State of the industry: wingin' it; Chicken wings, bold and ethnic flavors carry the left side of the menu.
How's the foodservice snack and appetizer segment? Getting by on a wing and a flavor. When dining out, more consumers are opting for chicken wings and other appetizers with ethnic and/or bold flavor appeal.
Diane Fox is a principal with Food Beat Inc., a Wheaton, Ill., firm that tracks menu trends at the nation's top 200 restaurant chains. Looking back on the second half of last year, Fox notes, "The number of mentions of Buffalo wings on appetizer menus and the number of chains menuing wings has steadily grown over the past five years. Menumentions of wings is up 54 percent since 1999, and the number of chains menuing wings during this time period has grown from 52 chains to 74 chains. In fact, Buffalo wings have overtaken nachos as the number-one most frequently menued appetizer among the Top 200 largest U.S. restaurant chains.
"The presentation of wings on the Top 200 chains menus ranges from those described as classic Buffalo wings served with celery and blue cheese to those with a decidedly ethnic flair such as Boneless Shanghai Wings, Jamaican Grilled Chicken Wings and Tuscan Chicken Wings," she adds. "Regardless of presentation, use of the words 'hot' or 'spicy' to describe wings outnumbers the word 'mild' four to one."
A real trend? You bet. A look at major foodservice poultry processor-suppliers quickly proves the point. What's new at Barber Foods? "Wicked Hot" Chicken Wings. How about Pilgrim's Pride Corp.'s Pierce Chicken business? Monster Wings. Last but not least, how about Tyson Foods? Appetizers and small plates have been a particular area of focus for this company. Among its new foodservice offerings are Buffalo Chicken Bang appetizers, Pan-Asian Lettuce Wraps and Asian Lemongrass Wings.
Picking up on ethnic and flavor themes, Fox adds, "Asian- and Latin-inspired items continue to share the spotlight in appetizers added during the second half of 2004."
Illustrating that trend is McCain Latin Latitudes[TM], a new three-item appetizer line from McCain Foods USA. Exhibiting at the National Restaurant Association's recent annual Restaurant, Hotel-Motel Show in Chicago, McCain debuted Cuban-Style Pork Spring Rolls, Jamaican-Style Jerk Chicken Dumplings and Caribbean-Style Adobo Beef Spring Rolls.
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"Latin Latitudes is the perfect solution to meet patrons' needs for trendy, innovative and exotic flavors," said Steve Martin, Snack Foods Division vice president of foodservice marketing.
