A year and a half into the COVID-19 pandemic, the popularity of off-premises options at restaurants shows no sign of declining. Even with vaccines widely available in the U.S. and dining rooms at or near full capacity, demand for takeout food holds steady.
As restaurants have learned, not all menu items travel well, and many chains have revamped their offerings to fare well when taken off the property. For this year’s Consumer Picks, a data-driven report on customer preference and restaurant brand strength, market research firm Datassential asked consumers if they agree with the statement, “This restaurant’s food is a good fit for takeout.” We’ve ranked the twelve chains with the highest percentage responding “agree” or “strongly agree.”
Not surprisingly, 10 of these 12 chains are limited-service brands, which had a head start on creating takeout-friendly menus. Unlike last year, when pizza brands dominated the list, there are just three in this year’s rankings, as other segments evolve and catch up. Burger and sandwich chains made a bigger splash this year, along with chicken.
Click through to see which chains consumers thought had food fit for takeout during the pandemic, plus, read our consumer playbook and find out more about how this report was compiled.