Trend Tracker

Starting this weekend, thousands of couples will be donning their best attire, heading to their favorite restaurants and racking up hefty bills in celebration of Valentine’s Day. OpenTable, an online provider of free, real-time restaurant reservations, compiled a report on this year’s Valentine’s Day trends, keeping operators prepped and ready for the rush. • 93% of Valentine’s Day diners intend to match last year’s spending or step it up a notch

Satisfying a digital hunger

In its just-released 2012 Restaurant Industry Forecast, the National Restaurant Association reports that there is an increasing consumer interest in high tech interaction in restaurants. The NRA's statistics show that consumers up to the age of 55 support new restaurant technologies. But the majority of the restaurant industry does not seem to be keeping pace.

Wingin' it for the Super Bowl

With Super Bowl Sunday a few days away, there’s only one thing that can be predicted with confidence: Americans are going to eat a ton of chicken wings. The National Chicken Council estimates that over 1.25 billion chicken wings will be consumed this upcoming football weekend. Stacked end-to-end, that is long enough to circle the globe—twice. With all this chicken wing madness expected during Super Bowl Sunday, operators are looking to make the most of this delicious opportunity. When weighing out the equation, these are some factors to look at:

Lunch prices fall, but there’s an asterisk

Casual restaurants charged about a dollar less last year for a la carte lunch entrees than they did in 2010, underscoring operators’ fear of midday sticker shock, according to data released by Intelliprice, a Boston-based research firm.

Flavor trends go global in 2012

For the first time, the McCormick Flavor Forecast is taking a global view of trends in 2012. After a year of research conducted by an international group of chefs, sensory scientists, trend watchers and marketing experts, McCormick compiled a list of innovative and creative flavor combinations that are beginning to pop up around the world. Six relevant trends were identified, brought to life through 12 regional flavor combinations.

What's for lunch?

For operators, lunch can be one of the most unpredictable meals of the day in terms of what builds traffic. However, new research from Technomic aims to cut down on the mystery. Targeted at Millennials (ages 18-34), the study suggests that value is the number one motivator in eating out for lunch. Unlike Baby Boomers and older generations who tend to look at health and quality, the Millennials are focused on finding the best deal. Here are some additional findings from Technomic’s Lunch Consumer Trend Report:

Looking at 2012 restaurant trends—and beyond

Pressure to improve the healthfulness of kids meals and restaurant fare in general, along with the influence of the growing Asian, Hispanic, Boomer and Millennial population groups are among the factors that will shape the restaurant industry in 2012 and beyond, according to The NPD Group. Overall, NPD’s foodservice market research projects consumer demand for restaurant-prepared meals/snacks to rise slightly above 2011 levels. Here are some trend highlights from the report.

Food and mood

A new study by the Florida Department of Citrus found that drinking orange juice evokes positive emotions and an optimistic outlook. Through a patented research process designed to reveal unconscious emotions, consumers shared their thoughts and feelings about orange juice and its role in their lives.

Expanding the palate in 2012

Sensient Flavors, using a proprietary predictive process that filters trends from a macro level, has predicted that in 2012, customers will follow their taste buds to restaurants offering new and exciting flavor profiles. These are the ingredients and flavors they see in the forefront.

Americans' plates don't resemble MyPlate

The government's new dietary guidelines are graphically illustrated in the MyPlate icon--a round plate divided into four quadrants, representing fruits, vegetables, protein and grains. The nutritionally-balanced quadrants guide eaters toward a healthy daily diet. But according to the NPD Group's National Eating Trends research, most Americans don't meet the guidelines.

Today's snacking style

Snacking accounts for about 11 billion restaurant visits a year, notes Bonnie Riggs, Restaurant Industry Analyst for The NPD Group in Chicago. Although growth in the category has been flat over the past six years, as Millennials have cut back on restaurant visits, snacking is still performing better than other eating occasions.

Getting the lowdown on restaurants

Where do potential customers go to get information about local dining choices? The Internet is the #1 source, according to a new report by the Pew Research Center. The survey revealed that newspapers and word-of-mouth are also popular sources.