Table of Contents
Scope and Themes
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- What you need to know
- Definition
- Data sources
- Mintel Menu Insights
- Consumer survey data
- Abbreviations and terms
- Abbreviations
- Terms
Executive Summary
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- Casual dining: the poster child for recessionary restaurant woes
- Turning the profitability tide
- Results within the category not segment driven
- Promotions highlight menu features and special pricing
- The (mostly) diverse and (often) varied casual dining menu
- Applebee’s and Olive Garden top consumer picks
- Cutting back and opting out
- Why casual dining?
Insights and Opportunities
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- Differentiation is essential
- Achieving “portfolio profit”
- Attracting customers at off-hours
- Snacks and mini-meals
- Happy hour
- The demand for specialty menus
- Nutritional knowledge is power
- Social networking: the new CSR rep
Inspire Insights
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- Trend: Experience Is All
Market Size and Forecast
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- Moderate growth ahead after painful recession
- Casual dining sales and forecast
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- Figure 1: U.S. sales at casual dining restaurants, at current prices, 2005-15
- Figure 2: U.S. sales at casual dining restaurants, at inflation-adjusted prices, 2005-15
Market Drivers
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- Casual dining: the poster child for recessionary restaurant woes
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- Figure 3: NRA Performance Indices, January 2009-August 2010
- Figure 4: Adjusted Foodservice and Drinking Place Sales, January 2008-August 2010
- Unemployment and underemployment discourage spending out
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- Figure 5: Unemployment and underemployment rates, January 2007-September 2010
- Real disposable personal income
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- Figure 6: U.S. disposable personal income growth, January 2007-August 2010
- Consumer confidence
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- Figure 7: University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index, March 2007- September 2010
- Demographics
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- Figure 8: Population by age, 2005-15
Competitive Context
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- Casual dining customers trading down
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- Figure 9: Attitudes toward fast casual compared to casual dining, by age and gender, April 2010
Segment Performances
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- Contemporary American and Seafood Segments
- Unit growth unbalanced against fixed sales results
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- Figure 10: Systemwide restaurant sales of leading contemporary American and seafood casual dining chains, 2007 and 2009
- Italian and Ethnic Segment
- Olive Garden: the segment powerhouse
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- Figure 11: Systemwide restaurant sales of leading Italian and ethnic casual dining chains, 2007 and 2009
- Steakhouse Segment
- Outback leads segment, and market, for sales declines
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- Figure 12: Systemwide restaurant sales of leading steakhouse casual dining chains, 2007 and 2009
Company Profile: Chili’s
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- Company performance
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- Figure 13: Chili’s systemwide sales and units, 2007 and 2009
- Core Customers
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- Figure 14: Chili’s top demographics, February 2009-March 2010
- On the menu
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- Figure 15: Makeup of Chili’s menu, Q3 2010
- Figure 16: Chili’s, top five cuisine types, Q4 2009-Q3 2010
- New menu additions
- Salad
- Better Than Ever Big Mouth Burgers
- Tacos Wrapped in Flavor
- Chicken
- Sandwiches
Company Profile: Applebee’s
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- Company performance
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- Figure 17: Applebee’s systemwide sales and units, 2007 and 2009
- Core Customers
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- Figure 18: Applebee’s top demographics February 2009-March 2010
- On the menu
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- Figure 19: Makeup of Applebee’s menu, Q3 2010
- Figure 20: Applebee’s top five cuisine types, Q3 2009-Q2 2010
- New menu additions
- Salads
- Sandwiches
- 2 For $20
- Signature Steaks
- Ribs and Fajitas
- Burgers
- Sizzling Entrées
Company Profile: Outback Steakhouse
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- Company performance
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- Figure 21: Outback systemwide sales and units, 2007 and 2009
- Core Customers
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- Figure 22: Outback Steakhouse top demographics February 2009-March 2010
- On the menu
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- Figure 23: Makeup of Outback MENU, Q3 2010
- Figure 24: Outback Steakhouse, top five cuisine types, Q4 2009-Q3 2010
- New menu additions
- Signature Cocktails
- Import Beers
- Premium Spirits
Company Profile: Olive Garden
