More restaurants are shrinking their menus in an effort to maximize efficiency – and that places some extra pressure on each menu item to deliver on value and experience. If you’re struggling to cut popular menu items from your roster, is there an opportunity to combine complementary foods to create a memorable dish that guests aren’t likely to find elsewhere? Developing some hybrid dishes may help you retain the best features of several popular items in an appealing new format.

While inflation has been weakening in relation to where it was in the middle of 2022, it’s still proving to be stubborn. Although economists are cautiously optimistic that things are headed in the right direction, restaurant operators are still likely seeing guests react to the challenges on their wallets. But their responses likely differ by generation, according to research from Technomic – and that may impact how operators decide to promote their menu and market to these in-demand guests. In a recent podcast for Restaurant Business, Technomic’s Lori Rakoczy said younger consumers in Gen Z aren’t looking to cut out restaurant dining altogether in response to higher prices. What they will do is choose less expensive menu items across their preferred restaurant segment or even their preferred restaurant itself, and they will comparison shop for their favorite foods in third-party ordering platforms, which make it easy to find a cheaper burger in town. Knowing your breaking point on price will continue to be important to attracting this crowd – including considering point-of-sale data in relation to costs and studying how that is impacting traffic, as well as tracking the competition to better understand how their prices compare. For this generation, elevating their experience is about convenience. That means doubling down on digitally driven methods of ordering and pickup processes and minimizing wait times – such as making it seamless for them to order ahead but eat their meal in your dining room, or otherwise leaning on your digital tools to ensure you can get food to these guests at the time they are expecting it.

Yogurt is one of those menu superstars: It proves its worth across dayparts as a main ingredient, a supporting player, or as an invisible ingredient elevating the health of a dish. At a time when guests are more aware of their gut health, yogurt is also in-demand. In addition to featuring it more visibly in parfaits and smoothies, let it stand in for sour cream in dips, dressings, sauces and marinades. Or lean on it to lighten up pancakes, breads and cakes. It’s also ripe for experimentation on your dessert menu – try it as a frozen bark combined with fruit and nuts.

Adding depth, variety and global flavor to your menu can be as easy as changing up the rubs and marinades you use to prepare poultry, beef, pork and seafood. Whether you use a labor-saving pre-made marinade, or tap into ingredients like honey, red wine, bourbon or even coffee that you already have on hand, you can offer exciting options with minimal waste. In its annual What’s Hot forecast, the National Restaurant Association predicted that cuisine featuring the flavors of Southeast Asia, the Caribbean and South America would be on-trend. What ingredients in your pantry can you use in a rub or marinade to weave some global tastes into a wide range of dishes?

Pasta can feel like the ultimate winter comfort food – but it doesn’t have to be purely about indulgence. That’s never been more true now that there are so many pasta varieties that closely mimic the flavor and texture of traditional pasta while packing in extra nutrition. In addition to whole wheat pasta, consider protein-fortified options made from lentils and chickpeas, or fiber-rich soba noodles, to boost the health of your pasta dishes and provide some extra satisfaction to vegetarian guests.