'Tis the Season for mGifting and rewarding

Sending gift cards via digital and mobile channels has increased eight times since 2012.

Urbanspoon examines top dining trends of the year

December 20, 2013

Urbanspoon has released its Top Dining Trends of 2013 report, taking a look at the biggest dining trends of the year based on a survey of food bloggers and…

Fast Casual Social Media Top 10 [infographic]

by Cherryh Cansler — Editor, FastCasual.com

A look at how the largest fast casual restaurants in the U.S. stack up on social media.

Five foodservice trends to watch for in '14

December 19, 2013

The U.S. restaurant industry has experienced modest growth in the past few years, and research firm Mintel estimates sales of $438 billion in 2013, as well as…

Infographic: Fast Casual Social Media Top 10

A look at how the largest fast casual chains in the U.S. stack up on social media.

NPD reports restaurant visits flat, consumer spending up

December 18, 2013

NPD's Crest foodservice tracking shows restaurant traffic remained flat for the bulk of the year compared to last year, and forecasts the year will end the…

Pizza Hut, Domino's dominate 2013 Google searches

December 18, 2013

Google has announced its 13th annual Zeitgeist results, showing what users searched for the most during the year. Once again, Pizza Hut was the top searched…

Marketing budgets focused on increased customer engagement in 2014

December 18, 2013

New research from StrongView shows that marketers plan to increase their budgets on activities that increase customer engagement in 2014. However, according to…

Domestic wine dominates sales in U.S. bars and restaurants

December 17, 2013

Domestic table wines dominate the wine scene in restaurants, bars and other on-premise locations, according to Technomic's 2013 BarTAB Report.

Are restaurants safely serving gluten-free?

December 17, 2013

The NPD Group estimated that in 2012, 200 million gluten-free meals were requested in restaurants across the country.

SpenDifference seeks responses for menu tracking survey

December 13, 2013

The supply chain support provider SpenDifference is soliciting responses from restaurant chain executives for its menu price tracking survey.

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

by Cherryh Cansler — Editor, FastCasual.com

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

Report: Restaurants are failing at customer experience

Four restaurants made the ForeSee Experience Index, which measures satisfaction and retention, upselling, and word of mouth.

Survey of small businesses shows continued concern over Obamacare costs

December 12, 2013

Small business owners are worried about the impact the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare, will have on their business operations, according to a recent survey…

Euromonitor releases list of top 5 non-alcoholic beverage trends

December 10, 2013

Market Research Company Euromonitor International has released a new e-book identifying the top five non-alcoholic drink trends in 15 countries throughout…

FastCasual.com's Top 10 stories of 2013

by Cherryh Cansler — Editor, FastCasual.com

Based purely on traffic, FastCasual.com reveals its most popular stories of the year.

Yogurt now a double-digit growth category for foodservice operators

December 9, 2013

Per capita yogurt consumption has more than doubled over the decade, and now nearly one in three individuals eats yogurt, according to the NPD Group's ongoing…

Restaurant job growth outpacing overall economy

December 9, 2013

The National Restaurant Association's Chief Economist Bruce Grindy analyzed the recent jobs report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics and found that the…

Asian Americans a growth opportunity for businesses, Nielsen finds

December 6, 2013

Nielsen announced the release of its "Significant, Sophisticated and Savvy: The Asian American Consumer 2013 Report," which offers a look into the purchasing…

Wine sales up in limited-service sector

December 5, 2013

Restaurant Sciences LLC, an independent firm that tracks food and beverage product sales throughout the foodservice industry in North America, reported that…