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Global Update on Consumer,

Market & Menu Insights

Top Nine Issue 18 | 2024

01 Trending on Social Media This Month

The Creamed Corn Fried Chicken Sandwich, a different take on traditional fried chicken, topped with creamed corn and relish, is trending this month. The Chicken Gyros Bowl offers the flavours of the Mediterranean, while summer draws to a close. For quick meals, air fryer lasagna burritos and buffalo chicken grilled cheese are popular on TikTok. Meanwhile, McDonald's McGriddle is trending as a high-protein breakfast and the Cherry Dr Pepper Pork Butt is going viral in sandwiches and tacos for its sweet and smoky flavour.

02 What's New On Autumnal Menus

Pret A Manger has launched its Autumn menus, with breakfast options including a Triple Sausage Ciabatta, Triple Bacon Ciabatta and an Ultimate Breakfast Ciabatta which combines sausage, bacon, and a roasted tomato omelette in a ciabatta roll. For lunch, new toasties include the Mushroom Florentine and Chipotle Chicken & Feta Toastie. Pret has also revamped its flatbreads, offering a Shawarma Spiced Chicken Flatbread and a vegetarian Falafel, Avocado & Chipotle Flatbread, both served in Lebanese-style flatbreads. Costa Coffee’s Autumn menu includes a new Brie, Bacon & Chilli Jam Panini, Chilli Beef & Cheddar Toastie and a Chicken & Chorizo Panini. Some returning items include customer-favourite Hog Roast Toastie and Roast Chicken & Bacon Sandwich. Check out our breakfast options here.

03 BK Picky Bits Box & Doritos Collab

Burger King UK has introduced the new ‘Picky Bits Box’, now available via delivery. The box features a selection of five Chilli Cheese Bites, five crispy Chicken Nuggets, five Onion Rings, and five Doritos Tangy Cheese Chicken Fries. Priced at £6.99, it offers a convenient and flavourful assortment ideal for casual dining or sharing with friends. Burger King has also teamed up with Doritos to launch the new Chicken Fries flavour, Doritos Extra Flamin’ Hot, aimed at spice enthusiasts. Additionally, Burger King is bringing back the popular Gourmet Kings Smoky Chimichurri, featuring 100% Aberdeen Angus beef or crispy chicken, topped with chimichurri sauce, crispy onions, smoked cheddar, and onions and rocket, all served in a brioche bun.  

04 Cinnamon Toast Crunch Bacon

Hormel Black Label has introduced a limited-edition Cinnamon Toast Crunch Bacon, combining sweet and salty flavours from two iconic brands. This thick-cut bacon is coated with a cinnamon-sugar seasoning creating a crispy, sweet crust that complements the savoury bacon. Designed for snacking or pairing with meals, it blends Hormel’s bold bacon flavour with the nostalgic sweetness of Cinnamon Toast Crunch. It will first be sold in select Walmart stores, with plans to expand to Kroger, while supplies last. Ask about our innovative sweet cure and coffee bacon from TMI Foods. 

05 Epic Rolls - A Twist On Sausage Rolls

Epic Rolls has launched six new chilled, 130g pastry products inspired by popular fast-food flavours. The Cheese Burger, Lip Lickin' Chicken, Smoky BBQ Pork, Hot Dog, Peri-Peri Chicken and Onion Bhaji Epic Rolls each feature a seasoned filling, sauce and sprinkle-topped puff pastry. They are a twist on traditional sausage rolls, offering bold flavours that appeal to younger consumers, with innovative, attention-grabbing packaging, aligning with the trend of "reimagined classics”.

06 French Burger QSR Concepts

In France, Booster Group has launched an initiative to revitalize struggling restaurants by offering licensed brands, affordable makeovers, and comprehensive marketing strategies. Their first brand, Dangerous Burger, opened in July and quickly expanded, with plans to open 300 restaurants within three years. Their viral menu includes customizable smash burgers and the Extreme Burger. Meanwhile, Black & White Burger, co-founded by YouTubers IbraTV and Djam, has partnered with the UFC to launch the KO Burger. Featuring Black Angus beef and artisanal bread, the KO Burger aims to attract customers with bold flavours and capitalise on UFC-related promotions.

07 Loyalty Cards and Scan & Go Tech

Morrisons has launched a new multi-platform campaign, "Pay Less with More Card," to boost its loyalty program. The campaign emphasizes savings for ‘More Card’ users, including exclusive lower prices on over 2,000 products throughout September. A social media competition, "Trolley v Trolley," invites customers to list discounted items for a chance to win their weekly shop. In-store promotions and a special edition of the CookMark Series, showcasing recipes using discounted items, further promote the benefits of the ‘More Card’. The chain is also trialling scan-and-go technology in six stores as it seeks to catch up technologically with rivals such as Tesco and Sainsbury’s.

08 Mars Sustainable Sourcing Efforts

Mars is expanding its sustainable dairy sourcing efforts to cut greenhouse gas emissions. Its $47 million "Moo’ving Dairy Forward Plan" focuses on climate-smart agriculture, aiming for a 50% emissions reduction by 2030. Key initiatives include manure management projects and seaweed-based feed trials to reduce methane from cows. Partnering with major dairy suppliers, Mars is targeting a 90% cut in emissions related to manure. The company aims to create over one million regenerative acres globally by 2030 as part of its larger goal to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050.

09 Wild Stadium Eats

When people gather in an American football stadium, there is a wide range of tastes and preferences when it comes to food. Each year, teams introduce surprising new menu offerings to attract fans. The Dallas Cowboys have a Pizza Burger featuring a 16-ounce Angus patty sandwiched between two pepperoni pizzas with all the usual burger fillings. New Orleans Saints are offering a Turducken Loaded Potato, a baked potato with turkey, duck and chicken loaded in and topped with cheese and green onions. Lastly, the Arizona Cardinals have a Vienna Beef Jalapeño Cheddar Dog-a-Dilla which tops a sausage with cheese, crema and scallions then rolled inside a pressed tortilla.

Dawn Farms, The Maudlins, Naas, County Kildare, Ireland

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