Toast Report: Most Americans Choose Sandwiches, Wraps for Lunch
Toast, the all-in-one digital platform built for restaurants, says its Q2 2024 Restaurant Trends Report, provides insight into the overall state of the U.S. restaurant industry through an analysis of aggregated data from selected cohorts of restaurants and in select U.S. cities on the Toast platform, which serves approximately 120,000 restaurant locations as of June 30, 2024. Read more details about our methodology below.
Key takeaways:
- In Q2 2024, guests at quick-service restaurants (QSRs) paid an average of $11.26 (+4.6% YOY) for sandwiches and wraps, $12.98 (+4.6%) for bowls, $11.45 (+4.6% YOY) for burgers, $11.42 (+2.7% YOY) for salads, $10.74 (+4.3% YOY) for burritos, $6.04 (+4.4% YOY) for an order of fries, and $3.00 (+4.6% YOY) for a soda.
- Sandwiches and wraps were the most popular food at quick-service restaurants in every state except California, Nevada, Oregon, and Texas, where tacos are the most popular. Bowls were most popular in Hawaii, and salads were the most popular item in Utah.
- Consumer spending at quick-service restaurants in 20 U.S. cities Toast explored saw a noticeable shift to breakfast and away from dinner and late-night transactions.
- In June, cashiers at quick-service restaurants in California made a median hourly wage of $16.98.
- Tipping dropped slightly in Q2 2024 to a total average of 18.8%. Full-service restaurant tips also dipped to 19.3%, and quick-service restaurant tips dropped to 15.9%.
Toast Benchmarking powers the Restaurant Trends Report’s menu insights. This tool leverages AI-based classification and allows users to compare restaurant and menu category performance against aggregated data from peer Toast restaurants.
To gauge the cost of going out to lunch for consumers compared to last year, Toast examined same-store sales at quick-service restaurants on the Toast platform among 13 different food types: tacos, fries, hot dogs, dumplings, soups/stews, quesadillas, chicken tenders, burritos, sandwiches/wraps, salads, burgers, bowls, and noodles/ramen.
Burgers, bowls, and noodles/ramen topped the list as the most expensive items, while tacos, fries, and hot dogs were the cheapest. Tacos (+5.9%), sandwiches/wraps (+4.6%), burgers (+4.6%), and bowls (+4.6%) saw the largest increase in pricing in Q2 2024 compared to Q2 2023.
The price of hot dogs (+1.9%), salads (+2.7%), and dumplings (+3.8%) grew the slowest in Q2 2024 compared to last year.
Hot dog sales dipped 9% in Q2 2024 compared to Q2 2023, while sales of bowls, chicken tenders, and burritos rose 1%.
View the full report on the Toast Newsroom.
Toast analyzed transactions at quick-service restaurants on the Toast platform from April 1 to June 30, to determine the price growth of tacos, fries, hot dogs, dumplings, soup/stew, quesadillas, chicken tenders, burritos, sandwiches/wraps, salads, burgers, bowls, and noodles/ramen. Toast used a cohort of same-store restaurants on the platform since Q1 2023.
Toast provides a comprehensive platform of software as a service products and financial technology solutions that give restaurants everything they need to run their business across point of sale, payments, operations, digital ordering and delivery, marketing and loyalty, and team management. We serve as the restaurant operating system, connecting front of house and back of house operations across service models including dine-in, takeout, delivery, catering, and retail. Toast helps restaurants streamline operations, increase revenue, and deliver amazing guest experiences. For more information, visit www.toasttab.com.
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Giant Eagle Lowers Price on 200+ Produce Items
Giant Eagle, Inc. has reduced the average price of more than 200 produce items by 20 percent across its Giant Eagle and Market District locations, offering customers an estimated $25 million in annual savings. Its New Low Price initiative will include many of the most popular items in the produce department as Giant Eagle aims to provide affordable access to high-quality fresh food in the face of continued high grocery costs across the neighborhoods it serves.
“Today’s announcement reflects our unwavering commitment to delivering quality, variety, and value to our customers and communities,” said Brian Ferrier, senior vice president of merchandising at Giant Eagle. “By significantly reducing prices on more than 200 produce items, we’re not just offering savings – we’re investing in everyday value. In these challenging economic times, we’re proud to make the fresh, quality produce we stock daily more affordable and we believe these savings will make a real difference in people’s lives.”
