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Menu trend bingo: Do you have these top 5 trends covered?

Spicy flavors and new spins on tea, chicken, desserts and yogurt top this year's menu trends.

December 13, 2013 by Cherryh Cansler — Editor, FastCasual.com

Just as knee-high, flat boots were all the rage this year in the fashion industry, menu innovation was on trend in the fast casual segment. Restaurants rolled out a variety of creative menu items, including spicy sandwiches and new spins on teas, desserts and yogurt. Here are just a few of 2013's top trends.

Did somebody say 'Tea Time?'

Remember when the only tea choices were unsweetened and sweetened? Those days are long gone as fast casuals have increased tea offerings this year by 5.6 percent, according to Technomic's MenuMonitor. Options include everything from booze or juice-infused offerings to tea lattes. Tea headlines of the year included:

Smashburger debuts organic tea: Smashburger partnered with Honest Tea in October to offer customers Classic Green Tea, Just Iced Tea, Lemon Herbal Tea and Naturally Flavored Raspberry Tea.

Caribou Coffee 'Lites' up summer with teas: Caribou Coffee Company debuted, in May, two Lite Sparkling Teas — Green Tea Lemonade and Peach Black Tea.

Atlanta Bread creates Orange Mocha Latte: To celebrate its March announcement that it would only use caffeinated espresso beans from Rainforest Alliance, the chain rolled out its Orange Mocha Latte.

Caribou launches new tea latte: The coffee chain's January LTO was the Lemon Earl Grey Tea Latte, consisting of Earl Grey tea balanced with lemon citrus notes and frothed milk.

Cowboy Chicken serving flavored teas: The Dallas-based chicken chain not only added a watermelon tea in July, it also served blackberry tea for a limited time in October.

Adding spice to the menu

A recent report from Technomic shows that, for the first time, a majority of consumers (54 percent) said that they preferred hot or spicy sauces, dips or condiments, compared to 48 percent of consumers in 2011, and 46 percent two years earlier. Several fast casuals were on trend with hot and spicy. Charley's, for example, rolled out a Spicy Hawaiian Chicken Sandwich that boasted a tangy Swiss cheese and a Roasted Pineapple and Habanero sauce.

Other spicey menu items this year included:

Meatheads' Goulden Burger: The burger joint teamed up with Chicago Bears' kicker Robbie Gould and his public charity, The Goulden Touch, to create the one-third pound burger topped with bacon, lettuce, tomato, ketchapolte, American cheese and spicy Cajun fries.

Wingstop and its Mango Habanero sauce: The chicken chain is already known for selling wings in a variety of hot flavors, but that didn't stop it from adding another one. The Mango Habanero "packs a flavorful punch," according to the chain's CEO Charlie Morrison.

Pancheros' new hot sauce: Pancheros Mexican Grill introduced a new line of proprietary hot sauces in March, including The Flavolcano, a combination of seven different spicy peppers.

Dessert innovations

Dessert consumption is up; 40 percent of consumers reported that they're eating desserts after a meal at least twice a week, compared to 36 percent in 2010, according Technomic. In response, efforts have been made to make the meal's finale even sweeter.

Smashburger, for example, rolled out a PB&J Shake in July, while its "better burger competitors," Burger 21 and Fatburger, added a Caramel Macadamia Cookie Sundae and an Orange Creamsicle Shake, respectively.

Burger joints aren't the only fast casuals to embrace dessert, however. Fazoli's partnered with Ghirardelli Chocolate Company in October to offer Pumpkin Swirl Cheesecake, and the Atlanta-based chicken chain, Zaxby's, was on trend in July when it rolled out its Birthday Cake Milkshake.

Yogurt is in

Per capita yogurt consumption has more than doubled over the decade, and now nearly one in three people eat yogurt, according to the NPD Group's ongoing consumer market research.

That demand has led to a double-digit growth category for many foodservice operations, including restaurants. The star of this trend is Greek yogurt, which saw a double-digit gain in dollar sales and units shipped from broadline distributors to foodservice outlets, according to NPD's research.

Fast casuals that boarded the yogurt train this year included:

Starbucks, which announced this summer that it was partnering with Danone to offer healthy, specialty yogurt products in participating Starbucks stores and in grocery channels.

Pinkberry, which added smoothies made with Greek yogurt to the menu in June.

Salata, a create-your-own salad concept that debuted a free-standing yogurt bar last month in a Houston location.

Getting crazy with chicken

With the price of beef still soaring, it's no surprise that chicken is the most-featured protein on sandwiches and wraps, 83 and 80 percent, respectively, according to recent research by Food Genius, a provider of research and insight solutions to the Food Industry.

Of course, no self-respecting fast casual concept is going to slap a piece of chicken in between bread and call it good — innovation is key when it comes to the product offering. Take, for example, Penn Station's chicken artichoke sandwich that appeared on menus in November. The sandwich featured grilled, all-white meat chicken, artichoke hearts, provolone cheese, oregano, parmesan, mayonnaise and the option of fresh mushrooms served on fresh-baked bread.

Other innovative chicken offerings included:

Charleys Philly Steaks' Asiago Chicken Caesar Club sandwich, which included Asiago cheese, hickory smoked bacon and a creamy Caesar dressing.

Panda Express' Firecracker Chicken Breast, a 240-calorie dish that combined marinated all-white meat chicken breast, sweet yellow and red bell peppers and onions, wok tossed with whole and crushed chili peppers in a signature black bean sauce.

Tropical Smoothie Café's Chicken Tacos, which featured grilled chicken, topped with a signature Caribbean salsa made up of mango, pineapple, jicama, red peppers, jalapeño and cilantro, tucked into toasted flour tortillas with a chili lime cilantro spread and fresh romaine lettuce.

What was your favorite menu trend of 2013? Leave it in the comments below.

Cover photo: Courtesy of Wikimedia.

About Cherryh Cansler

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Cherryh Cansler is VP of Events for Networld Media Group and publisher of FastCasual.com. She has been covering the restaurant industry since 2012. Her byline has appeared in Forbes, The Kansas City Star and American Fitness magazine, among many others.

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