NOVEMBER 2014 WHAT DO CONSUMERS WANT? INSIGHTS FROM SCORES, DATASSENTIAL S NEWEST INNOVATION TOOL A TOPICAL TREND REPORT FROM
: NOVEMBER 2014 Complete demographic breakdowns for every dish and concept. Hundreds of new dishes and LTOs added every month. DATASSENTIAL SCORES Datassential s powerful new consumer ratings tool is here. In September, Datassential unveiled our newest innovation tool SCORES. Think of SCORES as the world s largest continuous concept test. Every month we test the hundreds of new menu additions, LTOs, and test items added to top chain menus with 500 consumers. Now you can track not only what chains are adding to menus, but what consumers think about each of those items. Which items are consumers most likely to purchase, and which dishes can they see themselves ordering all the time? What do consumers really think about that unusual new LTO? And what are the dishes that will bring customers in just to try that item? It s all here, broken down by key consumer subgroups (gender, generation, ethnicity, income, and region), all fully downloadable into detailed PDFs. You can even warehouse your own concepts in a private, secure database visible only to your company and benchmark each concept s results against thousands of other menu items. With nearly 1800 new items and LTOs tested in SCORES since June, this month s takes a look at some early insights, from the highest scoring dishes to themes and flavor trends that resonate with consumers. We look at the dishes consumers will keep coming back for, the items that consumers feel offer the most value, and which additions skew toward Millennials. To subscribe to SCORES and gain access to millions of individual consumer ratings on thousands of dishes each year, call Dave Jenkins at 847-903-5744 or email dave@datassential.com. 2
NOVEMBER 2014 42% 15% 40% CROISSANT DONUT DUNKIN DONUTS $2.49 41% 35% 34% DEFINED How likely are you to buy this item? Is this an item you could see yourself having all the time? How new and different is this item? Would you visit a restaurant just for this item? CONSUMERS WILL KEEP COMING BACK FOR MAC & CHEESE Consumers said they would keep bringing the family back to a restaurant for a number of kid s mac n cheese meals added to menus, while unlimited shrimp deals and beverages also scored high in purchase frequency. Both the Kids BBQ Chicken Strips with Macaroni and Cheese from Copeland s of New Orleans (which also scored high in purchase intent, as seen below) and the new Mac & Cheese on the kid s menu at Cheddar's Casual Cafe scored the highest in purchase frequency, while a number of drinks, particularly coffee and lemonade additions, also scored high on the same metric. Top beverages included the new Dark Roast and Colombian Coffees at Dunkin Donuts, Iced Coffee at First Watch, Lemonade at IHOP, Strawberry Lemonade at Original Roadhouse Grill, Tropical Mango Fruit Refresher at Jamba Juice, and Teavana Shaken Iced Black Tea Lemonade at Starbucks. And rounding out the top dishes that consumers could see themselves coming back for were two unlimited shrimp offerings from Outback Steakhouse. Would you consider the item a good value at this price? How much do you like this item? KIDS ITEMS SCORE HIGH Of the hundreds of new menu items we tested, the two items that consumers said they were most likely to purchase overall were two kids offerings: the Cookie Crazy Kids Sundae at Friendly s (pictured) and the Kids BBQ Chicken Strips with Macaroni & Cheese at Copeland s of New Orleans. 71% 3
MOST MENUED Of the over 1700 items added to menus over the past few months, over a quarter featured cheese (the top three cheeses were mozzarella, cheddar, and parmesan). The top spice or herb added to menus was garlic, found in 114 new items and LTOs, followed by cinnamon, offered in a number of seasonal desserts, beverages, and breakfast dishes. While classic fruits, like lemon, lime, and apple, were the most menued, a number of tropical fruits, including pineapple, mango, and coconut could be found in a variety of new items. The top vegetable added to recent menus should come as no surprise pumpkin was featured in 176 new items and LTOs. INDULGENT & UNIQUE Many of the items that consumers scored the highest on uniqueness are indulgent creations and treats. The highest scoring item for uniqueness is the eye-catching First Class Camouflage Ice Cream at Baskin-Robbins, while two c- store offerings 7-Eleven's Doritos Loaded and Quik Trip's Bac'n QuikShake, took the number two and three spots. And two unusual burgers also rated high the PBB & J Burger at Ram Restaurant & Brewery and the Burger Masher, topped with garlic mashed potatoes, at Carl's Jr. were both rated very unique. Another peanut butter item the Peanut Butter S'Mores