 The pandemic ushered in significant (and seemingly permanent) changes to people’s working environments. According to Gallup research, 52 percent of employees in the U.S. work in hybrid offices or at home. This has caused a shift in not only where consumers are eating their meals, but to their eating habits themselves. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce reports that as consumers continue to spend more of their time in their suburban and rural neighborhoods, some restaurants have adjusted their growth plans and followed their guests there. At the same time, this shift to the suburbs has resulted in a broader spread of business throughout the day as opposed to rushes during mealtimes. It can be a disruptive transition. Less people are having take-away lunch at their desks and operators are having to think about keeping dining room space available to people eating at odd hours, as well as to guests coming in with baby strollers. For some, the imbalance of traffic across the day means having to have a mixed-use plan for their real estate that allows them to continue to make sales regardless of the ebb and flow of traffic in a suburban location. Staffing can present another challenge if restaurants are used to sharing workers across multiple urban locations and now have spread-out suburban stores to staff. That said, these locations are experiencing appealing growth – and by becoming a fixture in people’s neighborhoods, a business may be more able to become a valuable part of their family and social experiences. There is opportunity to build loyalty and benefit from partnerships with other local businesses that enrich the fabric of the community. If you’re investing more in suburban guests right now, what opportunities do you see to boost their experience with you, as well as build their loyalty?
 Nearly three-quarters of the U.S. food supply is ultra-processed, according to new research published by Northeastern University’s Network Science Institute, and these foods generate a higher risk of developing a variety of health problems. Consumer awareness is growing around the connection between ultra-processed foods and poor health. This could well have an impact on the dining choices of those who have grown more health-conscious in recent years, since conventional wisdom says the best way to ensure you’re consuming a healthy diet is to prepare your meals yourself. But that doesn’t have to be the case. More foodservice suppliers are looking to support consumer interest in healthy lifestyles while providing the taste and variety that can make nutritious eating easier to maintain – so there is significant opportunity for foodservice operators here. U.S. Foods, for one, has an “unpronounceables list” of 80 ingredients they avoid or replace in the foods they develop for select foodservice clients. The list contains items such as artificial colors or flavors, nitrites and nitrates, and high-fructose corn syrup. “This appeals to many of our customers looking for products that are produced with clean-label profiles similar to what they might make themselves back of house,” said Stacey Kinkaid, U.S. Foods vice president of product development, in an interview with Food Business News. The company uses the AI-supported e-commerce portal MOXe to suggest ingredients that suit the evolving preferences of their clients’ guests, so it is likely to become easier for foodservice operators to find ingredients and substitutes that meet their need for minimally processed menus.
 Limited-time offers can revive guest excitement about your restaurant: According to the director of menu research and insights at Technomic, 52 percent of consumers say the availability of an appealing LTO is important to them when they are deciding which restaurant to visit. Restaurants have responded, with LTOs spiking 46 percent at both quick-service and full-service restaurants. But LTOs aren’t necessarily easy to execute. The quality of the planning behind them can help ensure you’re offering not only the kinds of options that your guests will crave, but also ones that help you minimize pain points and maximize opportunities in your business. Here are some questions to ask as you develop new potential concepts: How can you connect this offer to the time of year, or to what’s happening in the world? How can you make it feel exclusive, so guests know they won’t find this offer elsewhere? What about this LTO will pique someone’s interest when they see it on a social media post? What time frame and marketing approach will best motivate people to buy from you right now? How can you use more of the ingredients you would most like to include – and avoid those you don’t? What pain points – e.g., complicated prep – do you want to avoid? How can you use your guest data to craft offers that speak to them? (Technomic found that younger consumers tend to be more willing to try new LTOs, for example, while older consumers tend to lean toward nostalgic tastes.) Finally, how can you mine your guest data to make sure your offer is getting traction – and apply those lessons when developing future offers?
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