QSR, Restaurant and Food Service Trends

The Premier Russet was one hot potato, but the high expectations did not materialize...

McDonald's Corporation (NYSE: MCD) today announced global comparable sales growth of 5.3% in January.

Dining out can be an indulgent treat, a convenient way to feed the family when you’re too busy to cook at home, or a way of celebrating a special occasion.

Wendy's/Arby's Group Inc reported a surprise quarterly profit on Wednesday, citing progress in the turnaround of its struggling Arby's chain and the success of new products like french fries with sea salt.

The Food and Drug Administration indicated Jan. 21 that it will officially withdraw Aug. 25, 2010, "draft guidance"for restaurants on how to follow new federal menu-labeling rules.

McDonald's Corp.'s fourth-quarter earnings rose 2.1%, even as December same-store sales took a hit from the severe weather in the U.S. and Europe.

Wendy's/Arby's Group, Inc. (NYSE: WEN), the third-largest quick-service restaurant company in the United States, today announced it is exploring strategic alternatives for Arby's Restaurant Group, Inc., including a sale of the brand.

Arby’s, the 3,700-unit chain that is under strategic review by parent company Wendy’s/Arby’s Group Inc., may fetch a price tag of more than $300 million, according to a few securities analysts who cover the company.

um! Brands Inc. said Tuesday it planned to sell Long John Silver’s and A&W All-American Food in order to focus on its three larger quick-service brands.

For casual-dining concepts, which account for more than one third of total U.S. restaurant industry sales, the past two years have seen traditional and upscale casual restaurants battling soft same-store sales, as consumers traded down to lower priced fast-casual competitors and prepared more meals at home.

Tijdens de vorige week gehouden Potato Expo - het grootste aardappel congres in the Verenigde Staten - werd een nieuw initiatief gepresenteerd om het imago van aardappelen en friet te verbeteren.

National Restaurant Association News

Potential end users who learn about U.S. dehydrated potatoes at trade shows and seminars and who decide to incorporate dehy into a product don’t have to go it alone.

California restaurants must end trans fat use by Jan. 1.

The National Restaurant Association’s “What’s Hot” survey of more than 1,500 professional chefs—members of the American Culinary Federation (ACF)—reveals that local and hyper-local sourcing, healthy children’s meals, sustainable seafood, and gluten-free cuisine will be among the hottest trends on restaurant menus in 2011.

A mother of two says that McDonald’s uses toys as bait to induce her kids to clamor to go to McDonald’s and to develop a preference for nutritionally poor Happy Meals. With the help of the Center for Science in the Public Interest, today the mom, Monet Parham, is filing a class action lawsuit aimed at stopping McDonald’s use of toys to market directly to young children.