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Olive Garden rolls out more healthful kids’ menu

Drops milkshakes, French fries; adds smoothies, grapes

Olive Garden, the Italian-themed casual-dining chain, said Thursday it has rolled out an updated children’s menu that jettisons milkshakes and French fries in favor of fruit smoothies and grapes.

“While there are some new items, we’re continuing to offer many of the traditional favorites, creating greater variety and choice for our younger guests,” Heidi Schauer, Olive Garden media relations manager, told Nation’s Restaurant News.

Schauer said guest feedback drove the menu changes.

The fruit smoothies, which replace milkshakes on the menu, are a frozen blend of fruit puree and creamy non-fat yogurt. Priced at $2, they are available in three flavors: Strawberry, Wild Berry and Peach-Mango.

And while French fries may be gone from the kids’ menu, the chain said another finger food is available — grapes.

With the rollout of the new menu, Olive Garden, the 754-unit brand owned by Orlando, Fla.-based Darden Restaurants Inc., is looking to tap into more healthful dining trends.

The children’s menu alterations are part of a “larger overall trend toward healthier kids meals,” said Nancy Kruse, an Atlanta-based menu consultant and president of the Kruse Co.

“Olive Garden is being pre-emptive in making the type of changes it’s making. It puts them ahead of the pack as far as their willingness to offer healthier foods for kids,” Kruse said.

Kruse also said the Olive Garden’s menu changes for kids shows “there’s a certain amount of savvy kids’ menu development at work.”

She noted that while Olive Garden dropped French fries, the chain did replace that item with a “nutritionally better kids’ finger food that will keep kids engaged.”

Kruse also called the removal of the milkshake from the children’s menu and the addition of smoothies a “very smart move,” noting that while the milkshake and the smoothie “are cousins,” the smoothie is more contemporary and healthful.

She added: “They’re both cold, sweet and have bright colors that have kid appeal. The [change from the] milkshake to smoothie is not quantum leap, but a smart incremental step.”

Olive Garden also is focused on boosting sales. In May, the chain reported a 1.1-percent decrease in both same-store sales and traffic compared with the same month in 2010.

Contact Alan Snel at [email protected].
Follow him on Twitter: @AlanSnelNRN

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