Recent menu innovations have been particularly noticeable in the sandwich category, including Wendy’s Pretzel bacon cheeseburger, Subway’s limited-time Fiery Footlong collection, Taco Bell’s Waffle Taco, and McDonald’s Egg White Delight McMuffin, among other examples.
To be sure, menu innovation can be a key driver of success. In fact, in August 2013, Wendy’s reported that the price of its stock increased a whopping 42 percent in the month after it launched the Pretzel Bacon Cheeseburger on July 1.
In spite of all this innovation, data from Technomic’s 2014 Sandwich Consumer Trend Report shows that some consumers continue calling for more innovative sandwiches and sandwich ingredients. Below are a few data points that speak to this:
- A minority of consumers (42 percent) report that they usually eat the same type of sandwich every time they order one from a restaurant, indicating that most prefer some degree of variety in the sandwiches they select.
- A third of consumers (33 percent) say they are more likely to try new and unique flavours and ingredients on sandwiches than on other types of food.
- Twenty-nine percent of respondents want restaurants to offer more ethnic sandwiches.
- On average, 46 percent of the sandwiches that consumers eat are purchased away from home, down from 49 percent in 2012. Since sandwiches are easy to prepare, unique offerings and ingredients may help boost sales by enticing consumers to purchase a sandwich at a restaurant or other foodservice location versus preparing one at home. As operators and suppliers look to innovate, it will be vital to keep abreast of the latest sandwich trends.
Gordon Food Service is committed to delivering uncompromising quality, outstanding value and exceptional customer service. Gordon Food Service entered the Canadian market in 1994 and has grown into a national presence, distributing to foodservice operators coast to coast in Canada and throughout the Midwest and Eastern half of the United States.
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