"The eating habits of American adults have, in recent years, begun to resemble those of hobbits. Maybe you, too, have scarfed down scrambled eggs at home in the morning, only to arrive at the office and supplement them with a protein bar for second breakfast and a bag of chips for elevenses. The late-afternoon pastry and banana-bread mocha latte have proliferated-and for humans, at least, may become an existential threat to dinner."
"The restaurant industry subscribes to an extremely broad definition of snacking. Any item consumed outside the traditional breakfast, lunch, and dinner "dayparts"-industry lingo for eating occasions throughout the day-can be considered a snack, David Henkes, a food-and-beverage analyst at the food-industry research firm Technomic, told me. That includes beverages, as long as they're purchased at a restaurant during off-meal hours."
"In this view, the most important characteristic of a snack is not content or form but versatility, David Portalatin, a food-service-industry expert at the research firm Circana, told me. In fact, he said, one of the biggest drivers of the snacking trend is consumers' demand for flexibility."
American adults are eating more frequently throughout the day in smaller portions, mirroring hobbit eating habits from fiction. This shift, accelerated by the pandemic, Ozempic use, and inflation, has become especially pronounced among young people. The restaurant industry defines snacking broadly as any consumption outside traditional breakfast, lunch, and dinner hours, including beverages purchased during off-meal times. Restaurants are responding by introducing smaller and cheaper menu options. The fastest-growing restaurant brands now specifically target snacking consumers. Industry experts identify consumer demand for flexibility and versatility as key drivers of this trend, with sweet snacks particularly powering growth in quick-service restaurants.
#snacking-trends #restaurant-industry-adaptation #consumer-eating-habits #quick-service-restaurants #food-flexibility
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