The restaurant scene is consistently full of evolving trends such as the growth of mobile payments or different flavor profiles. Spicy flavors have been found to be increasingly popular; according to a study by FONA International, consumers have now come to expect a little heat in their dishes. Millenials make up most of this group, perhaps because they have been more widely exposed to Asian and Latin cuisines which have a higher heat level in their dishes. These flavor profiles are also popular in the beverage industry leading craft brewers to experiment with the heat levels in infused spicy beverages such as Aztec coffee, or spiced brown liquor. Also in the beverage industry, spirits are now competing with beer for young adult consumer preferences. A Technomic report showed that these consumers now range beyond beer to include spirits and wine as well which is mostly driven by cost and certain flavor attributes.

Another factor affecting U.S. restaurants is the notion of the governments involvement in food regulations. Food-safety scares and the focus on the nation’s increasing obesity issues have led many Americans to have a shift in their attitude towards the governments role in food. Sullivan Higdon reports that. ’34 percent of consumers believe the government is too involved in food regulation, while 36 percent think it has the right amount of involvement, and 30 percent say the government is too involved in what they eat.’

The mobile app frenzy is also very clearly a factor affecting U.S. restaurants. Restaurants are encouraging diners to download apps before dining to facilitate mobile payment sand exclusive loyalty rewards. Guests with a smartphone are able to pay with their device using mobile wallet or Passbook which stores the guest’s credit card details and payment information. To read more about factors that are affecting U.S. restaurants, click here

The cronut craze arrived in New York last year courtesy of Dominique Ansel Bakery, who still has a line out the door. This caused other food businesses to attempt to copy the infamous cronut such as Crumbs Bake Shop’s Crumbnut and Jack In The Box’s Croissant Donut. Although a bit late to the game, beginning November 3rd Dunkin’ Donuts will begin to offer its own version of the croissant and donut hybrid.

Dunkin’ Donuts told the Associated Press that their version is not a copycat version and that the cross of a donut and croissant has been around for decades. The Dunkin’ locations in Korea were even selling one which they called the New York Pie Donut last summer. The Korean version isn’t glazed, but this new croissant donut in the U.S. will be and consist of 24 layers of dough. If all goes well, perhaps in the future they may offer their croissant donut with cream filling.

According to the press release and similar to Dominique Ansel’s marketing strategy, the croissant donuts “will be made in limited quantities and served each day while supplies last.” To add a sense of uniqueness and ‘luxury’ the pastry will be packaged in clear boxes for $2.49. To read more about the launch of Dunkin’s Croissant Donut, click here

American Express provides restaurants with research-based analysis of key industry developments which is collected and analyzed by Technomic, Inc. Consumers were polled over a seven-day period and asked to describe their most recent restaurant occasion. While Technomic has recently released studies showing an increase in the snacking daypart, the majority of consumers that were polled reported their most recent restaurant occasion for breakfast, lunch or dinner. Dinner occasions were equally divided between weeknights and weekend nights, while lunch was more likely to be a weekday occasion. 60% of pollers who reported breakfast as their most recent occasion ate breakfast or brunch on the weekend.

As for takeout occasions, the poll showed that delivery occasions were twice as likely to have been a weekday purchase, of which 60% were for dinner and 30% for lunch. A very small percentage showed breakfast as their last restaurant takeout or delivery occasion. Consumers in the survey were also asked to estimate what percent of their restaurant occasions had been for each daypart in the past year. This led to some insights into generational differences; for example, while 12% of consumers aged 18-25 reported snacks or happy hour as their most substantial foodservice purchases, only 4% reported this for those 45 years or older.

Another part of the poll involved asking consumers to identify the needs or emotions they typically associated with each major daypart and weekpart.  While snacking and lunch were mainly associated with the basic need to satiate hunger, convenience was the biggest reason for consumers to use foodservice for weekday breakfast, weeknight dinner and even weekend lunch. Different dayparts showed to be more or less associated with different kinds of get togethers:  family get-togethers (weekend dinner) , friendly get-togethers (weekend dinner, happy hour) , and celebratory occasions (weekend breakfast). Other factors revealed in the poll were emotional needstates; for instance which occasions were associated with relaxing or as a treat/reward.

This data can be used to show operators the prime opportunities available to extend their daypart usage by meeting consumers’ needstates for each occasion. The data also shows where operators can get a competitive share for high-traffic meals or dayparts that are underutilized. Other business implications can be drawn from consumers’ ideas about what constitutes a ‘meal’ vs. a ‘snack.’ For example, offering items in various portion sizes and in a wider variety of combo options will satisfy a larger variety of needstates; offering lunch and dinner fare at the breakfast daypart can also help this.

To read more about the poll and the business implications that can be drawn from it, click here