert Sietsema/Eater NY Wonder wants to fix food delivery — so it just acquired Grubhub On November 13, Wonder, the company that describes itself as “a new kind of food hall,” announced its acquisition of the established foodordering and delivery platform Grubhub. How does Wonder make its food?
Fast-casual concepts like Sammy’s Sliders, which offer high-quality, craveable food with speed and flexibility, are perfectly positioned for this shift. Customers expect seamless online ordering, loyalty programs, and delivery options, and franchise systems need to invest in tech to stay competitive.
The restaurant needs cohesion, from signage to menu design to uniforms. We created a simple menu focused on a brand experience that merged nostalgia with modern efficiency. For instance, your menu needs to have the same voice as your social media. For regulars, make a point to remember names, orders, and preferences.
Wonho Frank Lee Ryan Bailey of Kato in LA says more square footage has actually helped operations A version of this post originally appeared on May 14, 2025, in Eater and Punchs newsletter Pre Shift , a biweekly newsletter for the industry pro that sources first-person accounts from the bar and restaurant world.
Everything from food to labor is getting more expensive, which means restaurant margins are tighter than ever. The right marketing strategy helps you get the most out of every dollar by increasing customer retention , boosting order volume, and encouraging repeat visits. Even if your food is incredible, youre not operating in a vacuum.
Every online order, email sign up, and reward program interaction generates valuable insightsbut if that data just sits there, youre missing a major opportunity. Think about it: What if you could automatically send a special offer to a customer who hasnt ordered in a while? Or adjust your staffing schedule based on peak ordering times?
These features include tableside mobile ordering, NFC contactless payments, and direct online ordering. They also have the choice of using the MarketConnect app to order and pick up from a designated shelf onsite, avoiding interactions and maintaining necessary social distancing.
If you’re in the food industry, you’re no stranger to the huge food photography trend that’s been dominating news feeds everywhere for years. As a restaurant owner, your menu photos are a powerful marketing tool to attract new customers, increase ticket sizes, and retain guests. ” Read the eBook. ” Read the eBook.
The ingrained customer behavior over the past year, delivery, mobile orders, curbside pick-up, will likely continue. By improving customer loyalty and increasing revenue through the smart use of technology from the public-facing part of the business all the way to the back-of-house prep, sourcing, and staffing.
And no, increasing restaurant sales doesn’t mean turning your restaurant staff into pushy upsellers trying to squeeze a few extra dollars out of every order. Create Limited-Time Offers That Drive Action Limited-time offers (LTOs) give potential customers a reason to order now, not later.
After you claim your page, fill in every section with relevant information: Accurate hours, location, and contact info A current version of your menu High-quality photos of your food, interior, and signage Links to your restaurant website and social media Your most accurate categories and services (e.g., That’s valuable data.
A bar is a profitable business option if you’re looking to enter the food industry. Start by tracking all the income your bar generates, including sales from drinks, food, and any additional services. Analyze your product mix Review the drinks and food items you sell the most and least.
Restaurants started using 2D barcodes (such as QR codes) at dining tables to offer digital menus and even allow patrons to order with their smartphones during the pandemic, when contactless transactions were necessary. In foodservice establishments, the same technology opens doors to greater food safety and ingredient transparency.
Customers on average will order more menu items, resulting in a larger bill for the restaurant and a larger tip for the employee. One major area of improvement we noticed when it came to management: menu costing research. During this interview, some light was shed onto an often-overlooked time sink, management.
By Bailey Ramsey, Contributor Food waste is a critical issue in the restaurant industry. To put this in perspective, restaurants waste anywhere between 4% to 10% of the food they purchase. Predicting Customer Demand Accurately One of the leading causes of food waste in restaurants is overproduction.
Increasing your restaurants online order volume doesnt have to feel like an impossible task. In this guide, well walk through seven practical ways to boost your restaurants online order volume. Optimize Your Website and Online Ordering Experience If your restaurants website isnt easy to use, youre probably losing out on online orders.
77% of diners look at a restaurants website before going out to eat or ordering takeout or delivery. If you dont have a website, that means over three-quarters of the people near your restaurantyour potential customerswill never come in or place an order because they have no way to find you when theyre looking for a place to eat.
Understanding your target market is the foundation of making smart decisions for your menu, pricing, and overall guest experience. Without a well-defined target market, restaurants risk wasting resources on strategies that dont connect and menu offerings that dont selltrying to appeal to everyone, but standing out to no one.
With wholesale food prices soaring 13 percent in 2021 and labor costs rising as worker shortages continue, many restaurants are looking for smart ways to lower costs and avoid passing them on to their diners. One such solution has been shrinking restaurant menus.
Before you ask or expect your team to be accountable, demonstrate it by following through on your commitments and openly addressing mistakes when they happen, whether it’s a scheduling oversight or a missed inventory order. ” Instead of: "Follow proper food safety procedures." Have fun with it!
The NCR Voyix 2024 Digital Commerce Index revealed nearly half (48 percent) of consumers dine out less than they used to because inflation is top of the menu. Some brands’ apps even track mobile-order customers’ location to help ensure their food is fresh, whether it’s a burger or a salad. The top reasons?
It’s the foundation of knowing your actual food cost. Knowing the true cost per serving means you’re not guessing where to set menu prices. When done correctly, dish costing helps you control food costs, reduce food waste, and price items in a way that supports your restaurant’s financial health without alienating guests.
The goal was to not only to trace current dining expectations and desires fueled by both current economic uncertainties and also the inundation of sources for restaurant recommendations and reviews but also how younger diners might be shaping the industry in the future. The majority of diners do agree on one thing: checking prices.
Luckily, those tools already exist, enabling restaurant owners to save money, expedite contactless set-up and payments, and even fulfill customer orders directly (no outside delivery app necessary) on platforms that stay in-line with the restaurant’s brand image. Special deals : Restaurants learn so much from a customer’s order.
As a result, consumers learned to become less dependent on outside sources for meals and became accustomed to cooking at home more often than ever before. This data identifies how customers selected their food, existing frustrations or excitement around mealtime, and the frequency of habits like snacking on a weekly, daily, or hourly level.
Previously, he co-founded CAKE, which was acquired by Sysco and helped create Sysco Labs, a platform for food service distributors. "People "People tend to go to fast-food restaurants for the speed and lower price point. Local restaurants can and should leverage technology to improve operations and cut costs and time.
Restaurants have faced labor shortages, supply and equipment shortages, and climbing food prices, with no past playbook on how to navigate the crisis. Finding enough drivers to haul goods has been a challenge for suppliers, leaving restaurants without the necessary food and supplies they need. Food Shortage. Equipment Shortage.
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