300 South Riverside Plaza Suite 1200 Chicago, IL 60606 technomic

Menu InnovationUpdate Winter 2013

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300 South Riverside PlazaSuite 1200

Chicago, IL 60606www.technomic.com

In this issue…I. Starter

II. Main Dish

III. Dessert

IV. Beverage

V. Key Takeaways

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Menu InnovationUpdate

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Starter Highlights

Starters by the Numbers• Soups and non-breaded proteins tied as the most popular LTO. They each received 27

mentions, or 20.5% of total starters.• The most popular soup flavours were tomato (5) and butternut squash (3).• Smoked salmon was a popular non-breaded protein (4), as were other seafoods like prawns (3)

and oysters (2).• 9.9% of starters were breads. The top varieties were bruschetta and garlic bread.

Top Trends• Non-Breaded Seafood• Tomato as an Ingredient• Antipasti

Source: 32 U.K. chains promoting New or LTO starters from December 2012 – February 2013


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Trending Starters on Menus

Browns Bar & Brasserie featured a Crab and Avocado Stack starter on its Valentine’s Day menu.

Pret A Manger added several new soup options to its winter menu, including Sweet Tomato and Saffron Soup. The soup is made from a blend of tomatoes, celery, onion, vegetable stock, bay leaves, cracked black pepper and real saffron, topped with a swirl of crème fraîche.

Prezzo’s Antipasto Platter features prosciutto ham, Milano salami, spicy ventricina salami, buffalo mozzarella, marinated olives, baby sun-blushed tomatoes, fresh rocket and ciabatta bread.

Source: 32 U.K. chains promoting New or LTO starters from December 2012 – February 2013


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Main Dish Highlights

Main Dish by the Numbers• Beef dishes accounted for 25 of main-dish LTOs, followed by chicken (23), fish (22) and pork

(9). • More than 30% of fish options were salmon.• Sandwiches made up 10% of main-dish promotions, a slight increase from fall. Chicken was the

most popular ingredient (15), trailed by bacon, beef and turkey (3 each).• Pastas increased from 6.9% to 11.2% from fall to winter. The most mentioned noodle types

were spaghetti (5), rigatoni (4), fettuccine (3) and ravioli (3).

Top Trends• Steak• Risotto• Ethnic Chicken

Source: 61 U.K. chains promoting New or LTO mains from December 2012 – February 2013


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Trending Main Dishes on Menus

Carluccio’s debuted a new line of risottos, including the Risotto di Zucchini e Gorgonzola option, made with zucchini and Gorgonzola cheese.

Beefeater Grill featured a variety of steak cuts on its Valentine’s Day menu, including a 7-ounce rump, 10-ounce rump, 8-ounce sirloin, 8-ounce filet and 10-ounce rib-eye.

Southern Fried Chicken added a Peri Peri Chicken Wrap, which features grilled peri peri chicken, lettuce, tomatoes, mayonnaise and peri peri sauce, all wrapped in a flour tortilla.

Source: 61 U.K. chains promoting New or LTO mains from December 2012 – February 2013


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Dessert Highlights

Desserts by the Numbers• About 50% of dessert LTOs were baked goods, down from 64.8% in the fall.• Cheesecakes increased in popularity this season, from five items to 12. Other top baked goods

included pie (7) and cookies (6).• Overall, chocolate was by far the most popular flavour (24), followed by raspberry (5) and

apple (4).• The number of pudding/gelatin LTOs increased from 4.2% to 9.7%. Crème brûlée accounted

for more than 30% of these items.• Ice-cream dishes made up about 15% of total dessert offerings, down from 21% in the fall.

Top Trends• Fruit-Flavoured Baked Goods• Rich Brownies• Heart-Shaped Desserts

Source: 43 U.K. chains promoting New or LTO desserts from December 2012 – February 2013


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Trending Desserts on Menus

McDonald’s U.K. introduced Sweet Berry Pie with Custard. The handheld pie is stuffed with blackberries, strawberries, raspberries, blackcurrants and custard.

Papa John’s U.K. featured Belgian Chocolate Brownies as an LTO this winter season. The dessert had a warm chewy center, crispy crust and Belgian chocolate chunks.

Greggs added Heart Biscuit Pops, heart-shaped gingerbread biscuits topped with a pink coating and pink sugar.

Source: 43 U.K. chains promoting New or LTO desserts from December 2012 – February 2013


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Beverage HighlightsBeverages by the Numbers

• Apple became the top non-alcohol beverage flavour this season, receiving seven mentions. Chocolate was the runner-up with four mentions.

• Lattes were again popular, representing 20% of the non-alcohol beverages.• Beers accounted for one-third of the adult beverage LTOs, an increase from the fall. • Speciality Drinks declined from 56.6% to 37.9%. Many warm drinks were promoted in

December/January, including the Chocolate Orange Vodka Latte at Revolution Vodka Bar & Kitchen.

• White wines were promoted slightly more than red, accounting for 7.8% and 6.5% respectively. Champagnes were promoted heavily on Valentine’s Day menus, receiving 15 mentions.

Top Trends• Warm, Non-Alcohol Speciality Drinks• Prosecco• Mulled Wine and Cider

Source: 31 U.K. chains promoting New or LTO beverages from December 2012 – February 2013


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Trending Beverages on Menus

Hungry Horse offered a Valentine’s Day LTO promotion that featured Prosecco at a discounted price.

Caffè Ritazza introduced two new speciality drinks, Apple Pie Chai and Apple Pie Latte, for the winter season.

Scream added Brothers mulled cider as a limited-time offering at some of its units this season. One pub, The Woodville, offered the cider in a takeaway mug.

Source: 31 U.K. chains promoting New or LTO beverages from December 2012 – February 2013


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Key Takeaways

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