Food Trends 2024: The Fastest-Growing Flavors in College Dining

Are you catering to Gen Z's adventurous tastes? Check out the top trending flavors on college campuses in 2024.

6/20/2024

5 Reasons Why Portable Meals Mean Business for Restaurants

Do you have portable items on your menu? Read on to find out why the portability of your menu items can have a huge impact on their popularity and your bottom line.

3/12/2024

Top 10 Food Trends for 2024: What to Look for Next

Get a sneak peek at the trends that will shape foodservice in 2024! From new global flavors to cutting-edge technology, you’ll learn what to expect in the new year—along with key consumer insights you can act on today.

12/14/2023

Foodservice in 2030: Predictions for the Industry

Foodservice industry leaders gathered for the Technomic Activate Conference in June 2023 to examine trends and look ahead as we approach the next decade. Their observations offer an intriguing glimpse into the future.

11/1/2023

Study: Vegetables Get a Seat at the Breakfast Table

Breakfast is back! Learn how to satisfy your customers’ growing appetites for veggies at breakfast while reducing labor and improving consistency.

9/13/2023

Food Halls: 2023 Trends and Strategies to Drive Traffic

The food hall format is gaining momentum, with 63% more halls operating now than in 2019. Learn more about what’s attracting customers to these one-stop dining venues, and see expert recommendations for building traffic going into 2024.

8/17/2023

Food Truck Trends: Tips to Keep Traffic Growing in 2023

The popularity of food trucks is trending upward. In this post, we give you a snapshot of the industry in 2023 along with some tips on how to keep the good times rolling.

7/24/2023

On Trend: When a Restaurant is More Than a Restaurant

Personal and social values are shaping consumer choices in dining out. Here we explore a few ways restaurants can key into the trends that are not just shaping food expectations, but society as well.

5/29/2023

5 Trends Shaping Charcuterie Boards in 2023

U.S. consumers are falling in love with charcuterie, with menu incidence up 84% over the last 10 years. And restaurants are responding with imaginative, new takes on this age-old classic. Read on to learn the top five trends shaping charcuterie today.

5/10/2023

13 Rose-Colored Menu Ingredients for 2023

Pink food offers a multitude of benefits for chefs and restaurant owners right now. Incorporating pink foods into your menu can help you generate the excitement you need to keep customers coming back. Get creative and have fun—the possibilities of pink are endless!

2/10/2023

Healthy Menu Options: The Trends for 2023

Offering healthy options on restaurant menus is increasingly important for today's consumers. We take a look at the top five food trends shaping how restaurants craft healthy menu options for 2023.

1/18/2023

Restaurant Trends 2023: 7 Things to Remember

With the clock running out on 2022, now's the time to get smart on restaurant trends for 2023. Check out these top trends you can capitalize on as you plan for the new year.

12/15/2022

11 Trends to Watch in 2022

So what does 2022 hold in store for the foodservice industry? We asked research firm Datassential to share some of the higher-level trends shaping foodservice this year and beyond.

3/10/2022

4 Health Trends to Bring to Your Menu in 2022

After the indulgent holiday season and with New Year's resolutions in full swing, consumers will be eager for foods that help them improve and maintain their health. What trends can you capitalize on in 2022 to appeal to health-conscious consumers?

12/15/2021

4 Reasons to Add Soups to Your Menu This Winter

Besides being popular comfort food, soups appeal to current food trends and deliver healthy margins to your bottom line. So as we head into winter, here are four reasons to add soups to your menu (and some recipes for you to try out, too).

11/8/2021

The Top Trending Food Recipes of 2021

Let's take a look at some of the top trending food recipes to see what might become a must-have menu item and what is likely just a fad.

6/23/2021

Latin Flavors: 4 Key Trends for Operators in 2021

We've identified four key trends to help operators meet the growing appetite for Latin-inspired items. Whether your menu is filled with Latin dishes or just a few, matching these trends can help you attract new customers and keep your existing base coming back.

3/15/2021

Ranch Dressing is a Blessing

March 10th is National Ranch Day, and here at Simplot, we think it's also a day to celebrate America and its collective obsession with this creamy dressing with an herbal kick that's affectionately known as a "hug in a bottle."

3/8/2021

On-Trend: 21 Recipe Ideas for Good Grains™ Cilantro Lime Rice

Cilantro lime rice is a hugely popular and versatile dish—great on the side, as a base for on-trend bowls, or as filling inside wraps and burritos, cilantro lime rice has a home in every daypart and industry segment. Simplot Foods has just released its own take on this classic recipe with new Good Grains™ Cilantro Lime Rice & Flame-Roasted Corn Fiesta.

12/18/2020

How to Leverage Lifestyle Diet Trends

Paleo, Keto, Whole 30, flexitarian, vegetarian, pescatarian, vegan, gluten-free with so many emerging lifestyle diets and dietary restrictions, it can be challenging for restaurants to meet patrons' diverse requirements.

8/19/2020

How to Create Better Take-n-Bake Family Meals

With the right products and strategy, take-n-bake family meals are a terrific way for restaurants to boost revenue and maintain customer loyalty until the pandemic passes.

