Foodservice Industry

Industry Roundup

Baked Goods

Church's Chicken announces limited-time offering of its Texas-Sized Meal and Combo; the meal features three pieces of chicken, two regular sides, a honey butter biscuit and a jalapeno pepper; the combo includes a large drink
Business Wire (04/13)

Baja Fresh announces limited-time offering of new Birria Tacos and Dulce de Leche dipping sauce; the tacos are available a la carte or as part of a combo meal that includes chile beef consome, rice, and choice of black or pinto beans
PR Newswire (04/13)

Breakfast Foods

Kellogg's Eggo brand announces offering of new Eggo Grab & Go Liege-Style Waffles, the first-ever Eggo waffle that doesn't require a toaster; the handheld waffles come in Buttery Maple and Strawberry flavors, and can be eaten at room temperature
PR Newswire (04/12)

Kellogg announces successful reduction of the sodium content in its Special K cereal in the UK by 19.8%, in accordance with upcoming UK guidelines; move is also in line with Kellogg’s Wellbeing Manifesto for its European business unveiled last year
Industrial Baking & Snacks (04/12)

Coffee

Starbucks announces UK launch of new Forget-Me-Not Frappuccino, the coffee chain's first-ever beverage to be sold exclusively in a reusable cup; the beverage features orange and vanilla flavors, as well as orange and vanilla whipped cream
The Mirror (04/14)

Confectionery & Sweet Snacks

Total candy, mint and gum candy sales in the US during the seven-week Valentine's Day selling season reaches record US$4.1B this year, marking the first time such sales surpassed the US$4B mark, according to IRI data
Candy & Snack Today (04/14)

Mars Wrigley UK makes a 142-tonne reduction in packaging across its Easter Eggs and a six-tonne reduction in plastic this Easter; the business claims that 97% of its Easter Egg portfolio in the UK is now plastic-free
Packaging News (04/13)

Fried & Cooked Chicken

Del Taco updates its 20 Under US$2 menu to include three new Chicken Cheddar Rollers and the limited-time return of its Poppers drinks in new Pear Lemonade and Purple Pear Sprite flavors
Globe Newswire (04/14)

Smashburger announces offering of its new catering menu; items include Build-Your-Own Smashburger Bar, Build-Your-Own Smashburger Bar Variety Option, Crispy Chicken Tender Bar and Individual Boxed Meals
QSR Magazine (04/14)

Fries & Hot Sides

Scientists improve flavor of french fries by adding antioxidants rosemary, tert-butyl hydroquinone, L-ascorbyl palmitat to soybean frying oil; antioxidants inhibit degradation of desirable compounds, reduce generation of compounds that cause off-flavors
LWT - Food Science and Technology (04/14)

Taco Bell now offering its Steak White Hot Ranch Fries and Steak White Hot Ranch Fries Burrito across the US following testing in Chicago last year; menu items feature fries, steak, nacho cheese sauce, tomatoes, cheddar cheese, White Hot Ranch sauce
Chew Boom (04/14)

Fruits, Vegetables & Salads

Fitch forecasts food spending in Asia to grow 6.5% to US$3.7T in 2022, and to increase by average of 7.5% annually over 2022-2026 period to reach US$5.0T, boosted by outperforming growth in sales of fresh and preserved fruit
Fitch Solutions Sector Intelligence (04/14)

Fire breaks out at Taylor Farms' packaged salad plant in Salinas, California, prompting authorities to tell thousands of nearby residents to evacuate and to order tens of thousands more to stay inside their homes
Associated Press (04/14)

Hot Sandwiches, Wraps & Burgers

Burger King Thailand announces limited-time offerings of new Hashtag Burger and Hashtag Fries; burger features a flame-grilled 100% Australian beef patty topped with American cheese, mayo, BBQ sauce and Hashtag Fries on a toasted sesame seed bun
Chew Boom (04/13)

Burger King announces return of its US$5 Your Way Value Meal, consisting of a Double Whopper Jr. burger, four-piece chicken nuggets, small fries and a small drink
Chew Boom (04/13)

Ice Cream/Frozen Treats

Haagen-Dazs announces nationwide availability of its new City Sweets collection, available in five flavors: Dulce de Leche Churro, Coffee Chocolate Brownie, Chocolate Peanut Butter Pretzel, Summer Berry Cake Pop, and Black & White Cookie
PR Newswire (04/14)

Unilever Canada unveils its new frozen dessert offerings for 2022; the products include four new Magnum brand flavors, eight new Ben & Jerry's flavors, four new Breyers brand flavors, three new Wall's brand flavors and three new Popsicle brand flavors
Canada Newswire (04/13)

Pizzas

Prosecutors search Nestle's Buitoni frozen pizza factory in northern France because it's suspected source of an E. coli outbreak that's left dozens of children sick; investigation into involuntary manslaughter and deceitful practices was opened on April 1
Agence France-Presse (AFP) (04/13)

Papa John's announces limited-time offering of new Epic Pepperoni Stuffed Crust Pizza, available beginning April 25; Papa Rewards members can order the new menu item a week before it becomes widely available
Chew Boom (04/13)

