Outside Insights

Fast Casual, Franchising, News, Outside Insights, Story

What Mediterranean Franchising Gets Right—and Wrong—As the Category

Mediterranean cuisine has quietly crossed an important threshold. What was once viewed as a niche, coastal-inspired segment has become one of the most enduring growth categories in fast casual. More than 20 countries identify Mediterranean cuisine as part of their home culinary heritage, which gives the category unusual depth, diversity, and cultural credibility. This isn’t […]

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Fast Casual, Fast Food, News, Outside Insights, Security, Story

Why a Focus on Value and Strong Risk Management Will Help QSRs in 2026

The “secret sauce” for the restaurant business in 2026 continues to have a value base, with the recipe for success a winning combination of affordability, quality and consistency. The ability to deliver puts quick-serve and fast-casual brands in a good position to manage through a fraught business environment.    It’s not going to be easy, […]

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Beverage, Fast Casual, Fast Food, News, Outside Insights, Story

Popping Boba Emerges as High-Impact Menu Innovation Tool for Operators

Popping boba is quickly becoming one of the most powerful tools for operators seeking high-impact menu innovation with minimal operational strain. Once viewed as a niche topping reserved for specialty tea shops, popping boba is now emerging as a frontline solution for brands that need versatile and cross-functional ingredients. In an environment where restaurant operators […]

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News, Outside Insights, Story, Technology

While the Phone Rings, Restaurants are Losing $20 Billion

Restaurants are entering 2026 under pressure. Ingredient costs keep climbing. Margins keep shrinking. Labor remains unpredictable. Most operators focus on what they can’t control. But there’s one massive revenue leak they’re ignoring—one they could actually fix: the phone. Your staff is boxing orders, seating a six-top, and managing three delivery drivers. The phone rings. No […]

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Fast Casual, Fast Food, News, Outside Insights, Story

Creating Premium QSR Customer Experiences Through Superior Food Packaging

Takeout and to-go order volumes have skyrocketed, bringing new guests to the quick-service restaurant segment. At the same time, consumer expectations for delivery time, food quality, and freshness have also increased significantly alongside the rise of apps like DoorDash, Uber Eats, and Grubhub. People now expect high-quality, at-home meals that match the experiences they have […]

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Fast Food, Franchising, News, Outside Insights, Story

Scaling Fast Taught Me This: Lessons from a QSR Franchisee

In 2019, we operated three Bojangles locations in Georgia. Today, we operate 35. What I didn’t fully appreciate then was I wasn’t just scaling a business; I was scaling myself. I grew up in North Carolina in the world of franchising. My dad started our company, and Bojangles was part of my life long before […]

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Legal, News, Outside Insights, Story

The Penny Shortage and Franchise Systems: What QSR Operators Need to Do Now

Though largely unnoticed by most Americans, the disappearance of pennies has considerably impacted businesses, and more specifically franchise systems such as quick-service brands, in more ways than one. To put it in perspective, according to the National Restaurant Association, more than one in four restaurant purchases are paid in cash. While many businesses outside the […]

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Fast Casual, Fast Food, Marketing & Promotions, News, Outside Insights, Story, Technology

How to Create a Restaurant Website with Accessibility in Mind

Opening up your QSR website to a wider audience is key to driving more orders, and understanding how to create a restaurant website with accessibility in mind is where it all begins. A whopping 25 percent of all U.S adults live with some form of disability. This is 66 million people, and 1 in 4 […]

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Employee Management, Fast Casual, Fast Food, News, Outside Insights, Story

Candidate Ghosting Isn’t a Character Issue. Here are a Few Fixes to Prevent it

If you’re a recruiter or part of the Talen Acquisition Team in a Restaurant/Hospitality setting for more than five minutes, you’ve lived this: you finally get someone to commit to a time, you think the week is trending the right way, and then the person evaporates. No call. No “sorry.” Not even the courtesy of […]

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Fast Casual, Fast Food, Food, Marketing & Promotions, Menu Innovations, News, Outside Insights, Story

What GLP-1 is Teaching Restaurants About Menu Design

For decades, restaurants have been able to react to diet trends with visible signals and callouts. Menus at Applebee’s carried Weight Watchers logos. Brands tied emotions to the calorie counts, such as Chili’s Guitless Grill.  “Under 500 calories” badges appeared next to entrées. These types of additions to menus were designed to make choices easy for […]

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