Foodservice Snack and Dessert Trends in the U.S.

Snacking trends intersect with some of the foodservice industry’s most important challenges, which is why cracking the snacking code has become a necessity. But while much attention has been made of consumer snacking trends, and while foodservice operators now roll out new snackable items almost daily, Packaged Facts estimates that usage of “snacks” at restaurants had held relatively stable during 2005-09, and we forecast similar results for 2010 and 2011.
But the devil is in the details. With their low price points, high portability, and upselling potential, snacking strategies can boost mid-morning and mid-afternoon sales; drive guest traffic; and leverage on-site upselling to higher-priced items or bundled meals. The bottom line is that snacking strategies can not only help operators address incremental “true snacking” occasions, but they can also use snackable items as carrots to entice customers to purchase more food and beverages—and give consumers highly portable food options in the bargain.
Snack and Dessert Trends in the U.S. Foodservice Market provides needed insight into the consumer snacking decision-making process; snacking menu pricing and product trends; and foodservice snacking sales (by restaurant segment and by demographic), helping industry participants position themselves accordingly.
With proprietary consumer research laying the foundation, the report analyses consumer attitudes and behaviors influencing foodservice snacking behavior. Themes addressed include where and how snacks are eaten, how the snacking purchase decision relates to consumer activity and routine, and consumer hunger and health purchase motivations. The report also assesses “consumer dessert influencers,” factors that play into the decision to order restaurant dessert during the dinner hour. Themes addressed include dessert formats and purchase incentives; and desserts as conditional options which assesses the influence of cost, satiation and calorie considerations on the purchase decision). As part of this analysis, we detail snacking usage according to restaurant type and to prepared foods use at convenience stores and grocery stores.
We also analyze the snacking patterns and restaurant preferences of five Snacking Lifestyle groups: Carefree Snackers; Fast Food Slighting Hurried Healthy Snackers; Hurried Healthy Snackers; Calorie-Conscious Small Mealers; and Healthy Calorie-Conscious Snackers. With this analysis, restaurants can tailor their incentives to fit the purchasing patterns of these important groups.
Snack and Dessert Trends in the U.S. Foodservice Market also analyzes leading snack-centric restaurant brands, including menu strategies and new menu item introductions; core users; snacking tendencies; food, diet and health attitudes; and trended sales metrics.
The report also includes “Share of stomach” snack and nonalcoholic beverage sales analysis, which includes 5-year sales trends for the fast food/quick-service restaurant and full-service restaurant segments, with forecasts for 2010 and 2011; guest traffic frequency analysis of leading snack-centric restaurant brands, giving a directional perspective on current sales trends; and trended snack and nonalcoholic beverage sales analysis by demographic, including 4-year sales historical sales trends and spending according to key demographics, such as age, income, region, and race/ethnicity.
- Chapter 1: Executive Summary
- Scope and Methodology
- Scope
- Methodology
- Consumer survey methodology
- Market size and forecast
- Consumer restaurant expenditure trending
- Terminology
- Macroeconomic Analysis
- Fast Facts
- Restaurant Usage & Outlook Tracker
- Fast Facts
- Share of Stomach: Sales Analysis
- Fast facts
- Snacking Trends, Innovations & Strategies
- Snacking Menu Item Analysis
- Snacking Behavioral Analysis
- Fast facts
- Snacking Lifestyle Groups
- Fast facts
- Restaurant Dessert Influencers
- Fast facts
- Snacking on the Menu: Restaurant Brand Analysis
- Starbucks
- Dunkin’ Donuts
- Jamba Juice
- Chapter 2: Macroeconomic Analysis
- Restaurant sales rally fizzles; long slog ahead
- Restaurant industry sales dip in June; future weakness likely
- Spending upturn hinges on consumers with strong balance sheets
- Upturn to benefit casual restaurants at expense of family and fast food/QSR players
- Non-discretionary spending a recession rule
- But affluent may help drive growth in discretionary spend
- Packaged Facts’ Consumer Restaurant Tracker: gloomy near-term outlook
- In-home breakfast and dinner trend remains significant
- Bagging lunch, breakfast and snacks taking a bite out of restaurant sales?
