Article

Fast casual food trends: 2009 and beyond

From probiotics to family meals, restaurant brands tackle healthful menu items and value offerings.

July 5, 2009 by Valerie Killifer — senior editor, NetWorld Alliance

With the economy slightly stabilizing and consumer spending finding solid ground, fast casual restaurants can once again focus on the next wave of restaurant-industry trends.

"It was tough predicting the 2009 trends because of the economy and restaurants were playing it really safe on the menu," said Maria Caranfa, director of Mintel Menu Insights.

While some brand's have repositioned their menus, others have committed to making their menu items healthier. We've taken notice of at least four trends that will give operator's a glimpse of what to expect for the rest of 2009 and into 2010.

Fro yo

The frozen yogurt fad that first caught consumers' attention in the early 1980s has taken a page from Madonna's playbook – reinventing itself once more to stay on top of its game.

With Red Mango, Pinkberry, FreshBerry and at least several dozen other similar concepts, frozen yogurt – now called fro yo – is hip once more.

"It started in the 1980s as a healthy alternative to ice cream. Now it's an even healthier alternative of what it used to be," said Caranfa. "And it's meeting consumer demand."

While Activia acted as the educational vehicle for probiotic yogurt on grocery store shelves, Red Mango and Pinkberry have led in the dining out space.

Pinkberry got its start in California. Red Mango was launched in 2002 in South Korea and opened its first unit on U.S. soil nearly five years later. It now has 52 locations.

"Customers are embracing the type of dieting that has grown the category for probiotic (yogurt)," said Dan Kim, president and CEO of Red Mango. "I really attribute the growth of probiotics and Red Mango to that shift in consumer demand for healthy foods that are generally good for you and why I think it will continue to grow."

At least one concept is actively pursuing the creation of its own line of probiotic yogurt. Meanwhile, Red Mango and like will continue to reach out to consumers looking for hip, healthful indulgences.

Sweet potato fries

Everyone loves french fries, but the growing popularity of sweet potato fries is definitely making the restaurant industry take notice. According to Mintel, during the first quarter of 2009 there were 74 instances of sweet potato fries on casual dining menus, 43 instances on family/midscale menus and 8 instances on upscale/gourmet menus.

Caranfa said the trend stems from the negative connotation attached to white potatoes and further speaks to the notion consumers want healthy alternatives to fried foods.

"The french fry is never going to go away so you might as well put some variety into it," she said.

The Kansas City, Mo., fast casual Blanc offers a variety of fried fare such as French fries, Truffle fries, sweet potato fries and onion rings. Surprisingly, of the four side items sweet potato fries lead with 33 percent of those sales.

"They are naturally crunchier than regular fries. You get sweet and salty in the same bite. They are healthy, not to mention that Blanc is also one of the few places in Kansas City where you can get them," said Blanc's owner, Ernesto Peralta.

Low sodium/gluten free

Dan Barash, director of research and development for Moe's Southwest Grill, said the concept is looking at reformulating its marinades and sauces in an effort to reduce sodium content.

"We are doing the healthier-for-you platform, just like everybody else is," he said.

Barash started to work with a Moe's supplier eight months ago on a proprietary seasoning blend for sauces, beans and protein marinades.

"The idea was to enhance ingredients. We don't want to change flavor profile, but we want to have a better product or just as good," he said. "The goal is to reduce the sodium by half for all of the blends. Some of the other opportunities we had were to remove sodium in our tortillas. So we've been working with our supplier on that for a few months now."

The company also is launching a junior burrito line (offering 10-inch burritos as an option to the traditional 12-inch ones) to help with sodium content and provide customers with smaller, healthier menu items.

Jim Villemaire, director of R&D for Schlotzsky's Deli, said they also are looking to reduce sodium content in menu items from 10 percent to as much as 30 percent to 40 percent.

"At the end of the day, the guest has to accept the product and think it's a good tasting product, and that's where the challenge is," he said.

Additionally, the company is looking to provide gluten-free options for guests.

"It's kind of weird having been in the business for 20 years seeing how many people have gluten intolerance," Villemaire said. "You kind of think it's a fad, but you start getting more requests at the restaurants and on customer service lines. The heart of our brand is our bread and trying to satisfy those who are gluten intolerant has proven to be more difficult."

Schlotzsky's R&D team is looking at gluten free wraps and gluten free pizza crust, and is trying to determine how those items would fit on the menu.

"I'm finding when I talk to people that are gluten intolerant is they don't demand gluten free options that are similar to what we have All they want are gluten free options when they come into the restaurant," Villemaire said.

Kids meals/family meals

One trend that began in early 2008 and has continued to grow is the offering of more kids and family meals at fast casual restaurants.

Boston Market expanded its family deal this year and Shane's Rib Shack launched a summertime family meal deal in June. Meanwhile, Chicago-based Zebu Forno launched a kids menu in early spring featuring grilled cheese sandwiches, pizza bagels and chicken strips.

The trends began in an effort to help families find more value on fast casual menus. And Web sites such as kidsmealdeals.com are continuing the trend.

KidsMealDeals.com targets families looking to shrink their total ticket price and offers searches by day of the week or zip code. For restaurants, the site allows operators "to get your message in front of families at the exact time that they're looking for family specials," said Chad Davis, president of KidsMealDeals.com.

Consumers and restaurant operators can expect a continued focus on health and value in the coming year.

"In 2010, it's going to be a reinvention of some things we've seen already, which isn't necessarily a bad thing," Caranfa said. "The economy is making people step back. They still want flavor but they want value out of it so it's not as risky."