With Thanksgiving behind us and Christmas and other holidays
just around the corner, consumers are in the mood to celebrate.
As a result, latest research from market intelligence
provider Mintel finds that restaurant chains are responding to consumer demand
by spicing up their menus with fall and winter offerings. Last year, food and
beverage menu items featuring familiar fall ingredients and flavors -- such as
pumpkin, squash, apple, cinnamon, caramel and hazelnut -- increased by 13
percent from the summer to fall season.
Catering to consumer wishes
"It's not uncommon for restaurant operators to update their
menus to reflect fresh ingredients of each season," notes Kathy Hayden,
foodservice analyst at Mintel. "The falling temperatures signal to
restaurant-goers that it's time for a change to their palettes. Words like 'harvest' and 'spiced' are other menu cues that convey fall and winter
flavors."
Pumpkin is an especially popular fall ingredient -- its
incidence on menus increasing by a staggering 161 percent from summer to fall
in 2009. During the same time frame, squash dishes shot up by 150 percent and
menu items flavored with cinnamon and hazelnut rose by nearly five
percent, respectively.
Cider also shows seasonal increases. Warm cider drinks have
appeared in many of the major coffee chains: Tim Hortons has cider donuts, and
cider vinaigrettes bring autumnal touches to salads.
Some of the latest seasonal limited-time-offers showing up
on menus this year are: Culver's eggnog shake, Denny's gingerbread french
toast, Panera Bread's mint crinkle cookie and Sonic's holiday spiced sugar
cookie blast.
"Last week, Mintel Menu Insights released its 2011 food and menu trends, but the seasonality trend remains constant," adds Hayden. "For restaurants, seasonal dishes are a natural way to draw interest, but the challenge is not to simply add items to the menu, but to add items that resonate with your current customers and have enough seasonal interest to draw potential guests."
