By Elizabeth Wessel

Once again, RestoBiz and Technomic have partnered to present rising LTO trends, looking back at data to help operators plan ahead, stay trendy, and address diner demand. In this edition LTO Trend Watch, we identify July’s hottest LTO brought trends including garlic-forward entrées, Canada Day promotions, and more.  

July’s top trends

Limited-time offers and new items trending in July had some Italian restaurant operators featuring garlic-forward entrées on menus. East Side Mario’s menued a Triple Garlic Penne with Goat Cheese featuring penne tossed in an herbed tomato sauce with triple-garlic spread, garlic purée and whole roasted garlic cloves, topped with marinated tomatoes, mushrooms and caramelized onions, then finished with goat cheese. Little Caesars spotlighted a Creamy Garlic Chicken Pasta with seasoned white-meat chicken and tomatoes, layered over a creamy garlic-cheddar sauce.

Canada Day promotions

As is traditional, July also saw an uptick in dishes celebrating Canadian pride and featuring Canada Day themed dishes. Items included:

• Crumbl rolled out a vanilla Canada Day Sugar Cookie topped with vanilla buttercream and red and white sprinkles
• Carl’s Jr. had a one day-only Canada Day Poutine Special, which featured poutine with natural-cut fries

Comparing month-to-month LTOs gives operators a chance to see what the competition is doing to better plan for the year. Here is the data from July 2025 to July 2026:

Monthly LTO Tracker

-37 per cent, month over month

-21 per cent, year over year

LTOs by mealpart

Sales stats can help operators decide which menus are the best choice to feature LTOs, so here is a look at the LTO trends by mealpart from July 2026:

LTOs by segment

Where are most of the LTOs found? Data shows that 51 per cent of July’s LTOs were from full-service restaurants, whereas 49 per cent of limited-service restaurants participated in LTOs in July. As for the breakdown of those offers, out of 673 total LTOs/new additions for July 2026, 97 per cent were limited-time offers and only three per cent made up new additions.

As diner preferences evolve and trends shift, operators need can use insight to create innovating LTOs that excite guests and maximize their margins.

Elizabeth Wessel is a Senior Research Analyst 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