Chili’s is up 52% in three years, Burger King is beating its peers by nearly 10 points, and the FTC has sued Toast. Add Kroger’s direct-sourcing push and a stalled federal definition of ultra-processed food, and the week had one theme: earning it. Here is what each story means for operators and suppliers.
Chipotle, Jersey Mike’s and Starbucks all reported this week, and their numbers will be quoted in plenty of account meetings. Here is what the restaurant earnings say about the consumer, and what they leave out.
The 2027 trend reports are out, and most planning meetings will start with the watch list. Here is why the biggest opportunity for food brands sits at the other end of the report.
Protein was everywhere at NACS 2026. The numbers operators brought to Las Vegas told a different story. Here are my takeaways for brands selling into convenience foodservice.
Most stalled foodservice deals never lose to a competitor. They lose to silence. Here's what changed once I stopped reading a quiet buyer as a lost buyer, and started reading it as information.
Big food brands are not losing on strategy. They are losing on translation. Here's the question we ask before we ever touch a design file, and why small brands keep winning without a bigger budget.
Most food brands file campus dining under institutional. That is an expensive misread. Students eat in the same programs three times a day for four years, which makes campus the fastest preference read in foodservice. Here is what NACUFS 2026 and a 107,000 response student survey say about where every food channel is headed next.
Guest counts are falling, and the industry is placing very different bets on how to win them back. Dutch Bros is buying the drive-thrus a bankrupt salad chain left behind, Bain Capital is buying bubble tea, and McDonald’s just changed U.S. leadership. Five stories, five strategies, one shared problem.
This week brought a run of industry firsts: the biggest restaurant IPO in 20 years, a hot dog chain's debut on a military base, and a new deadline threatening the THC drink boom. We break down what each means for operators and brands watching from the sidelines.
The winners and the strugglers pulled further apart this week. Wonder raised $650 million to expand its robot-run kitchens, while MTY moved to close up to 50 Papa Murphy’s and a 60-store Hardee’s operator filed for bankruptcy. Rising costs and Panera’s new Sip Club cap fill in the rest of the picture.
311 E Chicago Street | Suite 320 | Milwaukee, WI 53202
414.276.1080 | grow@omnivoreagency.com
Privacy Policy ©2026 Omnivore Agency