Food

Fastest-growing flavors shed light on industry trends

churchs chicken honey butter biscuit tenders

Fast casual: Adobo

Growing 40% year over year on fast-casual menus, according to Technomic’s MenuMonitor, adobo sauce is unsurprisingly most common in Mexican dishes. The piquant sauce—made from ground chilies, herbs and vinegar—adds spice to Latin-inspired salads, bowls, tacos and wraps. Pollo Campero’s Latin Shakers featured a cup of white-meat chicken pieces shaken with a choice of sauces, including a Sweet Adobo variety.

QSR: Honey butter

Honey butter mentions jumped 25% in the past year, with most mentions appearing in fried chicken offerings, where honey butter lends a sweetness to the comfort food classic that gravy and Buffalo sauces lack. For example, Church’s Chicken expanded the popularity of its Honey-Butter Biscuits to a chicken product: Honey-Butter Biscuit Tender Strips. An order of three chicken tenders, two small sides and a biscuit is $4.99

Members help make our journalism possible. Become a Restaurant Business member today and unlock exclusive benefits, including unlimited access to all of our content. Sign up here.

Multimedia

Exclusive Content

Technology

From acqui-hire to vaporware: The new restaurant tech ABCs

Tech Check: These six terms are popping up more often in industry conversations, providing a glimpse at the next wave of trends.

Financing

So much for the consolidation trend

The Bottom Line: Companies operating more than one restaurant chain are more likely to be selling than they are buying right now.

Food

Taco John's travels back to its 'West-Mex' roots to spice up the menu

Behind the Menu: Starting with its new Fiesta sauce and maximizing what’s already stocked in the pantry, the Mexican fast-food chain is driving flavor throughout its platform.

Trending

More from our partners