With food prices remaining elevated throughout 2024, this latest price reduction effort from Giant Eagle is intended to help customers realize long-term, meaningful value in a fresh department that
customers and their families prioritize. According to the Food Industry Association’s 2023 Power of Produce report, 58% of Americans say they eat fresh produce at least four to five days a week.
These long-term price reductions play a critical role in how Giant Eagle plans to deliver value to customers. As industry factors may cause the shelf prices of these and other items to change in the
future, the investment the company has made into lowering these prices will remain.
Other price-focused initiatives include the continuation of strong weekly sales and unique one-day and three-day sales, the retailer’s seasonally focused Deals for Days discounted prices and personalized savings through the myPerks loyalty program.
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Rapper Flavor Flav Becomes Smartfood’s ‘Flavor Genie’
There’s something magical in every bag of Smartfood Popcorn, including a combination of delicious, non-artificial flavors and less than 100 calories per cup. That’s why America’s favorite popcorn brand is bringing consumers Flavor You Can Feel Good About, an entertaining new campaign that re-introduces Smartfood Popcorn’s lineup of light-textured, air-popped flavor variations.
To bring the magic to life, Smartfood has named a Flavor Genie—none other than legendary and flavorful rapper Flavor Flav—to spread positive affirmations for smart decision-making, in snacking and beyond. Since there’s no time like snack time and there’s no snack like Smartfood Popcorn, Flavor Flav has swapped his iconic clock necklace for an oversized popcorn kernel, the Pop Clock.
“Everyone knows I’m all about spreading positive vibes and bringing my signature flavor everywhere I go, which is why there’s no one better suited for the job of Flavor Genie than ya booyyyeeee,” said Flavor Flav. “I’ve loved Smartfood Popcorn for years, so I’m excited to be the unofficial Hype Man for snackers, dropping words of wisdom and positivity every time a bag of the flavorful snack is opened.”
To kick off Flavor Flav’s reign as Flavor Genie, the rapper is starring in a new online video in which he appears in an imaginative cloud of flavor genie dust to an unexpecting snacker with his classic “Yeah Booyyyeeee!” introduction. He brings joy to the woman savoring a mid-bike ride snack by complementing her flavor of choice: Smartfood White Cheddar flavored popcorn.
From savory and cheesy to sweet and spicy flavors, Smartfood offers a full lineup for any snacking occasion, including:
- White Cheddar: What started it all, featuring air-popped popcorn tossed in delicious white cheddar cheese flavor.
- Movie Theater Butter: The forever classic is delicious popcorn coated in golden butter flavor.
- Sweet & Salty Kettle Corn: Snackers rejoice for this popcorn with sweet and salty flavors that balances sweet and salty desires all in one.
- Doritos Nacho Cheese: A remix of everyone’s favorite snack – the light and fluffy texture of air-popped popcorn, with the finger-licking deliciousness of Doritos Nacho Cheese flavored seasoning.
- Flamin’ Hot White Cheddar: Air-popped popcorn tossed in the flavors of white cheddar cheese and plenty of Flamin’ Hot heat you know and love.
“Smartfood is dedicated to providing popcorn lovers with delicious snacking options that they can feel good about, and we’re proud to have cracked the magical balance of light texture and bold flavor desired by snackers across the nation,” said Kristin Kroepfl, vice president of marketing, PepsiCo. “We’re excited to bring more joy to snack time, both through our five delicious flavor variations and our out-of-the-box partnership with the king of flavor himself, Flavor Flav.”
As a part of the fun, Smartfood and Flavor Flav are inviting fans nationwide to enter for a chance to win the one-of-a-kind Pop Clock – the same blinged-out kernel chain donned by the Flavor Genie himself. Between September 16 at 11 a.m. EST and September 19 at 11 a.m. EST:
- Follow @Smartfoodpopcorn on Instagram
- Like the giveaway launch post
- Comment FLAVOR
Fans can follow along on the Flavor Genie fun by following @smartfoodpopcorn on Instagram, @officialsmartfoodpopcorn on TikTok, @Smartfood on X, and @Smartfood on Facebook. To experience Flavor You Can Feel Good About™, fans can pick up Smartfood Popcorn’s five different flavor variations at retailers nationwide or on Snacks.com.
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