By Katie Belflower

RestoBiz and Technomic have partnered to present LTO Trend Watch, a look at LTO trends that are on the rise, along with insight into how operators can meet diner demands, stay on-trend, and create offers that will attract attention and increase traffic. July’s top LTO trends included dragon fruit beverages, desserts with savoury elements, and more.  

 July’s top trends

Limited-time offers and new items trending in July had some operators adding a savoury elements to their dessert menus. Famoso Pizzeria + Bar introduced the Balsamico Bianco Gelato, a dessert made with vanilla gelato, extra-virgin olive oil swirl, sea salt, and balsamic glaze. Chop Steakhouse Bar launched the Salted Caramel Pot De Crème, featuring silky custard and rich miso caramel topped with yuzu-poached peaches and crunchy sponge toffee.

Dragon fruit beverages

This summer saw a rise in tropical beverages featuring the pink and purple fruit, with the following two LTOs spotlighting dragon fruit:

• Chick-fil-A introduced Pineapple Dragon Fruit Lemonade, featuring Classic Chick-fil-A lemonade mixed with pineapple and dragon fruit flavours
• Ben & Florentine offered the Dragon Energy drink with lyophilized dragon fruit, pineapple and raspberries with oat milk, and cranberry juice

Taking a look at the month-to-month LTO data allows operators to compare their approach to the competition and to create a plan going forward. Here is the data from July 2024 to July 2025:

Monthly LTO tracker

Results show +1.4 per cent month over month, and +2.1 per cent year over year

LTOs by mealpart

Where can operators best benefit from adding an LTO to the menu? Here is a look at the LTO trends by mealpart from July 2025:

LTOs by segment

Which restaurants are featuring the most LTOs?

Data shows that 62 per cent were from full-service restaurants featured LTOs, whereas only 38 per cent of limited-service restaurants participated in July. As for the breakdown of those offers, out of 851 total LTOs/new additions for July 2025, 86 per cent were limited-time offers and 14 per cent made up new additions.

Operators can look to the trends to gauge diner preferences, create engaging offers, and come up with new LTOs that will drive traffic to the restaurant.

Katie Belflower is a Manager of Menu Research & Insights for Technomic, a Chicago-based foodservice research and consulting firm. Technomic provides clients with the facts, insights and consulting support they need to enhance their business strategies, decisions and results. The company’s services include publications and digital products as well as proprietary studies and ongoing research on all aspects of the food industry, including menu trends.

Source: Technomic Ignite Menu