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- Company performance
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- Figure 25: Olive Garden sales and units, 2007 and 2009
- Core Customers
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- Figure 26: Olive Garden top demographics February 2009-March 2010
- On the menu
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- Figure 27: Makeup of Olive Garden dinner menu, Q3 2010
- Figure 28: Olive Garden Steakhouse, top five cuisine types, Q4 2009-Q3 2010
- New menu additions
- Pasta Ripiena
- Pesce
- Parmesan-Polenta Crusted Entrées
- Carne (Beef and Pork)
- Passion for Italian Cuisine
- Dolce
- Signature House Wines
- Birra – Domestic
Company Profile: Red Lobster
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- Company performance
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- Figure 29: Red Lobster sales and units, 2007 and 2009
- Core Customers
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- Figure 30: Red Lobster top demographics February 2009-March 2010
- On the menu
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- Figure 31: Makeup of Red Lobster menu, Q3 2010
- Figure 32: Red Lobster top five cuisine types, Q4 2009-Q3 2010
- New menu additions
- Signature Combinations
- Celebrate Crabfest
Company Profile: P.F. Chang’s
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- Company performance
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- Figure 33: P.F. Chang’s sales and units, 2007 and 2009
- Figure 34: P.F. Chang’s top demographics February 2009-March 2010
- On the menu
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- Figure 35: Makeup of P.F. Chang’s menu, Q3 2010
- Figure 36: P.F. Chang’s top five cuisine types, Q4 2009-Q3 2010
- New menu additions
Marketing Strategies
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- Overview
- Widespread promotion of discounted meals
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- Figure 37: Chili’s (Chili’s Grill & Bar) television ad, 2010
- Figure 38: O’Charley’s television ad, 2010
- Darden Restaurants: Drawing in workers for lunch
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- Figure 39: Olive Garden television ad, 2010
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- Figure 40: Olivegarden.com monthly visitors, March 2010-September 2010
- Figure 41: Red Lobster television ad, 2010
- Olive Garden: Targeting the family dining dollar
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- Figure 42: Olive Garden television ad, 2010
- Applebee’s and Chili’s: Emailing promotions
- Applebee’s
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- Figure 43: Applebee’s 2 for $20 e-mail, September 2010
- Ruby Tuesday
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- Figure 44: Ruby Tuesday “Fresh” e-mail, August 2010
- Chili’s: A social networking case study
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- Figure 45: Chilis.com monthly visits, April 2010-September 2010
- Red Robin: making the case for integrated campaigns
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- Figure 46: Red Robin television ad, 2010
- Figure 47: Redrobin.com monthly visitors, February 2010-July 2010
Menu Insights Analysis: The Casual Dining Menu
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- Overview
- Menu items
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- Figure 48: Top 10 casual dining menu items, by incidence, Q2 2007-Q2 2010
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- Figure 49: Top 10 Casual Dining menu items, by incidence and price, Q2 2007-Q2 2010
- Menu ingredients
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- Figure 50: Top 10 casual dining menu ingredients, by incidence, Q2 2007-Q2 2010
Menu Insights Analysis: Marketing the Casual Dining Menu
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- Figure 51: Top 10 ingredient marketing claims on casual dining menus, by incidence, Q2 2007-Q2 2010
- Figure 52: Top 10 ingredient marketing claims on casual dining menus, by price, Q2 2007-Q2 2010
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Menu Insights Analysis: The Beverage Menu
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- Overview
- Alcoholic beverages
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- Figure 53: Top 10 alcoholic beverages on casual dining menus, by incidence, Q2 2007-Q2 2010
- Figure 54: Top 10 alcoholic beverages on casual dining menus, by incidence and price, Q2 2007-Q2 2010
- Non-alcoholic beverages
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- Figure 55: Top five non-alcoholic beverages on casual dining menus, by incidence, Q2 2007-Q2 2010
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- Figure 56: Top five non-alcoholic beverages on casual dining menus, by incidence and price, Q2 2007-Q2 2010
Menu Insights Analysis: The Kids’ Menu
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- Figure 57: Top 10 kids’ menu items at casual dining menus, by incidence, Q2 2007-Q2 2010
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- Figure 58: Top 10 kids’ menu items at casual dining menus, by incidence and price, Q2 2007-Q2 2010
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Casual Dining Restaurant Usage and Usage Frequency
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- Chains look to attract workers for lunchtime meal
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- Figure 59: Casual dining restaurants used for lunch, July 2010
