Millennial guests most motivated by new menu launches

Millennials rate eateries that offer new and exciting products as a traffic driver, according to Technomic’s latest industry insights report. Many members of this generation – 27-42 year-olds – want to make the most of their dining-out experience by ordering items they can’t easily replicate at home.

Twenty-three per cent of millennials surveyed said having new menu items was “very important” in their decision making. In general, new product launches are more of a restaurant traffic driver for younger consumers than their older counterparts. This corresponds with Gen Zers, millennials and Gen Xers tending to be more adventurous diners than baby boomers and matures.

Many restaurant brands are busy launching new LTOs to drive traffic this spring. For instance, Popeyes added a new Ghost Pepper Chicken Sandwich, Chick-fil-A released new Watermelon Mint beverages, and Earls has a Tokyo Cosmo cocktail made with Absolut Citron vodka, yuzu, pink citrus and cranberry.