Pizookie at BJ's also scored high. DOLLAR PRICE POINT The highest-rated item by consumers perceived value was the Steakhouse Swiss Burger at Checker s/rally s, which featured a creamy steak sauce, Swiss cheese, and caramelized onions for $1. That $1 price point is key 14 of the top 20 items that consumers felt offered the most value were priced at $0.99 or $1.00. And over half of the top 20 items by perceived value were from Taco Bell, which introduced its new Dollar Cravings menu in August. MOST ACTIVE AWARD Bonefish Grill was the most active chain over the past few months, adding 67 new items to the menu, 17 more than Ram Restaurant & Brewery, the second most active chain. Consumers were most likely to order the chain s rib-eye steak (pictured), while 71% said the $3 Porcini Mushroom Ravioli was a good deal. 64% 67% 21% NOVEMBER 2014 BUILD YOUR OWN BURGER WENDY S $8.26 56% 29% 26% 28% 14% N/A 44% 59% DARK BARREL LATTE (TESTING) STARBUCKS Price Unavailable 27% 17% 4
SEAFOOD S THEM IN The six dishes with the highest draw scores overall items that will bring a customer in just to try that dish are all seafood dishes featuring crab, shrimp, or lobster. The top-scoring item was the Crab Lover's Trio at Red Lobster, and the chain also scored high with their Lobster Tacos (the chain is revamping the menu to focus more on seafood). On average, over half of consumers would visit Red Lobster to try one of the chain s new dishes. Joe's Crab Shack's Bean Town Bake and Southern Fried Maine Lobster also scored high. NOVEMBER 2014 BREAKFAST INSIGHTS With so much focus on breakfast, which breakfast dishes are consumers interested in? The three breakfast dishes consumers said they are most likely to purchase overall are all classic breakfast combinations from Perkin s and Cracker Barrel, followed by two peach offerings at Coco s Restaurant & Bakery and Carrow s and two cinnamon offerings at QSRs the Cinnamon Swirls at Chick-fil-A and Cinnamon Pull-Aparts at Perkin s. Consumers rated c-stores highly for breakfast sandwiches, with over half saying they were likely to purchase the Bavarian Pretzel Breakfast Sandwich from Holiday Station, followed by the English Breakfast Muffin from am/pm. Consumers rated the Pumpkin Bagel Clusters at Einstein Bros. as the most unique offering, while four items from Taco Bell s breakfast menu scored the highest for value the $1.00 Biscuit Tacos took the top two spots, followed by the $1.29 Breakfast Burritos, all available in bacon or sausage options. CONSUMERS LOVE CHOCOLATE It may come as no surprise, but on a pure "likability" ranking, chocolate ranks high. The top-scoring item overall not just desserts was the Chocolate Lover's Cake at Bennigan's, while the Chocolate Silk Pie at Coco's Restaurant & Bakery, Chocolate Reese's Peanut Butter Cup Waffle Cone Sundae at Sonic, and Double Chocolate Brownie Bites at Starbucks all scored highly. In fact, nine of the top ten most-liked desserts featured chocolate. But if you want to draw consumers to your restaurant just to try a dessert, it helps to have a well-known brand featured the top five desserts by draw all feature a retail candy or cookie brand. 53% 19% 52% 55% 66% 41% SOFT PRETZEL CRUST PEPPERONI PIZZA LITTLE CAESAR S $6.00 5
NOVEMBER 2014 39% 18% 38% SPICY CALABRIAN WINGS OLIVE GARDEN $9.49 MILLENNIALS PREFER BEVERAGES, SWEETS Which new items and LTOS uniquely appeal to Millennials? Seventeen of the top twenty dishes that skew towards Millennials are beverages and all but one are sweet. The Sour Patch Splash from Friendly s, which features watermelon-lime flavors mixed into Sprite topped with Sour Patch Kids, had the widest gap between Millennials and the overall population. Meanwhile, while the general public rates classic steak or seafood preparations highly, these items tend to skew away from Millennials items like fish and chips, prime rib and lobster, and lasagna with shrimp. There was also a gap between Millennials and overall consumers between dishes that might be described as classic or traditional, such as cheddar melts, sliders, and footlong hot dogs, which Millennials tended to skew away from. 43% 58% 23% AMONG MILLENIALS 42% OUTLIER What was the one non-sweet, non-beverage product in the top twenty dishes that skewed toward Millennials? The Queso Diablo at Qdoba, with 3-cheese queso, jalapenos, and chipotle peppers. The dish began as an LTO in February before becoming a permanent option in August. Overall, 36% of consumers were interested in purchasing the dish. CHAIN MENU ITEMS THAT SKEW TOWARDS MILLENNIALS: ITEM TOTAL US PCTL MILLENNIALS PCTL GAP Friendly s Sour Patch Splash 16 83 67 Dunkin Donuts Hazelnut Swirl Iced Latte 24 86 61 Applebee s Fireball Whisky Lemonade 26 76 51 Bonefish Grill Banana Split Flatbread 29 79 50 Cantina Laredo Old Glory Rita 23 73 50 6
