DALLAS —Burgers may be hot right now, but desserts are hotter, according to Technomic.
In a recent poll, 85 percent of respondents said that they eat desserts once a month or more, which is the same amount of times they consume hamburgers, and 0 percent said they never eat desserts, said Melissa Wilson, a principal of the Chicago-based market research firm during the recent Menu Trends & Directions conference held here. —Burgers may be hot right now, but desserts are hotter, according to Technomic.
“That’s better than burgers,” Wilson said, explaining that some people reported that they never eat burgers. —Burgers may be hot right now, but desserts are hotter, according to Technomic.
In a presentation on dessert and sweet trends, she noted that 57 percent of respondents eat desserts frequently, meaning at least once a week, and many agreed that it is OK to order desserts if they are “shareable.” So restaurants looking to boost dessert sales might design more options intended for group consumption, she said. —Burgers may be hot right now, but desserts are hotter, according to Technomic.
Furthermore, many diners may be ordering desserts in restaurants because “a lot of people don’t have the skill” to bake, Wilson said. Among the top sellers these days are familiar sweets. —Burgers may be hot right now, but desserts are hotter, according to Technomic.
Numerous restaurants are rolling out comfort-style desserts, such as puddings, warm cobblers and Bundt cakes, Wilson said, pointing to Sonic Drive-In’s molten-chocolate Bundt cake. —Burgers may be hot right now, but desserts are hotter, according to Technomic.
As an added bonus, dessert options at quick-service restaurants may help encourage customers to use the establishments as caterers with one-stop party-planning convenience, she said. —Burgers may be hot right now, but desserts are hotter, according to Technomic.
“A lot of QSR has had a lack of dessert options” in the past, Wilson said. Desserts may help “bolster your acceptance as a catering option.” —Burgers may be hot right now, but desserts are hotter, according to Technomic.
Of the top 250 chains’ desserts, chocolate was the most mentioned flavor during the first half of 2009, according to Technomic’s Menu Monitor. And the most popular desserts from that study were fruit pies and crisps, followed by cheese-cake, then ice cream and gelato. —Burgers may be hot right now, but desserts are hotter, according to Technomic.
Offering chocolate may be right on target, Wilson said, noting that a new study from The Mind Lab in the United Kingdom found people favor the flavor because “chocolate makes your heart beat faster than kissing.” —Burgers may be hot right now, but desserts are hotter, according to Technomic.
Many chains have found success with chocolate, she said. In fact, Chili’s best-selling molten chocolate cake did so well the company expanded the line. The new rollout features white-chocolate molten cake, she said. —Burgers may be hot right now, but desserts are hotter, according to Technomic.
The mini molten cake “migrated from the fine-dining segment,” she said. “Now we have them delivered to your doorstep.” —Burgers may be hot right now, but desserts are hotter, according to Technomic.
Domino’s Pizza delivers its Chocolate Lava Crunch Cake, she noted. —Burgers may be hot right now, but desserts are hotter, according to Technomic.
Even though diners favor the familiar, “we are seeing experimentation” with new desserts in some chains, she said, mentioning Yard House’s banana crème brûlée and a chai crème brûlée from Big Bowl. —Burgers may be hot right now, but desserts are hotter, according to Technomic.
Olga’s Kitchen fries its French-toasted cheesecake, and Rita’s Water Ice sold 1.4 million cups of Swedish Fish-flavored Italian Ice. —Burgers may be hot right now, but desserts are hotter, according to Technomic.
Also selling well across the country are frozen yogurts. —Burgers may be hot right now, but desserts are hotter, according to Technomic.
“That category has grown 12 percent between 2006 and 2009,” Wilson said. —Burgers may be hot right now, but desserts are hotter, according to Technomic.
And mini everything is taking a big chunk out of the dessert category. Besides Darden’s Seasons 52, which is credited with starting the small-desserts trend and continues to expand their line, Country Kitchen has a Mini Mania menu with the pint-size Caramel Cashew Sunday, and Jack in the Box offers bite-size churros that have a sauce piped into the center, making them easy to eat. Cold Stone Creamery offers ice cream cupcakes that are on-trend as small sweets for grab-and-go operations. —Burgers may be hot right now, but desserts are hotter, according to Technomic.
“Dessert sales have softened due to the economy, but there is an opportunity” to turn that around in the future, Wilson concluded.— [email protected] —Burgers may be hot right now, but desserts are hotter, according to Technomic.