This article first appeared in the 1 November 2007 issue of Restaurants & Institutions (R&I).
R&I is the USA's leading source of food and business-trend information and exclusive research on operators and restaurant patrons. Editorial coverage spans the entire foodservice industry, including chains, independent restaurants, hotels and institutions. To find out more about R&I, visit its website here >>
There’s something to be said for tradition, even—perhaps especially—when opting for a salad rather than a meat-based dish at a restaurant. Classic salads such as cobb and Caesar earn top rankings on both the best-sellers and increasing-in-sales salad lists. Caesar salads with shrimp or chicken rank first among salads commercial operators say are increasing in sales. On the noncommercial side, another old favorite, chef salad, ranks at the top.
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Easily marketed as being fresh and flavorful as well as a lighter choice at lunch, salads see rising popularity especially at business-and-industry (B&I) operations, schools, hospitals and casual-dining restaurants. Caesar salads are gaining popularity at family-dining operations; cobb salad is strong in casual dining.
What do diners want to top their greens? Ranch/buttermilk dressing reigns supreme, but balsamic vinaigrette earns the No. 2 spot on the list of salad dressings increasing in sales, and raspberry-based (or other fruit-based) vinaigrettes take the No. 4 spot on that list while ranking No. 1 among dressings operators are considering adding.
Other Menu Census insights into specific salads:
Caesar: Among all subgroups, hotels are most likely to report an increase in sales of Caesar salads—three in 10 noted a sales boost. Caesar salads with shrimp, chicken or another protein are more likely to register rising sales than their non-protein-enhanced siblings, but even plain Caesar salads see more-consistent sales increases across restaurant genres than almost every other salad type.
Steak: Care for some steak with your lettuce? Hampered only by their poor showing at schools and cafeteria/buffet restaurants, steak salads rate strong on the census for most operators. They place fifth on operators’ thinking-of-adding list among salads included in the survey, and they tie with Caesar salads and a house signature salad as No. 3 on casual-dining operators’ increasing-in-sales list.
Grain-based: Not surprisingly, colleges and universities lead the way in serving and selling salads that feature tabbouleh, couscous, rice or other grains. Among operators that offer salads, more than one-third (34.8%) of higher-education institutions say they menu at least one grain-based salad, slightly ahead of business and industry operators (30%) and well ahead of all commercial restaurant operators (6.1%).
Specialty: Salads featuring increasingly well-known greens such as arugula, radicchio and endive register their strongest increase in sales at fine-dining restaurants, but specialty salads’ popularity is climbing respectably at hotels, too.
Taco: Schools give the crunchy salad a significant ratings boost on both the best-sellers and increasing-in-sales lists, but strong-and-growing sales also are reported at limited-service restaurants and hospitals. —C.L.