- Graph 2-1: Consumer Restaurant Tracker: Current Behavior: A Top Line View
- Looking ahead: saving & grocery spending trumps limited-service and full-service restaurant spend
- Graph 2-2: Consumer Restaurant Tracker: Next 3 Months: A Top Line View
- February to June food services & drinking places monthly sales sequentially improve
- Full-service restaurants get shot in the arm, shift momentum away from grocery
- Graph 2-3: Monthly Sales, 12-Month % Change, Grocery Stores & Food Services & Drinking Places, Full-Service Restaurants and Limited-Service Eating Places, 2009-2010
- But month-to-month spending trends suggest restaurant and food retail pullback
- Graph 2-4: Monthly Sales, Month-to-Month % Change, Grocery Stores & Food Services & Drinking Places, Full-Service Restaurants and Limited-Service Eating Places, 2009-2010
- Restaurant Performance Index contracts for second straight month
- Graph 2-5: Restaurant Performance Index, Monthly Metrics, 2006-2010
- Macroeconomic factors shaping restaurant sales
- Consumer confidence? No, not really
- Present Situation Index decreases as perceptions of job prospects continue to darken
- Expectations Index weighed down by dimmer outlook on job prospects
- Unemploymentrate stagnates
- Some perspective:
- Graph 2-6: UnemploymentRate and Consumer Confidence: 2007-2010
- By demographic, unemployment rates settle into troughs
- Disparity in unemployment rates by education level
- Young adults, minorities and men also find harder going
- Graph 2-7: Unemployment Rate, Selected Demographics, 2007-2010
- Graph 2-8: Unemployment Rate, by Race/Ethnicity, 2007-2010
- How can increasing personal savings and reducing the debt burden be bad?
- Households continue to repair their balance sheets
- Graph 2-9: Consumer Debt Burden, 2000-2010
- Graph 2-10: Savings Rate & Debt Service Ratio & Financial Obligations Ratio, 2007-2010
- Unemployment and GPD forecast: expect recovery to take several years
- Slow employment rebound to coincide with a slowrebound in consumer spending
- Graph 2-11: Unemployment and GDP Forecast, 2010-12
- Stock & housing declines deflate household wealth; rebound to record 2006 levels a long way off
- Q1 2009 to Q1 2010 sees uptick in household wealth, but still $10 trillion off 2006 high
- Graph 2-12: Household Net Worth, 2005-10
- Case-Shiller and FOMC housing pessimism
- Q2 2010 summary equities analysis
- Graph 2-13: Wealth Effect: Wilshire 5000 and Case Shiller Composite-20 Index: 2007-2010
- Food at home maintains pricing edge
- Graph 2-14: CPI: Food at Home vs. Food Away from Home, 2005-2010
- Graph 2-15: CPI: Food at Home vs. Food Away from Home, 2005-2010
- Food inflation forecast remains muted
- CPI forecast for food at home and food away from home
- Commodities pricing analysis
- Intermediate foods and feeds index dips during Q1 2010
- Prepared animal feed prices lead decline
- Dairy product index falls after Q4 2009 hike
- Finished consumer foods rise
- Crude foodstuffs and feedstuffs rise tapers from Q4 2009 pop
- Chapter 3: Restaurant Usage & Outlook Tracker
- Note on reading charts
- Packaged Facts’ Consumer Restaurant Tracker: At-home food spend trumps out-of-home spend
- February 2010 trend continues in June 2010
- Food retail snacks to benefit?
- Graph 3-1: Consumer Restaurant Tracker: Current Behavior: A Top Line View
- Looking ahead: Consumers more likely to pack a lunch, breakfast or snack
- Pack a snack?
