B.J. Novak's Food Court Residency at Westfield Topanga Mall

Smart look at how restaurant favorites are finding new growth on retail shelves. Reach out for a presentation of our Food & Beverage Trend Report.

Some of the best restaurant brands are realizing their biggest growth opportunity might be outside the restaurant. Our annual trend report dives into how familiar favorites are making the jump from menu to grocery aisle.  Reach out to schedule a personalized walkthrough of our trend report and what these trends mean for your brand. 

Ollie’s Bargain Outlet is working to optimize floor space to capture a bigger share of food and beverage segment: https://lnkd.in/ern756TC "We are expanding categories with a strong product pipeline and white space in the market. Protein and energy products, beverage... were great examples of this," says President and CEO Eric van der Valk. #ollies #foodretail #grocery

The final touch can make all the difference. In culinary arts, like in business, the details matter. Consider how a perfectly rendered bacon fat, added at the last moment, can elevate a dish. It’s a reminder that strategic execution and attention to detail are key to achieving exceptional results. What small details are you overlooking that could significantly impact your outcomes? #CulinaryArts #Foodie #GourmetCooking #Flavor #AttentionToDetail

Something bold is coming back to the table. Still blurry. Still under wraps. But one thing is becoming clear: Bolder. Better. Bubblier. Málà was created around a simple industry challenge: wine doesn’t always work with the bold, spicy flavours of modern Asian cuisine. So instead of asking consumers to change what they eat, we asked a different question: What if the wine was designed to work with the food? Built around spicy dishes and exotic heat, Málà opens up a different conversation for restaurants, retailers and wine partners looking to connect with the way Asia actually eats today. From restaurant tables to retail shelves, the opportunity is bigger than another wine SKU. It’s about creating a more relevant wine-and-food occasion, increasing beverage attachment, and giving consumers a reason to discover something new. And now, Málà is coming back. The picture is getting clearer. The table is getting hotter. Stay tuned. #Mala #WineForSpicyFood #AsianWineRevolution #SpicePairing #WineBusiness #WineTrade #AsianCuisine #WineRetail

Last week Daniel Humm (of Eleven Madison Park fame) and Mark Ramadan (co-founder of Sir Kensington's and former CEO of Hu Chocolate) launched a new line of shelf-stable products under the brand name Riff. Riff joins a growing group of brands - including Salad for President, Momofuku Goods and Chrissy Teigen’s Cravings to name a few - that are applying a new formula to shelf-stable food (one I really like): Familiar format + more ambitious flavor + culinary authority with followings.   Format: Americans already understand “this box + a few ingredients from home.” Boxed mac & cheese is a $2.1–$2.3B category, and GOODLES has proven there’s room to reinvent it - just acquired by the Barilla Group - and data shows, three boxes are purchased every second. But there’s also a lesson from the meal-kit era. Blue Apron tried to make home cooking easier through an intense system - fresh ingredients, refrigerated packaging, portioning - and still required the consumer to do a lot of the work. After years of struggle, it was acquired by Wonder for $103M. This generation of center store innovation is making a different bet: ask less of the consumer without asking less of their palate. Americans have become accustomed to bolder flavors and more culinary experimentation. 93% eat hot sauce, 62% are more likely to buy something advertised as hot or spicy, and ~73% of Gen Z consumers want to try new flavors. Boxed meals don’t need to be dumbed down, just simplified in their prep. At the same time, chefs and food personalities now have enormous direct audiences that can follow them straight into the grocery aisle. David Chang - 1.7M Instagram followers; Chrissy Teigen - 39M. Daniel Humm brings the authority of a chef whose Eleven Madison Park was once ranked #1 in the world. The center of the store has long been treated as grocery’s least dynamic territory. Riff (and a growing list of others) is already proving otherwise. Read more on my Substack, linked in comments. New Fare Hallie Bonnar Daisy Bowes Williamson Erin Patinkin

To dip, or not to dip? Chili’s, the US casual dining restaurant chain, sold 41 million Triple Dipper appetiser platters in FY2025. Now burger brands are getting in on the dipping action. So what’s the attraction? ⚫ It’s big business. Triple Dipper doubled its share of Chili’s sales from 7% to 14% in a year. ⚫ People like to take charge. 50% of Americans often add sauce when they can. 20% even bring their own to restaurants. That’s commitment. ⚫ There’s room to play. 90% of consumers are open to trying new condiments. Same burger, very different bites. ⚫ The dip is the show. One Chili’s cheese-pull video racked up 2 million+ likes. ⚫ The eating has to match the filming. A hot burger, a satisfying dip and a bun that survives the experience matter more than a heroic cheese pull. At Sketch, we will be exploring what could come next. Burgers with a flavour journey? A spicy first dip, something rich for the middle, then a sharp finish. Just one of many concepts we will be looking at. Sources: Chili’s sales · Triple Dipper and social · YouGov · Griffith Foods

Chicago chefs made one thing clear at the Chef BBQ at Green City Market: bold flavors are here to stay. Our Marketing Team attended the event earlier this month, and these culinary-forward samples pointed to three trends we're watching closely. Sweet-and-salty (swalty) pairings are peaking, with social discussion up 15% in the past year, while bold flavors (up 10%) and peach (up 8% in sweet and savory snack conversations) aren't far behind, according to Tastewise. Flip through our Tasty Trends recap to see how Chicago chefs are putting these irresistible trends to work. #flavortrends #foodindustry #flavorbusiness #GreenCityMarket #Chicago

Chicken wings ‘are hot for good reason’ The offering has evolved from a favorite bar food to a strategic menu platform across segments, like convenience stores, Technomic’s Donna Hood Crecca says Chicken wings are, well, spreading their wings. They’re popping up more on convenience-store foodservice menus—with Ankeny, Iowa-based Casey’s even aiming to have its growing program possibly match the convenience-store chain’s pizza business over time. Read more: https://lnkd.in/gTdM2KsJ Source: CSP Daily News #FoodandBeverageIndustry #Insights #Food #Service #Restaurant #Business #Consumer #Menu #Trends

Beverages are no longer just an add-on to the meal. They are becoming an important opportunity for restaurants to increase check averages, create new customer occasions, drive traffic, and strengthen loyalty. The 2026 restaurant beverage trends show growing demand for specialty coffees, teas, smoothies, lemonades, functional beverages, mocktails, and other customizable drinks. Younger consumers are also increasingly making beverage-only visits, creating opportunities outside traditional lunch and dinner hours. But adding more drinks to the menu doesn’t automatically mean more profit. Restaurant owners should be asking: • Which beverages have the strongest profit margins? • What is the true ingredient cost per drink? • Which items sell most frequently and which simply take up menu space? • Are beverage prices keeping pace with ingredient and labor costs? • Could bundles or add-ons increase average check size? • Are delivery and takeout beverage sales being fully utilized? At Patel Tax and Advisory, we can help restaurant owners look beyond sales and understand the financial performance behind their beverage program. The goal isn’t simply to sell more drinks, it’s to understand which drinks are helping your restaurant make more money. #PatelTaxAndAdvisory #RestaurantAccounting #RestaurantOwners #RestaurantProfitability #BeverageTrends #MenuEngineering #MenuPricing #HospitalityFinance #RestaurantFinance #BusinessAdvisory #RestaurantBusiness #CPAForRestaurants