8/3/2020

Serve Up a Side of Southern Comfort

Right now, decision fatigue is everywhere, so make it easy and irresistible for your customers. Southern comfort food is delicious, accessible, and adaptable.

7/31/2020

Experiential Takeout Goes to the Next Level

As dining rooms across the country close due to the pandemic, operators are turning takeout into a memorable experience to stay connected to their customers—and stay open.

7/31/2020

Al Fresco Fries: Choosing the Right Fry for New Outdoor Seating

While many cities are mandating lower indoor seating capacity inside restaurants thanks to COVID-19, many are also allowing operators to add new seating areas outside—on the sidewalk, on a closed street or even an adjacent park.

6/8/2020

21 Delicious Ways to Use RoastWorks® Flame-Roasted Pineapple & Pepper Blend

For many of us, the first time we glimpsed the versatility of pineapple came with our first slice of Hawaiian pizza. The fresh burst of pineapple married to salty ham and melted cheese? Indisputable proof that pineapple is a tremendous complement to a huge range of proteins and other ingredients.

5/8/2020

Experiential Dining Proving to Be More Than a Fad

Remember the good old days, when having great food, great service and appealing décor were enough for a successful restaurant?

3/2/2020

Is 2020 the Year of the Flexitarian?

When The Economist published its "The World in 2019," it declared 2019 to be "The Year of the Vegan." Could be The Economist was right. If Burger King's new Impossible Burger offering is any clue, vegan and vegetarian diets are more widely followed now than ever before.

3/2/2020

What's the Latest in Charcuterie? French Fry Boards

Fry charcuterie is the latest in a series of Instagram-able entertaining boards or grazing tables. The trend started with more elaborate cheese and charcuterie boards and has evolved to breakfast, candy and even taco boards.

3/2/2020

New Fry Shapes Power Competitive Advantage

Making sure your fries wow your customers is obviously critical to your long-term success. And when it comes to turning heads, fries with unconventional shapes are attracting more attention than ever these days.

1/22/2020

Top 4 Vegetable Trends for 2020

When the clock strikes midnight in a couple of weeks, millions of Americans will resolve to eat better and try to consume more fruits and vegetables. While many of these resolutions will be broken, the growing popularity of vegetables and plant-based dishes is proving far more durable.

12/13/2019

On Game Day, You Bet on Team Vegetables

Americans know they should eat more vegetables, and honestly, they're trying. Thirty-four percent of consumers are ordering healthy items more often than they did two years ago.

9/15/2019

Indulgent Vegan Dishes That Feed the Soul

Vegan is now cool. How did we go from boring and bland to luscious and hip? Lots of reasons, but one clear driving factor, the new plant-based protein options just taste good, and consumers just feel better about eating them.

8/14/2019

8 Strategies for More Effective LTOs

Learn how to take your LTOs to the next level.

7/11/2019

Trending Now: International Flavors for Kids' Meals

As a school foodservice director, you're always fighting to increase your school meal participation. One answer? Keep your menu relevant to new generations of students.

6/27/2019

Local Flavor Trends: How Can They Fit In Your Menu?

Once flavors hit the mainstream, seems like customers just can't wait to try them. What's hitting the mainstream now are tomato jam, charred items and Nashville hot. Breakfast, lunch or dinner, there's a way to incorporate these new in-demand flavors into your menu.

6/15/2019

Lifecycle of Flavors: From Unknown to Mainstream

New flavor profiles don't just appear suddenly, they start out with very low adoption and grow into menu standards. In a process that generally takes years, what is now mainstream likely once was a food you never heard of, or at least, never saw on a restaurant menu.

5/19/2019

Healthy Indulgence: Catering to Patrons Who Want It All

As Americans, we are chock full of competing desires. We love big cars, but we want them to be fuel efficient. We want to get in shape, but exercise is hard. Food is no exception here. Americans are trying to eat more fruits and vegetables these days, but surprise! We aren't quite ready to give up the indulgent foods we love.

4/8/2019

Breakfast for Dinner? The Blurring of Dayparts Continues

Breakfast foods aren't particularly rebellious most of the time—crispy fried eggs and buttery toast, pancakes stacked high, served with bacon and plenty of syrup.

2/13/2019

The Secret's in the Sauce

1/10/2019

That's Good, But Is It Instagram-worthy?

Here's some advice to help you make the most of this important social media spotlight.

10/17/2018

Roasted/Charring Menu Trends

Learn why roasting and charring are becoming this fall's hottest techniques.

10/1/2018

4 Hot Menu Trends for Fall 2018

As seasons change, so do the trends in foodservice. Thankfully, our Simplot Culinary Team was busy over the summer, pinpointing the latest menu trends and coming up with their own list of recommendations to help you stay on par with your off-campus competition.

8/1/2018

Plant-forward Takes Center Plate

Are you offering enough meat-free alternatives for your patrons?

7/12/2018

Loading Up Fries in a Whole New International Way

Maybe it started with the Canadian poutine, or the English gravy on chips, but whatever started the trend, you know loaded fries are here to stay!

6/12/2018