- Graph 3-2: Consumer Restaurant Tracker: Next 3 Months: A Top Line View
- Planned spending on snacking stronghold sends mixed signals
- Graph 3-3: Consumer Restaurant Tracker: Future Behavior: Fast Food Restaurant Spending
- Intention to save money remains high
- Graph 3-4: Consumer Restaurant Tracker: Future Behavior: Saving Money
- Restaurant usage and usage frequency
- Overview
- February 2010 to June 2010 mean use comparison
- Graph 3-5: Mean Restaurant Usage in Last Month, by Restaurant Type, 2010
- Graph 3-6: Restaurant Usage in Last Month, by Restaurant Type, 2010
- Males drive mean use
- Table 3-1: Mean Restaurant Usage in Last Month, by Restaurant Type, 2010, by Gender
- Graph 3-7: Restaurant Usage in Last Month, by Restaurant Type, by Gender, 2010
- 18-34s continue to drive guest counts
- Table 3-2: Mean Restaurant Usage in Last Month, by Restaurant Type, 2010, by Age
- 18-34s exhibit higher usage
- Key smoothie shop and street stand users
- Graph 3-8: Restaurant Usage in Last Month, by Restaurant Type, 2010, by Age
- HH income: fast food enjoys egalitarian status
- Table 3-3: Mean Restaurant Usage in Last Month, by Restaurant Type, 2010,
- by HH Income
- Graph 3-9: Restaurant Usage in Last Month, by Restaurant Type, 2010, by HH Income
- Employment status: having a job pays the bills but also fits restaurant lifestyle
- Table 3-4: Mean Restaurant Usage in Last Month, by Restaurant Type, 2010,
- by Employment Status
- Full-time workers and students also compare favorably regarding overall usage
- Graph 3-10: Restaurant Usage in Last Month, by Restaurant Type, 2010,
- by Employment Status
- Restaurant snacking use
- Technically speaking, restaurant snacking visits are a drop in the bucket
- But a very important driver for incremental sales and upselling
- Graph 3-11: Day Part Usage on Last Visit, 2010
- Restaurant snacking use in past month
- Note on reading charts in this section
- Convenience stores and snacking a natural fit
- Graph 3-12: Restaurant Snacking Usage in Last Month, Type of Restaurant, 2010
- Gender snacking differences hinge on impulse, efficiency and affordability
- Graph 3-13: Restaurant Usage in Last Month for a Snack, 2010, by Gender
- HH income
- Graph 3-14: Restaurant Usage in Last Month for a Snack, 2010, by HH Income
- Employment status a key differentiator
- Graph 3-15: Restaurant Usage in Last Month for a Snack, 2010, by Employment Status
- Chapter 4: Share of Stomach: Snacking Sales Analysis
- Market size and overview
- Snacking usage trends stable over time
- Table 4-1: Restaurant Snacking Usage,by Restaurant Type, 2005-10
- 18-24s hop on snacking trend
- Table 4-2: Restaurant Snacking Usage,18-24s, by Restaurant Type, 2005-10
- Near-term challenges
- Long-term outlook
- Graph 4-1: Snack and non-alcoholic beverage sales:
- limited-service and full-service restaurants, 2005-2011
- Graph 4-2: Snack and non-alcoholic beverage sales, % change:
- limited-service and full-service restaurants, 2006-2011
- Snacks still take a small bite out of food sales
- Graph 4-3: Food at Home versus Food Away from Home Daypart Spend
- Fast food owns the restaurant snacking space
- Graph 4-4: Snack & Beverage Expenditures: Fast Food, Full-Service,
- Vending Machines & Cafeterias
- Restaurants sales trends by daypart
- Consumer food expenditure trends suggest migration to food at home spend
- Table 4-3: Consumer Food Expenditures, 2005-08
- Snack & beverage share of spend remains steady
- Table 4-4: Meals Away From Home Expenditures,by Daypart, 2005-08
- Consistent ratio of snack expenditures to food expense and restaurant expense
