FoodInsight: The Recipe for a Winning LTO

Crafting a winning limited-time offer (LTO) goes beyond trendy dishes and flavors. According to Datassential’s Menu Development Keynote, “77 percent of consumers will occasionally order LTOs or daily specials when available when dining out.”

Everyone has their favorite dishes when dining out, but consumers are increasingly interested in trying something new beyond familiar comfort foods. Holiday-focused flavors like pumpkin spice in the fall, eggnog in the winter, and watermelon in the summer can be a nostalgic way to incorporate new flavors onto the menu.

While beverages tend to lead in flavor innovation, QuikTrip Corp. introduced the Pumpkin Pretzel, in which a warm soft pretzel was stuffed with a pumpkin filling and then dusted with a blend of cinnamon and sugar. According to Datassential’s SCORES LTO tracker, the Pumpkin Pretzel ranked high among consumers for key metrics like uniqueness and draw.

Click below for more of Datassential’s findings on winning LTOs: