• by Teresa Buyikian , Yesterday

Despite tightening wallets, restaurant prices are increasing more than overall inflation.

Technomic’s most recent Industry Insights report found that while general inflation increased by 2.7% and 3.0% in 2025 and 2024, respectively, the foodservice consumer price index rose by 3.8% in 2025 and 4.1% in 2024.

The monthly trend report also found that overall year-over-year past-week visits were still down for the third consecutive month up to last November, with annual past-week visit changes stated as negative in 10 of 11 recent months.

Breakfast is considered a “silver lining,” and continues to be a big traffic driver, citing a slight uptick in year over year traffic from Nov. 2024 to Nov. 2025. Lunch visits in Nov. 2025 were down 3%, with dinner down 6%, year over year.

But consumers are visiting restaurants more frequently for one thing: snacks. The report found a 7% increase in what are dubbed “snack visits,” where consumers “opt for off-peak orders in order to satisfy their craving for an affordable foodservice purchase.”

Winter menu trends include the use of Snickerdoodle, a sugary cinnamon flavor, in desserts and beverages, such as the Snickerdoodle Frosty Fusion available at Wendy’s.

The economy has a big influence on when and if consumers branch out to try more global food offerings. The report found that a quarter (25%) of those surveyed who do not purchase global foods don’t do so due to “citing high prices as the primary deterrent.”

Almost half (47%) of respondents said they were actually planning on reducing global food ordering, with 36% saying that “global food options have become too expensive.” The biggest threat to restaurants with global cuisine? Home cooks, with 39% saying they “frequently prepare global foods at home,” and 37% reporting in increase in home preparation over the past two years.