News

Technomic: Mediterranean cuisine presents opportunities

September 22, 2011

Mediterranean cuisine is increasingly appearing on restaurant menus across numerous segments, according to recent research from Technomic.

The trend is attributable to growing consumer demands for ethnic, healthier and vegetarian foods.

"Mediterranean cuisine certainly seems poised for continued growth. The increase in menu incidence we have tracked at Technomic shows that these items are not just being added to Mediterranean concepts, but to the menus of national chains within virtually all segments and categories," said Mary Chapman, Technomic director. "We expect this to continue as awareness of the cuisine increases and as the trends feeding the growth continue to develop."

Some findings from Technomic's Mediterranean Market Intelligence Report include:

Mediterranean food is becoming increasingly popular, with 6 in 10 consumers recently surveyed by Technomic indicating they would likely order a menu item featuring flavors and ingredients typically associated with Mediterranean cuisine.
Sales at Mediterranean chains — including Greek, Spanish and Middle Eastern specialists — grew to $362 million in 2010, a slight 1.7 percent increase over 2009.
In the area of unit growth, leading Mediterranean chains closed out 2010 with a total of 430 units, up from 423 the prior year. Mediterranean restaurants on a chain level are not widely represented. Coupled with consumers' willingness to order Mediterranean food, this indicates an opportunity for emerging concepts, many of which are profiled in this report.
Pita sandwiches and Greek entree salads have seen healthy increases in menu incidence, and operators are also using more falafel, hummus, chickpeas and Greek yogurt, indicating a potential trend.
Mediterranean cuisine heavily incorporates fish, herbs, vegetables and olive oil — all ingredients that a majority of consumers consider to be healthy.

Some quick-service and fast casual chains have been ahead of the Mediterranean trend, many with growth plans in place. These include Pita Pit, Mr. Pita Sandwiches, Garbanzo Mediterranean Grill, Roti Mediterranean Grill, Daphne's California Greek and Falafoul.

Non-Mediterranean concepts are also embracing the opportunity. La Madeleine recently unveiled a Mediterranean line. Subway has been trialing a falafel sandwich in the Chicago market this year and, although the company won't speak about tests, its popularity is evident through the Facebook page created specifically for the item.

The report uses industry and trend data from Technomic's Top 500 Chain Restaurant Report and other publications, compiled in Technomic's Digital Resource Library.