- Table 4-5: Snack & Beverage Expenditures: Selected Metrics &Fast Food, Full-Service, Vending Machines Cafeteria Spend, 2005-08
- Vending machines lose snacking traction
- Graph 4-5: Snack & Beverage Expenditures: Fast Food, Full-Service,
- Vending Machines & Cafeterias, 2005-08
- Western region snack spend champs; South lags
- Table 4-6: Snack & Beverage Expenditures: Selected Metrics &Fast Food, Full-Service, Vending Machines and Cafeteria Spend, by Region
- Youth drives snacking spend
- Table 4-7: Snack & Beverage Expenditures: Selected Metrics &Fast Food, Full-Service, Vending Machines and Cafeteria Spend, by Age
- Snacks linked to income
- But fast food share shifts
- Table 4-8: Snack & Beverage Expenditures: Selected Metrics &Fast Food, Full-Service, Vending Machines and Cafeteria Spend, by Income
- Race/ethnicity reveals significant differences in snack spend
- Table 4-9: Snack & Beverage Expenditures: Selected Metrics &Fast Food, Full-Service, Vending Machines and Cafeteria Spend, by Race/Ethnicity
- Snack & Nonalcoholic Beverage Guest Traffic Analysis
- Frequency counts: definition
- Starbucks loses high-frequency guests & guest share; Dunkin’ gains; Jamba mixed
- Table 4-10: Guest Traffic: Limited-Service Restaurants, Selected Snacking Players, 2008-10
- Chapter 5: Snacking Trends, Innovations & Strategies
- Let’s Snack!
- Three or more snacks a day?
- Snack timing: morning and afternoon routine
- Restaurants respond with snackable options
- What restaurants are doing
- What retail is doing
- Mini size that!
- Movement driven by multiple factors
- What restaurants are doing
- What retail is doing
- Snacking & affordability
- Retail snacks as meal substitutes
- Healthy indulgence
- Snacks as culprits
- Health versus taste
- Salty snacks
- Gender issues
- What restaurants are doing
- What retail is doing
- On-the-go portability and convenience
- What restaurants are doing
- Impulse
- What restaurants are doing
- Culinary exploration
- What restaurants are doing
- What Retail Is Doing
- Comfort foods
- What restaurants are doing
- Private label opportunities
- Snacking and sociability
- What Retail Is Doing
- Sustainability
- What Retail Is Doing
- Appendix: sources
- Chapter 6: Snacking Menu Item Analysis
- Introduction
- Get them through the door
- Why snacking? Low cost, portability, driving traffic and building guest checks
- Operators report growth by snacking daypart
- QSR and FSR snackable items are different animals
- The rise of the snackwich
- Graph 6-1: Snackwich Timeline, 2005-10
- Burger, chicken and sub variations
- When a snack is not a snack: bundling snacks to rope in additional sales
- Happy Hour and late-night
- Small plates
- Chapter 7: Snacking Behavioral Analysis
- Note on reading charts
- Snacking behavioral analysis
- Overview
- Graph 7-1: Restaurant Snacking Influencers, 2010
- Gender differences: health, quick consumption and time of day
- Table 7-1: Restaurant Snacking Influencers, by Gender, 2010
- Age
- Table 7-2: Restaurant Snacking Influencers, by Age, 2010
- HH income
- Table 7-3: Restaurant Snacking Influencers, by Age, 2010
- Employment status
- Table 7-4: Restaurant Snacking Influencers, by Employment Status, 2010
- Urban, Suburban, or Rural location
- Table 7-5: Restaurant Snacking Influencers, Urban, Suburban or Rural, 2010
- Chapter 8: Snacking Lifestyle Groups
- Trended snacking & health behaviors and attitudes: 2007-10
- Table 8-1: Trended Snacking & Health Behaviors and Attitudes, 2007-10
- Meet the Snacking Lifestyle Groups
- Demographic analysis
