By Aaron Jourden Now, more than ever, ethnic cuisine is fueling menu trends, fads and innovations taking place in the restaurant world. While this can be seen across mealparts and dayparts, food and drink, and flavours and ingredients, global inspirations arguably have the most impact when applied to starters and centre-of-the-plate dishes. Here we look […]
By Alex Fraser, Cheryl Gardner and David Hopkins The future of Canadian foodservice holds some exciting new opportunities but a few familiar challenges as well. Fresh new concepts with diversified menu offerings, along with innovations in technology, social media and marketing platforms will gain momentum. However, familiar challenges such as a weak Canadian dollar, acquiring […]
By Kristin Menas Below we will highlight some of the leading menu trends to watch on Canadian menus in September. Korean barbecue About the trend: Operators are rolling out pork sandwiches, wings and other meat-focused items made with specialty Korean-inspired barbecue sauces Featured at quick-service and casual-dining restaurants Korean mentions are up 34.6 per cent […]
By David Hopkins When I named our company The Fifteen Group in 2001, it was because we believed that any decent restaurant should make at least 15 per cent profit on sales (or potentially more, under the right circumstances). We still stand by that viewpoint today, however if I were naming the company now, it […]
By Jennifer Gausby I was running late for work one morning, but was in desperate need of a jolt of caffeine. Thanks to Starbucks’ “mobile order and pay” application, I placed my double tall, non-fat latte order en route, and when I arrived at my local Starbucks my prepaid latte was ready and waiting for […]
By Liana Robberecht In the world of restaurants, the return of family-style dining shows that food is no exception to the adage that everything old becomes new again. With the hustle and bustle of our multi-tasking, information over-loaded, everything-on-our-phones lives, people are rediscovering the importance of taking a moment to reconnect with family and friends. […]
By Kristin Menas In this edition of “restaurant concepts to watch”, we highlight three concepts that are making an impact on Canadian diners. Here’s a look at the characteristics and menu offerings that make these restaurants unique: Nuba Instagram: 2,215 followers | Facebook: 5,109 likes | Twitter: 4,522 followers Locations: 4 (Vancouver) Concept characteristics: Modern […]
By Mark Dempsey When was the last time you visited a quick-service chain, a sit-down restaurant, or a supermarket? Depending on your answer, it may or may not come as a surprise to you that total traffic to the Canadian commercial foodservice marketplace was flat this last year versus the year before. While traffic is […]
By Lucia Weiler Summer is almost over, which means we’ll soon be moving into the cooler months with a whole slew of different seasonal foods on offer. What better time to freshen up your menu to appeal to changing consumer demands, or update your nutrition knowledge? Some of the greatest opportunities in foodservice are menu […]
By Kristin Menas These trends have been seen frequently on restaurant menus this year. Below are some of the leading menu trends to watch this July. Mango and pepper pairings About the trend: Restaurants are pairing mango with spicy ingredients like habanero and chipotle, particularly in sauces, salsas and seasonings. This trend is seen most often […]
