Clean and simple

Until recently, Kruse said, “the whole health issue in our industry was at a low simmer.”

Today, consumers perceive free-from foods as a foundation of a healthy, balanced lifestyle, she said. Citing Mintel data, Kruse said 84 percent of consumers seek more natural, less processed foods, and 59 percent agree foods with fewer ingredients are healthier.

“From my point of view as a trend watcher, this is the No. 1 single biggest trend of the past decade, hands down,” Kruse said. “What has been surprising to me about this trend is the velocity with which is has moved through our industry. It used to be a fringe issue, and it’s as if the switch were flipped, and it swept through with remarkable rapidity.”

McDonald’s Corp., for example, has in recent months announced a series of menu changes and commitments, which have included a transition to cage-free eggs and the removal of artificial preservatives from Chicken McNuggets. More recently, the fast-food chain said it has eliminated artificial flavors in its vanilla soft-serve.

Beyond the well-publicized actions of Panera Bread and Chipotle Mexican Grill to remove artificial ingredients from menu items, many other national restaurant brands are pledging similar moves. Fazoli’s, a fast-casual Italian chain with 220 units, announced the removal of 81 ingredients from its supply chain, and Denny’s introduced a new pancake recipe featuring four simple ingredients: eggs, flour, buttermilk and vanilla.

“This has just been a homerun for Denny’s,” Kruse said, adding that the launch lifted same-store sales and boosted orders for the brand.

The next phase in the clean menu movement, Kruse predicted, will be sourcing smaller chickens.

“The thinking is the hens lead longer healthier lives and therefore their meat is of a higher quality,” she said, adding that Wendy’s Co. and Subway have recently pledged to purchase smaller birds.