SYNEAR FOODS USA’s Post

Cost influencing dining habits? 🍽️🏷️ The shift towards home-cooked meals is on the rise, mirroring the surge in opting for budget-friendly meat cuts. 🏠🥩 Will you embrace the trend and cook at home more? #HomeCooking #BudgetFriendlyOptions #dinnerathome

Are fast-food giants feeling the pinch? McDonald's recent sales decline reflects a growing trend: consumers are rethinking their dining habits as prices soar. 🍳 As a result, many people are turning to home cooking, discovering both the joy and savings it can bring! Are rising restaurant costs encouraging you to explore your kitchen? You're not alone! Here's why intentional cooking at home is becoming the smart choice: • Save money on meals • Control ingredients and portions • Develop a valuable life skill • Enjoy quality time with family 🔗 Dive deeper into McDonald's sales trends here:  McDonald's Sales Decline (https://lnkd.in/eeipquuy) 👨🍳 Ready to transform your kitchen experience? Check out my 7 Core Principles of Intentional Cooking with tips and tricks for mindful, budget-friendly cooking and Transform Your Kitchen Experience (https://lnkd.in/eqFmgufr) What's your go-to budget-friendly recipe? Share in the comments and let's inspire each other! #IntentionalCooking #MindfulLiving #SaveMoney #CookAtHome

QSR: Facing new times... Fast-casual comeback, promotions (that emphasized value), innovation and ...bankruptcies.Take your pick! But, don't forget: “There’s a lot more competition with grocery and other food retailers”. “That’s where most of the competition is, particularly for that lower- to middle-income consumer.”. Also, don't undervalue "fast-casual" (do not confuse "fast" with "dining") and..."beware of Chicken". "Enjoy your feast"!! #qsr #fastcasual #value #promotions #competition #retail https://lnkd.in/dAg3jzRV

“High-income consumers helped Chipotle Mexican Grill, Wingstop and Sweetgreen report strong sales this quarter, bucking the broader consumer slowdown that’s been hurting other eateries.” “As a whole, the restaurant industry has seen sales slump and traffic decline as customers pull back their spending. McDonald’s, Starbucks and KFC owner Yum Brands were among the restaurant companies that reported a weak start to 2024.” “Fast-casual chains appear to be the exception to the trend. The sector saw higher traffic growth than any other dining sector from November to February, according to GuestXM data.” “In general, customers of fast-casual chains tend to have higher incomes than those of the fast-food sector, insulating the segment somewhat from low-income consumers’ spending pullback. High-income consumers haven’t felt the same pinch as those in lower-income brackets.” “Investors had already been betting that fast-casual chains would be an outlier in consumers’ eatery spending. Shares of Chipotle, Shake Shack and Wingstop have all risen at least 35% in 2024. And Sweetgreen’s stock has doubled in value in the same time, excluding its 34% increase on Friday alone. For comparison, the S&P 500 has risen roughly 9% so far this year.” - Amelia Lucas

The rise in labor costs in California as a primary reason for higher restaurant prices only carries so much weight. Prices were up elsewhere 0.3% yoy. From this piece by Alicia Kelso is a cyclical response but a boon to these channels: “A lot of people are starting to shop across other channels. More are going to value grocers, like Aldi, more are going to c-stores. More are going to dollar stores,” he said. “You are seeing some channel shifts, particularly among low-income consumers.” #foodservice #cstores #laborcosts #restaurants

Have QSR menu price increases hit a tipping point? The newest data offered by Bloomberg indicates just that. Due to different market pressures such as inflation or wage increases (California), the gap in price between fast food and fast casual menus has become small enough that consumers are making a shift towards healthier options like sweetgreen, CAVA, or Chipotle Mexican Grill. Over the last four years, the number of Fast Casual Restaurants has grown twice as fast as their QSR counterparts. In 2024 alone, CAVA's stock price went up 96%, and all eyes are going to be on their earnings report next week. In an attempt to bring back some of these clients brands are starting to offer more price-conscious menu like McDonald's new $5 meal option, or Roll Em Up® Taquitos new initiative to provide meals you can purchase with a $10 bill. This is not necessarily a grand revelation, pricing has been at the forefront of mind of franchisors, franchisees, and consumers for quite some time. While the easiest fix would be to lower prices, that is simply not possible in today's economy. If anything we're only going to see prices rise further. QSR brands are going to have to get creative with how they work to bring back some of those customers who have left for a Fast Casual experience or have chosen to go back to the grocery store. Would love to hear some feedback on what you've seen brands doing to combat the consumer v. menu board battle going on today! #franchise #menuprices #inflation #fastcasual #QSR https://lnkd.in/eQdySz82

5 Things to Know - Thing 5) Restaurant Sales are Down: DKI Takeaway: This isn’t even close to a disaster yet, but updated menus (with updated prices) have been a recurring trend over the past few years. Higher prices are driving customers to cook more at home. A clear indicator of this shift was seen in Walmart's $WMT earnings, which showed growth in their grocery sector due partly to the rising costs of restaurant food including at fast food/quick-service restaurants. While sales are still historically high, inflation is a contributing factor to recent relative weakness. As we pointed out in last week’s 5 Things, inflation is a benefit to the wealthy, who are less affected by food costs, while the less affluent face greater challenges.

In the restaurant industry, dynamic pricing is often characterized as unfair and tends to be associated with price gouging. But positioning it as “smart pricing”—adjusting rates based on competitor actions, supply chain costs, or other data—may make it a strategic way to boost profitability. Demonstrating transparency and showing customers the value of these price changes could differentiate dynamic pricing from surge pricing, but ultimately, consumer mindset may already skew away from any not-set pricing regardless. What are your thoughts? Would a rebrand of dynamic pricing change consumer sentiment, or is the model itself an issue? #DynamicPricing #SurgePricing #RestaurantTrends #Restaurants