‘Fusebiquity’ a key approach to menu development
Datassential chief highlights emerging food trends
This is part of Nation’s Restaurant News' special coverage of the 2019 MUFSO conference, taking place Oct. 14-16 at the Sheraton Denver Downtown. Follow coverage of the event on NRN.com and tweet with us using #MUFSO. Stay connected on the go by downloading the MUFSO app.
If you want your menu items to stand out to your customers, use “fusebiquity,” Jack Li, founder of menu research firm Datassential, told MUFSO attendees.
That’s taking little-known flavors from around the world and infusing them into foods that are ubiquitous on the American foodservice landscape. An example, introduced in 2016 at Wendy’s, featured fries topped with ubiquitous things like cheddar cheese and jalapeños, but finished with little-known ghost pepper sauce.
Watch Datassential's Jack Li's full MUFSO trends presentation here.
Li said that, with a growing number of consumers eager to try new things — particularly younger consumers — ingredients that are just being introduced at avant-garde restaurants, or that are still largely confined to ethnic neighborhoods, can gain traction for more mainstream operators.
“You can now look at those things in the early first stage [of introduction to American menus] and incorporate them in your menu if you do it the right way,” he said.
Other examples include Carbonara Benedict, kung pao monkfish or citrus adobo pizza. By introducing those new elements to foods that consumers are already familiar with, you can overcome hurdles that often come when trying new flavors.
Another example is the winner of the limited-time-offer contest from the Menu Insights & Innovation workshop held before MUFSO, at which participants conceptualized new menu items that were then scored overnight using Datassential’s analytical process that measures factors such as uniqueness and purchase intent. It was a “Fried Fish Biscuit Sldier” with the following description: “Light and crispy wild-caught Cape hake fillets smothered in avocado mayo sitting top our smokehouse bacon settled between our southern honey biscuit.”