- Table 8-2: Snacking Lifestyle Groups, Selected Demographics, 2010
- Restaurant preferences
- Carefree Snackers
- Calorie-Conscious Small Mealers
- Healthy Calorie-Conscious Snackers
- Hurried Healthy Snackers
- Fast Food Slighting Hurried Healthy Snackers
- Table 8-3: Snacking Lifestyle Groups, Restaurant Use, By Type, 2010
- Chapter 9: Restaurant Dessert Influencers
- Restaurant dessert influencers
- Graph 9-1: Restaurant Dessert Influencers, Dinner, 2010
- Gender
- Table 9-1: Restaurant Dessert Influencers, by Gender, 2010
- Age
- Table 9-2: Restaurant Dessert Influencers, by Age, 2010
- HH income
- Table 9-3: Restaurant Dessert Influencers, by HH Income, 2010
- Employment status
- 9-4: Restaurant Dessert Influencers, by Employment Status, 2010
- Urban, suburban, or rural location
- Table 9-5: Restaurant Dessert Influencers,Urban, Suburban or Rural, 2010
- Chapter 10: Snacking on the Menu: Restaurant Brand Analysis
- Snacking Lifestyles: Brand Competitive Analysis
- Meet the psychographic groups
- Snacker brand analysis
- Table 10-1: Snacking Lifestyle Groups: Starbucks, Dunkin’ Donuts
- and Jamba Juice
- Starbucks Corporation
- Revenue mix shows food trending upward
- Table 9-2: Starbucks, Revenue Mix by Product Type, 2009
- Recession response
- Menu pricing strategies and customer incentives
- My Starbucks Rewards gains traction
- iPhone apps and free wi-fi; what could be next?
- Customizable Frappuccino to assuage calorie critics?
- Expanding with VIA, Seattle’s Best and new retail formats
- Starbucks users, Starbucks snackers?
- Table 10-3: Starbucks Users: Restaurant Usage by Daypart and Restaurant Type
- Starbucks core users
- Table 10-4: Starbucks Users: Selected Demographics
- Starbucks guests: food adventurousness and fast food practicality
- Table 10-5: Starbucks Users: Food, Health and Diet Attitudes
- A same-store sales turnaround worthy of celebration
- Table 10-6: Starbucks, Selected Metrics, 2007-09
- Q2 2010 brings good news
- Table 10-7: Starbucks, Selected Quarterly Metrics, 2009 and 2010
- Dunkin’ Donuts
- 2009-10 menu strategy
- Expanding breakfast value menu in selected markets
- Table 10-8: Dunkin’ Donuts “Breakfast not BROKEfast” Dollar Breakfast Menu
- Sandwiches and wraps in the testing phase
- Table 10-9: Dunkin’ Donuts Test Market New Items
- Rolling through summer with new and limited-time offers
- Bagel Twists, Wake-Up Wrap aimed squarely at snackers
- Table 10-10: Dunkin’ Donuts Spring & Summer 2010 New and Limited-Time Offers
- Dunkin’ Donuts: egalitarian while attracting the affluent
- Table 10-11: Dunkin’ DonutsUsers: Selected Demographics
- Positive fast food attitudes
- Table 10-12: Dunkin’ Donuts Users: Food, Health and Diet Attitudes
- Dunkin’ Donuts: snacker central?
- Table 10-13: Dunkin’ Donuts Users: Restaurant Usage by Daypart and Restaurant Type
- Sales per store dip
- Table 10-14: Dunkin’s Donuts, Selected Metrics, 2007-09
- Jamba Juice Company
- Menu overview
- The BLEND Plan
- Menu innovation
- Away from smoothies
- And expanding smoothies, too
- Feel Good Special, anyone?
- Consumer product expansion
- Jamba Juice user restaurant snacking tendencies
- Table 10-15: Jamba Juice Users: Restaurant Usage by Daypart
- and Restaurant Type
- Jamba users: young!
- Table 10-16: Jamba Juice Users: Selected Demographics
- A health-fueled bunch
- Table 10-17: Jamba Juice Users: Food, Health and Diet Attitudes
- Down go same-store sales
- Table 10-18: Jamba Juice, Selected Metrics, 2007-09
- Could a turnaround be in sight?
- Table 10-19: Jamba Juice, Selected Quarterly Metrics, 2009 and 2010