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- Figure 60: Casual dining restaurants used for lunch, by age, July 2010
- Figure 61: Casual dining restaurants used for lunch, by household income, July 2010
- Olive Garden moves into top spot for dinner
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- Figure 62: Casual dining restaurants used for dinner, July 2010
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- Figure 63: Casual dining restaurants used for dinner, by age, July 2010
- Figure 64: Casual dining restaurants used for dinner, by household income, July 2010
- Adapting the menu to the size of the party
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- Figure 65: Casual dining check average and party size, July 2010
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- Figure 66: Casual dining check average and party size, by age, July 2010
- Figure 67: Casual dining check average and party size, by household income, July 2010
Changes in Casual Dining Usage
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- Recession continues to impact diners
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- Figure 68: Change in casual dining usage, July 2010
- Figure 69: Change in casual dining usage, by gender, July 2010
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- Figure 70: Change in casual dining usage, by age, July 2010
- Figure 71: Change in casual dining usage, by household income, July 2010
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- Figure 72: Reason for reduced casual dining usage, July 2010
- Figure 73: Reason for reduced casual dining usage, by gender, July 2010
Casual Dining Selection Factors
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- The menu reigns supreme
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- Figure 74: Important attributes for selecting a casual dining restaurant, July 2010
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- Figure 75: Important attributes for selecting a casual dining restaurant, by gender, July 2010
- Figure 76: Important attributes for selecting a casual dining restaurant, by age, July 2010
- Performance on par with what patrons cite as important
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- Figure 77: Casual dining restaurant performance on important attributes, July 2010
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- Figure 78: Casual dining restaurant performance on important attributes, by gender, July 2010
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- Figure 79: Casual dining restaurant performance on important attributes, by age, July 2010
- Figure 80: Casual dining restaurant performance on important attributes, by household income, July 2010
What Consumers Would Like To See More Of
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- The healthy food dichotomy
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- Figure 81: Improvements for casual dining, July 2010
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- Figure 82: Improvements for casual dining, by gender, July 2010
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- Figure 83: Improvements for casual dining, by household income, July 2010
Attitudes Towards Casual Dining Experience
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- The full-service experience a valuable trump card
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- Figure 84: Attitudes towards casual dining experience, July 2010
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- Figure 85: Attitudes towards casual dining experience, by gender, July 2010
- Figure 86: Attitudes towards casual dining experience, by age, July 2010
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- Figure 87: Attitudes towards casual dining experience, by household income, July 2010
Attitudes Towards Casual Dining Menu
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- Patrons appreciate interesting and unique menu offerings
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- Figure 88: Attitudes towards casual dining menu, July 2010
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- Figure 89: Attitudes towards casual dining menu, by age, July 2010
- Figure 90: Attitudes towards casual dining menu, by household income, July 2010
Cluster Analysis
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- Advocates
- Demographics and characteristics
- Opportunity
- Indulgers
- Demographics and characteristics
- Opportunity
- Lumpers
- Demographics and characteristics
- Opportunity
- Cluster characteristics
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- Figure 91: Casual dining clusters, July 2010
- Figure 92: Important attributes at casual dining restaurants, by casual dining clusters, July 2010
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- Figure 93: Improvements for casual dining, by casual dining clusters, July 2010
- Figure 94: Attitudes towards casual dining, by casual dining clusters, July 2010
- Cluster demographics
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- Figure 95: Casual dining clusters, by gender, July 2010
- Figure 96: Casual dining clusters, by age group, July 2010
- Figure 97: Casual dining clusters, by household income, July 2010
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- Figure 98: Casual dining clusters, by race, July 2010
- Figure 99: Casual dining clusters, by Hispanic origin, July 2010
- Cluster methodology
Appendix: Trade Associations
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