MenuMine Trend

Mozzarella is the leading cheese on the American menu, as reflected by a 21% share of 36,000 menu items listing cheese as an ingredient.

Positive images of “Country” are responsible for selling a lot of meat, potatoes, gravy and eggs. One in five foodservice operators has at least one menu item with “Country” in the name or item description.

Asian cuisine in America includes Chinese, Japanese & Korean on the north end of the globe. Thai, Vietnamese, Indonesian, Malaysian and Indian further south and west. With many countries and hundreds of regions within those countries, it is a daunting task encapsulating Asian cuisine without resorting to geographical aids.

What's in a Name? A lot when it comes to California. Evoking a clear and pleasant image is an important part of the selling process. Menu development pros draw on perceptions of California to sell burgers, sandwiches, salads as well as the now ubiquitous California Roll.

In 2010, 61 leading chain restaurants added 421 breakfast items to the menu. One of every four items was a "temporary" Limited Time Offer (LTO) and three of four were "permanent" new items. Breakfast LTO's were mainly Hot Entrees and Baked Goods, while New Items were mainly Hot Entrees and Sandwiches, with a very good showing also for Breakfast Sides. (see table below).

On Independent Restaurant Menus, Potatoes of all kinds account for 44% of all carbs, according to MenuMine.

Pasta entrees make up one of every four Prepared Entrees. MenuMine, a service of Foodservice Research Institute, analyzed 15,000 prepared entrees from foodservice operations and was able to identify nine major food platforms, led by Pasta Platforms (30% share).

Sandwiches are way out ahead,  accounting for a 15% share of almost 3700 new items added to chain menus in the first 8 months of 2010.  MenuMine ® tracks new items and LTO's in 640 leading restaurant chains from all regions of the country.   Second in line of importance is Dessert (13% of new items) followed by Center of Plate Entrees (12%), Beverages (9%) and Breakfast Items (9%).

The average price of menu items using mushrooms in 2009 is $11.51, up from $10.75 in 2007.

There is a considerable difference in preparation and average prices between Center of Plate Entrees and Prepared Entrees. COP entrees include a whole cut protein, whether a chicken breast or tender, beef steak, pork chop, breaded shrimp or fish. The increased value of the protein results in a COP menu price ($14.00) that is $4 to $5 greater than a Prepared Entrée ($9.00).