As restaurant chains head into the new year, one thing is clear: traffic growth is harder to earn, discounting is riskier, and customers are more intentional about when and where they dine. In this environment, seasonal limited-time offers (LTOs) are no longer “menu novelties.” They are one of the most reliable levers brands have to create urgency, relevance, and repeat visits.
Foodservice sales has always been a coverage game. Brokers prioritize their biggest opportunities. Sales teams focus on accounts most likely to close. And as a result, large portions of a brand’s potential footprint never hear the story—despite being a perfect fit for the product.
The Flavor Experience is known as the premier annual gathering of top chain menu developers. Led by Flavor & The Menu Publisher and Editor-In-Chief Cathy Holley and Managing Editor Katie Ayoub.
As if food manufacturers and restaurant operators didn’t have enough challenges, there is another one looming worthy of discussion. It’s a weight loss drug that makes consumers less hungry and focused on protein.
Scrolling LinkedIn isn’t something I recommend, but if you do, there will be at least three to four standard posts on management. One will be a meme, one will be something like “what White Lotus taught me about leadership” and another could actually be solid advice.
There are very few winds in the sails of restaurant chain sales this year. Let’s face it, the business is flat with maybe 1% overall growth thanks to the travel and recreation segments.
An outdated website doesn’t just miss opportunities — it actively costs you customers. If you’ve ever felt the sting of hesitation before sharing your website, or worried visitors might leave unimpressed, it’s time to face a tough truth: your website may be working against you, and you might not even know it.
In the era of rapid technological evolution, artificial intelligence has become a powerful co-pilot for developers. Tools like GitHub Copilot, ChatGPT, and CodeWhisperer are speeding up development cycles, autocompleting functions, fixing bugs, and even writing entire blocks of code on command. But, while these advancements promise convenience and productivity, they also come with a quiet cost: the erosion of fundamental coding skills.
A lot of office workers, and in particular those of us who spend hours at a computer, have a tendency to, if not actively avoid going outside, then at least not think too much about making a point to be outdoors. I was intending to take a nap one recent stress-filled day, but was dragged outside instead, and I will admit that it did a lot more for my mood than a nap would have.
Being an adult—It’s kind of the pits some days. The mailbox is rarely fun to open (bills or spam), the end of the month means bills are due, weekend outings include grocery shopping instead of sleepovers—you get the idea. We are all treading water through our responsibilities or have gone belly up and are just riding the wave.
As one of the top food-focused agencies in the country, we take flavor trends seriously. So this year we traveled coast-to-coast to see, study and sample flavors from the top culinary minds. We’re ready to share our findings in our Flavor Forecast for 2026.
Take a look for yourself.