TOPICS COVERED IN LAST MONTH S TRENDSPOTTING REPORTS NOVEMBER 2014 DINE AROUND In our one-year anniversary issue of Dine Around, we took a trendspotting trip to Oakland, California, where diverse flavors and innovative chefs and operators are contributing to one of the hippest, most on-trend cities in the country. We covered everything from modern soul food to an upscale Asian fusion diner, contemporary Indian street food to the country s first cat café. UPCOMING: We travel to Portland, Oregon, one of the hippest, trendiest cities in the U.S. ON THE MENU In the October s issue of On the Menu, we discovered the Mexico-inspired flavors of mezcal, agave syrup, and fish tacos; the rich meats of porchetta and quail; and the deep, concentrated fruit flavor of fruit butters. And in our extensive coverage of new menu items and LTOs at top chain operators, we look beyond the popular seasonal flavors of pumpkin to discover lighter menu items, energy bowls, and milkshakes added to menus. UPCOMING: We cover duck fat, polenta, skinny cocktails, sweetbreads, and more. CREATIVE CONCEPTS In October s Creative Concepts, we looked at the delivery-focused startups that are attempting to disrupt the traditional food industry. From meal kit delivery services to ondemand services that deliver chef-created, ready-to eat lunches and dinners, these companies are attracting hundreds of millions of dollars in investments and making fresh, healthy, innovative meals fast, affordable, and convenient for consumers. UPCOMING: We look at how innovative operators are updating the classic steakhouse. WORLD BITES In World Bites, we traveled to Germany, where the rustic, comforting cuisine has provided the basis for a number of dishes around the world. We looked at on-trend favorites like pretzels and spatzle, plus authentic dishes inspiring innovative chefs in the U.S., like the lemonade/beer combination of the radler and the cheese-and-butter spread obatzda. We covered 12 authentic dishes, each with extensive consumer data on awareness and appeal. UPCOMING: We travel to the Philippines to check out dishes like lumpia and halo-halo. INTERNATIONAL CONCEPTS Before traveling to the Philippines in the December issue of World Bites, we covered the chain culture of this island chain in October s International Concepts. This market, home to 100 million consumers, is home to a number of homegrown chains, many of which have a presence in the U.S., from bakery chains to chicken-focused operators. We also looked at the dishes and LTOs that US chains have adapted for the Filipino market. UPCOMING: We head down under to check out the chain market in Australia. NEVER MISS OUT ON A TREND! Contact Maeve Webster at 312-655-0596 or maeve.webster@datassential.com to subscribe. 7
NOVEMBER 2014 A MAJORITY OF CONSUMERS SAY THEIR TASTES ARE SHAPED BY THEIR RESTAURANT EXPERIENCES What s happening on the menu today can be a leading indicator of tomorrow s food trends. Datassential MenuTrends is the industry s largest menu data set with the longest historic trend record, plus the ability to search millions of dishes from over 100,000 menus. Because the database is designed to mirror the US restaurant census by segment, region, and menu type, MenuTrends is the only system that offers true projectable data. All segments and cuisine types are tracked extensively from food trucks to fine dining. MenuTrends INSIDER is also updated every month with Limited Time Offers (LTOs) and other new menu activity, with product photos that bring the listings to life. And with thousands of ready-to-use reports and simple trend detection tools, you can jump right into the database, identifying, measuring, and predicting the food and flavor trends that matter to your business. Call us today to begin using the food industry s authoritative resource for flavor trends. Call Jana Mann at 312-655-0595 or email jana.mann@datassential.com. 9
NOVEMBER 2014 HUNGRY FOR MORE? This is just a small taste of the research and data we have collected in order to make accurate, data-backed trend identifications. Now let Datassential take you deeper into the implications of these trends and what they mean for your company. We can take you behind the data that shows how restaurant menus are shrinking and morphing, show you an in-depth look at the surprising demographic data on consumers (including Millennials) that informed these trends, and show you real-world examples of every trend covered. And it s all backed by the industry s most accurate and trusted menu database, MenuTrends, and the industry s largest operator research panel, OPERA. To start putting these trends to work for you, contact Datassential today: 1-312-655-0596 info@datassential.com 10