Fall may be harvest season for farmers, but for restaurateurs, the bountiful crop of patio-loving consumers tapers off as the weather cools. The drop in commercial foodservice traffic from the summer (June, July and August) to the fall (September, October and November) was just under four per cent in 2011, which equates to a decline of 65-million visits and is consistent with years past.
Among the foodservice segments, quick-service burger restaurants prove the most susceptible to the change in seasons with traffic falling by 13 per cent from summer to fall in 2011. On the other hand, traffic at quick-service pizza outlets grew by just under 19 per cent over the same period.
As the weather cools down, so does the inclination to eat out. The simple solution for consumers has been to order in, as delivery traffic increased by 28 per cent between the summer and fall of last year. Efficiently and effectively providing food offerings to consumers in the home can help offset traffic losses in the fall, and quick-serve pizza is well positioned to provide in-home meal solutions. This is particularly important when targeting parties with kids, which drives the decline in traffic between the seasons.
Providing convenient delivery options isn’t the only solution to a decline in traffic; it’s also important to adjust menu offerings to suit the season. Not surprisingly, hot coffee gets a bump in servings in the fall, as does pizza, but that’s not all. Pasta dishes, for example, had a 19-per-cent season-over-season increase in traffic in 2011, followed by soup at 16 per cent and Asian offerings such as Thai food at 13 per cent.
The good news is chefs can be creative with soup and pasta. For instance, operators can provide harvest-inspired soups made from vegetables typically grown in Canada. As for pasta, a hearty Bolognese sauce infused with wines from the Niagara or Okanogan regions could become a customer favourite.
Family friendly offerings that appeal to kids as well as mom and dad are also essential. Though pizza and pasta resonate with children, baked dessert offerings such as cookies, cake and pies register a noticeable bump in the fall. As with the pasta and soup, providing innovative dessert offerings that warm the cockles is yet another draw for consumers in the autumn.
The onset of fall does not have to equate to a drop in business. Understanding consumers’ seasonal preferences and responding to these demands can ease the transition from one season to the next. Foodservice operators should look to the changing leaves of autumn as inspiration for innovation.
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