Snacks appeal
With over half of the population swapping meals for snacks, downsized portions are in demand. The fastest growing day part in restaurants is the afternoon snack period, Kruse said.
“In order to compete for snack business, a lot of the chains felt they needed to introduce special snack products,” she said.
An example in recent years was McDonald’s line of snack wraps, which were removed from menus after a short period due to low sales. A more successful promotion for the chain came earlier this year with the introduction of smaller and larger Big Mac options.
Consumers “have been interested in existing, well-known items that have been resized,” Kruse said.
Similarly, Firehouse Subs recently saw success with a new line of smaller subs after a lower-calorie menu failed to gain a following with customers. And at Au Bon Pain, sales of a petite plate line have more than doubled over the past year, with items featuring the components of the chain’s popular sandwiches without the bread.
“This is tapping into that demand for protein enriched snacks with very few calories,” Kruse said.
Another example of small plates comes, surprisingly, from the Cheesecake Factory, which is known for large portions. The chain serves such items as crispy Cuban rolls, Korean fried cauliflower and truffle-bacon grilled cheese sticks.
“The Cheesecake Factory has a booming snacks and small plates section on their menu,” Kruse said. “The key to their success with smaller plates (is putting) the same culinary attention and creativity into the small dishes as it does to the large.”
What’s next? In the spirit of beer and wine tastings, flights are taking off in food, allowing a shareable and customizable experience in sampling miniature pizzas, burgers, pies and more.
