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A closer look at the menu trends that are driving traffic across all segments

During Restaurants Rise powered by MUFSO, expert Nancy Kruse presented a look at bankable menu strategies for the pandemic

Nancy Kruse, President

October 28, 2020

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During the COVID pandemic, menus have become a primary way for restaurateurs to reach consumers. Chefs have stepped up their game.

During a presentation at Restaurants Rise powered by MUFSO, menu trend analyst Nancy Kruse presented her annual State of the Plate, this year focusing on bankable menu strategies that are driving traffic across all segments.

This year’s trends include vegetable entrees, such as riced cauliflower as a base at fast-casual taco chain Dos Toros; international foods and flavors, such as Crispy Korean Corn Dogs at new restaurant Stix in San Francisco; and grocery-inspired meals, such as casual-dining chain Lazy Dog’s line of TV dinners.

Take a closer look at examples of these trends in this gallery.

Nancy Kruse, President of the Kruse Company, is a menu trends analyst based in Atlanta. As one of LinkedIn’s Top 100 Influencers in the U.S., she blogs regularly on food-related subjects on the LinkedIn website. Watch Kruse’s presentation here, and read about it here.

Title sponsors for MUFSO include the Coca-Cola Company, PepsiCo foodservice and Johnsonville Foodservice.

About the Author

Nancy Kruse

President, The Kruse Company

Nancy Kruse is a nationally recognized authority and widely quoted expert on food and menu trends. As founder and president of The Kruse Company in Atlanta, Georgia, she tracks the trends and reports on hot-button issues in both the restaurant and supermarket industries.

 A prolific food writer, Nancy is a contributor to Nation’s Restaurant News and Restaurant Hospitality magazines. In demand as a speaker, she regularly addresses restaurant associations, major supermarket and restaurant companies, food manufacturers and promotion boards both here and abroad.

Prior to founding her own company, she served as executive vice president for Technomic, Inc., where she conducted a wide range of consulting assignments for Fortune 500 food and restaurant companies. 

Nancy earned a Master of Arts degree from the Film School of Northwestern University, and she was a Woodrow Wilson fellow in Russian literature at the University of Wisconsin. She has also completed coursework at the Culinary Institute of America, where she has served as guest lecturer. And she has been named one of the Top 100 Influencers in the US by business-networking site LinkedIn.  

 

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