Consumers to alter budgets amid rising gas, food costs

January 18, 2011

As food companies and restaurant operators make hard fought attempts to keep from raising prices, U.S. consumers are bracing to pay more for their food in…

Starbucks takes mobile payments national

January 18, 2011

Starbucks Corp. has announced the launch of mobile payment in all U.S. company-operated stores. The launch allows customers to pay for in-store purchases with…

Native American diet as an orphan

by Suzy Badaracco — President, Culinary Tides Inc

Bacteria adjust to their surroundings, as do viruses, with sometimes shocking ease. Bacteria amend their diet to survive. For mammals, the ability to adjust to…

Menu labeling launches into the twittersphere

by Betsy Craig — pres, menutrinfo.com

Menu Labeling went viral this past weekend.

Consumers looking for differentiation, value

by Valerie Killifer — senior editor, NetWorld Alliance

January 13, 2011

A new study by Chicago-based Technomic shows that even as consumers are expected to loosen their purse strings in 2011, finding a good value from the casual…

AHA calls on food industry for salt reduction

January 13, 2011

The American Heart Association has issued a call to action for the public, health professionals, the foodservice industry and the government to put forth a…

Menus in a crystal ball: Turning trends into action

by Cari Price, Corporate Development Chef, Food IQ

Study: More dining out, smaller checks in 2011

January 11, 2011

Good news first: Americans are expected to dine out more in 2011. Not-so-good news: it's predicted they'll spend about 5 percent less per meal while doing so.

Restaurant Performance Index posts November decline

January 2, 2011

As a result of a downtick in same-store sales and customer traffic levels, the National Restaurant Association’s Restaurant Performance Index (RPI) fell below…

Menu labeling is HOT for 2011!

by Betsy Craig — pres, menutrinfo.com

As the New Year began, California decided to stand firm and strong on a very interesting topic for anyone that is in the food service business: menu…

Heeeers 2011!

by Suzy Badaracco — President, Culinary Tides Inc

The media has been focused on recapping the previous year as they do each December. I have never been clear if this is to point out the cleverness and accuracy…

Craft beer popularity soars

December 28, 2010

While spirits barely edged out beer as the most popular alcoholic beverage enjoyed by consumers in 2010, the market has hardly fallen flat. According to the…

Fast Casual predicts top trends for 2011

by Valerie Killifer — senior editor, NetWorld Alliance

It seems that 2010 brought about a series of buyouts and capital investments for fast casual chains looking to improve their operations for the year. While the…

Where do we go in 2011?

by Don Fox — CEO, Firehouse of America

This week, all across America, there are countless restaurant executives taking stock of how they and their companies performed in 2010. Even the casual…

2010: Fast Casual year in review

by Valerie Killifer — senior editor, NetWorld Alliance

Healthcare reform, bankruptcy protection and brand overhauls highlight a year full of the quintessential highs and lows.  

2011 U.K. foodservice trends predicted

December 20, 2010

The United Kingdom has welcomed many American brands to its soil. Chains such as KFC, McDonald’s, Burger King, Chipotle, Starbucks, Domino’s, Papa John’s and…

Foraging – Desperate Times

by Suzy Badaracco — President, Culinary Tides Inc

Lilly looked around from her vantage point of the red flowered pillow and wondered what there was to eat. "Hey Teddy," she said in a sleepy voice, "what do we…

Seasonal flavors spice up menus

December 14, 2010

The latest research from market intelligence provider Mintel finds that restaurant chains are responding to consumer demand by spicing up their menus with fall…

Oh, Canada! Foodservice industry up north outpacing U.S.

December 14, 2010

Restaurant chains are spreading throughout Canada faster than they are in the U.S. According to a study by Technomic, the Canadian restaurant industry has…

Food and drink tickets more expensive in 2010

December 13, 2010

Although Americans' wallets may feel thinner because of the recession, consumers are apparently willing to spend almost a dollar more on lunch. New research…