TORONTO — Full-service restaurant customers are embracing ethnic menu options when dining out, according to a recent report from the NPD Group.
“Full Service Dining: How to Win Customers Back” found 73 per cent of Canadians would like full-service restaurants to offer a wider variety of menu choices and 70 per cent would order an ethnic-influenced menu item more frequently if it was available.“With so many cultures existing in Canada, it’s no surprise consumers expect to see these influences reflected in the restaurants they visit,” said Robert Carter, executive director of Foodservice for NPD. “Global-, fusion- and local-oriented cuisine is very much part of the mainstream now, so foodservice operators would be wise to cater to their customers’ desire for variety and their increasingly sophisticated palates.”
According to NPD, a review of the past year reveals a four-per-cent decline in Canadian full-service restaurant visits, and integrating ethnic cuisine into a restaurant menu may better position eateries to attract and retain customers.
For more details on the NPD study, visit npd.com.