Coffee Shops & Juice Bars

Starbucks announces in job posting that it's looking for a director of corporate counsel for labor with experience in 'strike contingency planning.' raising speculation that company is preparing to deal with labor unions
Business Insider (04/12)

Starbucks interim CEO Howard Schultz sends letter to employees saying company is going through a 'disruptive era' and that unions are 'aggressively sowing division' while 'attempting to sell a very different view of what Starbucks should be'
Nation's Restaurant News (04/12)

Quick Service Restaurants (QSR)

FAT Brands’ quick service division announces the signing of 20 new development deals totaling over 50 additional units, following the acquisition of Global Franchise Group last June
Globe Newswire (04/13)

Burger King Argentina announces offering of new Veggie King, which fast-food chain says emulates the taste of chicken; sandwich developed in conjunction with food technology NotCo, which develops vegetable alternatives to meat-based products
CE Noticias Financieras (04/13)

Fast-Casual Restaurants

Zaxby's announces appointment of Sharlene Smith as COO; Smith most recently served as VP of operations excellence for Papa John's North American division
Nation's Restaurant News (04/14)

Dickey's Barbecue announces opening of six US stores in March located in: Little Rock, Arkansas; Scottsdale, Arizona; Long Beach, California; Albuquerque, New Mexico; Willingboro, New Jersey; and La Porte, Texas
QSR Magazine (04/14)

Casual Dining Restaurants

Cracker Barrel announces limited-time offerings of meal deals for Easter, including Easter Prime Rib Heat n’ Serve Family Dinner, Easter Ham Heat n’ Serve Feast, Easter Ham Heat n’Serve Family Dinner and Heat n’Serve Three-Cheese Squash Casserole
Nation's Restaurant News (04/14)

Bob Evans Farms announces limited-time offerings of meal deals for Easter; the meal deals come in four varieties: Premium Farmhouse Feast, Pot Roast Farmhouse Feast, Easter Celebration Platter and Eastern Celebration Family Meal
Nation's Restaurant News (04/14)

Dining At Home/Home-Cooking

Albertsons CEO says grocery shoppers are becoming 'more entrenched' in behavior that arose during pandemic due to rise in inflation, driven by high gas prices; behaviors include limiting shopping trips to save on gas, larger basket sizes, eating at home
Quartz (04/13)

Study finds during first lockdown of COVID-19 pandemic, consumers across 16 countries had notably lower concern with convenience attributes of foods, alongside increase in time and efforts dedicated to home cooking compared to pre-pandemic
Food Quality and Preference (04/12)

Foodservice Packaging

Savannah Business Downtown Assn. in Georgia to introduce aluminum to-go cups to the city this summer, and is calling for local artists to submit artwork; selected artist will receive US$1,000 and their design featured on over 50,000 aluminum cups
Savannah Morning News (04/13)

Sabert launches new range of recyclable paper cutlery made from FSC certified paper; range delivers high performance in terms of rigidity, cut quality and resistance, has performance that is ‘very close to plastic cutlery,’ says marketing manager
Packaging News (04/12)

On-Demand Local Delivery

Wegmans Food Markets begins accepting SNAP EBT payments for Instacart online grocery orders across all 106 locations; company says move increases accessibility to its products, helps people live healthier
Supermarket News (04/14)

Online groceries down 6% in March to US$8.7M from record US$9.3B last year; pickup sales fall 11% to US$3.8B from US$4.3B with average order value down 4%, while delivery up 20% to US$3.5B from US$2.9B with order value up 7%: Bricks Meets Click/Mercatus
Talk Business (04/12)

Payment Systems

Amazon CEO Andy Jassy says retail business is 'not close' to adding cryptocurrency as a payment option, CNBC reports; however, he says it might be possible to sell NFTs on the platform
Reuters (04/14)

Hygiene products manufacturer Zaimella USA will now offer 10% discount on its baby diapers when paid with Bitcoin, effective May 1; company sees virtual currencies and blockchain technologies as ways to eliminate wasteful steps and transaction costs
PR Newswire (04/12)

Food & Beverage Distributors

Save A Lot names Trey Johnson as chief merchandising officer to oversee merchandising and quality assurance, grow relationships with partners, vendors; Johnson brings over 30 years of experience at companies including Big Lots, Family Dollar, Walmart
Supermarket News (04/14)

US Foods issues its 2021 Corporate Social Responsibility Report; highlights include offering more than 2,300 products across its local, sustainable and well-being offerings, and continuing to uphold the company's sustainable seafood goal
Business Wire (04/14)

Restaurants

Wingstop announces offering of limited-edition Blazed & Glazed flavor from April 18-22; Blazed & Glazed features a combination of ingredients including terpene, hemp seeds, strawberry and cayenne pepper
Chew Boom (04/14)

Fazoli's announces limited-time offering of new Lasagna & Fettuccine Bake to its 5 Under US$5 menu; menu item is a baked pasta dish that combines creamy fettuccine and meat lasagna covered with mozzarella and provolone cheeses, and then baked
Chew Boom (04/13)

McDonald's China announces limited-time offering of new Triple Cheese Angus Thick Beef Burger, featuring Angus beef patties, three cheese slices, cheese sticks and cheese sauce
McDonald's Corp. (04/13)

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