2021 Top Restaurant Trends
A Report from the National Restaurant Association
2020 was a year unlike any other for the foodservice industry. It tested the limits of operator innovation, accelerated trends, and confirmed that customers miss their restaurant experiences. The following food and menu trends release by the National Restaurant Association (NRA) didn’t offset the industry’s devastation; it’s down nearly $240 billion in sales and nearly 2.5 million employees are still out of work. But they do show restaurateurs’ resiliency, innovation and commitment. This report comes from surveys of 6,000 restaurant operators and 1,000 consumers.
Here are some of this report’s key findings:
1. Streamlined Menus
Last year, restaurants were forced to eliminate items from their menus that don’t boost sales in order to cut down on their cost of inventory. Many restaurants have found success by simplifying their menu options and removing items that are more expensive to produce and keep on-hand. These items had to travel well and be what customers craved. Expect menus to stay trimmed in coming months.
2. Off-premises Takes Precedence
Prior to the pandemic, 80% of full service restaurant traffic was on-premises. Then in March 2020, most restaurants were forced to shut down on-premises dining. In what’s likely the fastest pivot in industry history, focus quickly shifted to off premises, via takeout and delivery.
3. Blended Meals
Homebound, customers like to mix up meals—maybe make the main dish but order appetizers, sides or dessert from a restaurant. Millennials are especially big fans of the blended meal.
4. Bundled Meals? Considered Deals!
Why do any cooking? Customers’ restaurant choices can be influenced by the offer of a bundled meal that perhaps includes an appetizer, entrée and dessert in either family packs or for individual meals.
5. Meal Kits Make Cooking Fun
More than half of adults surveyed say they’d likely purchase a meal kit if it was offered by one of their favorite restaurants. That percentage rises to 75% for both millennials and Gen Z adults. Kits package pre-measured ingredients and instructions to make the restaurant meal at home.
6. Meal Subscriptions
Customers sign up to get meals during the month for pickup or delivery—at a discounted price. More than half of consumers surveyed say they’d sign up if their favorite places offered this option.
7. Selling Groceries
Seems like anything that saves a trip gets a thumbs up. More than half of consumers surveyed would buy groceries (fresh, uncooked food items such as meat, produce, dairy, bread or pasta) if restaurants offered them.
8. Alcohol-To-Go
A third of off premises customers (ages 21+) say they included an alcoholic beverage with a takeout or delivery order since the beginning of the COVID-19 outbreak, and they’ll continue to in the future.
9. Comfort Foods
Consumers say menus that offer a good selection of comfort foods influence their restaurant choice. From haute to homey, a third of fine dining operators surveyed are adding more comfort items—think burgers, pot pies, lasagna, soups, curries, sandwiches, pizza and noodle dishes.
10. Healthy and Diet-Specific Food
To the same degree the availability of comfort foods influences restaurant choice, so do healthful menu options. Diet-specific items (gluten-free, vegan, etc.) however, are less important right now.
This year, to identify what’s truly selling best during the pandemic, the NRA surveyed restaurant operators to find out their Top Menu Sellers right now. They indicated that consumers were looking for more tried-and-true rather than new. Demand from both full service and limited-service restaurants included:
The full 2021 Restaurant Trends Report is available for download at restaurant.org/research/reports.
Here are some of this report’s key findings:
1. Streamlined Menus
Last year, restaurants were forced to eliminate items from their menus that don’t boost sales in order to cut down on their cost of inventory. Many restaurants have found success by simplifying their menu options and removing items that are more expensive to produce and keep on-hand. These items had to travel well and be what customers craved. Expect menus to stay trimmed in coming months.
2. Off-premises Takes Precedence
Prior to the pandemic, 80% of full service restaurant traffic was on-premises. Then in March 2020, most restaurants were forced to shut down on-premises dining. In what’s likely the fastest pivot in industry history, focus quickly shifted to off premises, via takeout and delivery.
3. Blended Meals
Homebound, customers like to mix up meals—maybe make the main dish but order appetizers, sides or dessert from a restaurant. Millennials are especially big fans of the blended meal.
4. Bundled Meals? Considered Deals!
Why do any cooking? Customers’ restaurant choices can be influenced by the offer of a bundled meal that perhaps includes an appetizer, entrée and dessert in either family packs or for individual meals.
5. Meal Kits Make Cooking Fun
More than half of adults surveyed say they’d likely purchase a meal kit if it was offered by one of their favorite restaurants. That percentage rises to 75% for both millennials and Gen Z adults. Kits package pre-measured ingredients and instructions to make the restaurant meal at home.
6. Meal Subscriptions
Customers sign up to get meals during the month for pickup or delivery—at a discounted price. More than half of consumers surveyed say they’d sign up if their favorite places offered this option.
7. Selling Groceries
Seems like anything that saves a trip gets a thumbs up. More than half of consumers surveyed would buy groceries (fresh, uncooked food items such as meat, produce, dairy, bread or pasta) if restaurants offered them.
8. Alcohol-To-Go
A third of off premises customers (ages 21+) say they included an alcoholic beverage with a takeout or delivery order since the beginning of the COVID-19 outbreak, and they’ll continue to in the future.
9. Comfort Foods
Consumers say menus that offer a good selection of comfort foods influence their restaurant choice. From haute to homey, a third of fine dining operators surveyed are adding more comfort items—think burgers, pot pies, lasagna, soups, curries, sandwiches, pizza and noodle dishes.
10. Healthy and Diet-Specific Food
To the same degree the availability of comfort foods influences restaurant choice, so do healthful menu options. Diet-specific items (gluten-free, vegan, etc.) however, are less important right now.
This year, to identify what’s truly selling best during the pandemic, the NRA surveyed restaurant operators to find out their Top Menu Sellers right now. They indicated that consumers were looking for more tried-and-true rather than new. Demand from both full service and limited-service restaurants included:
- Burgers
- Pizza
- Chicken items
- Breakfast items
The full 2021 Restaurant Trends Report is available for download at restaurant.org/research/reports.