Consumers grew slightly more upbeat about dining out in July, even as restaurant operators’ traffic and sales confidence eased back, according to Datassential’s latest Table Stakes Tracker report. The share of consumers who cut back on dining out fell to 41% in July, down 8 points from June’s 12-month high. Looking ahead, just 34% now say they plan to dine out less often or stop entirely, down sharply from 48% in June, while 17% expect to increase their visits. To save money

Pickle-flavored items and burger mashups are garnering some of the highest Uniqueness ratings over the past 12 months in Datassential’s Launches & Ratings platform, according to the firm’s Unique & Unexpected LTOs report. Pickle appears on 46% of U.S. restaurant menus, up 6% over the past four years, according to Datassential Menu Trends. The flavor has also generated more than 80 million social media engagements over the past 12 months, according to Datassential’s Social Lis

U.S. consumers are toning down the consumption of refreshers even as interest among non users in the category grows, according to Datassential’s BUZZ: Refreshers & Functional Beverages Topical report. Nearly three-quarters of consumers have tried a refresher — non-coffee or tea beverages that usually contain caffeine or other energy-boosting ingredients — at some point, but daily consumption fell by nearly half in 2026 to 11%. Most recent consumption clustered in the past we

About six in ten consumers who are aware of cold brew still cannot explain how it differs from iced coffee, according to Datassential’s BUZZ Cold Brew Topical report. The confusion has proven durable: 64% of consumers that know cold brew were unable to explain the difference in 2020, a share that has only eased to 61% in 2026. Trial has reached 75%, but understanding has not followed. Among consumers aware of cold brew, 40% say it differs from iced coffee and know why, while

Protein has become the center of gravity in American eating, according to Datassential’s Macro Movement report. Sixty percent of U.S. adults say the amount of protein they consume is very or extremely important to their diet, well ahead of fat (46%) and carbohydrates (44%). The priority has less to do with weight management than with overall health. More than half of consumers say eating healthy is very or extremely important to them, and those who pay attention to nutrients

Nearly half of Gen Z (49%) uses TikTok to search for or discover food, beverage, and restaurant content — more than double the 23% share among consumers overall, according to Datassential’s latest Social Media Sensations report. Instagram comes in a close second, with 48% of Gen Z using the platform to search for or discover food, beverage, and restaurant content, while only 23% of that generation turns to Facebook, the platform Boomers rely on most, at 24%. Millennials searc

Operators offering reduced-lactose or lactose-free milk have seen increased use of the format at nearly double the rate of most other varieties, with 44% reporting growth, according to Datassential’s Cheese & Dairy report. The format is “the single clearest growth engine in dairy,” the report said, leaving even staples like whole milk well behind, which saw usage increases among just 22% of operators. Consumption remains narrow even as usage grows: more than half of milk cons

Cold brew coffee has gone mainstream, according to Datassential’s BUZZ Cold Brew Topical report, with menu penetration more than doubling since 2018, from 4% to 9%. The format is now in the Ubiquity stage of the firm’s Coffee Menu Adoption Cycle and ranks in the 99th percentile for future growth potential, meaning its projected trajectory is expected to outperform 99% of all other foods, beverages, and ingredients over the next four years. Menu penetration climbed 24% over th

Global cheese varieties and Indian-influenced dairy products are rising in consumption and gaining ground on U.S. menus, according to Datassential’s Cheese & Dairy report. Fewer than 10 cheese varieties saw an increase in weekly consumption in the past three years, and nearly all of them are global, spreadable, or fresh cheeses. Cottage cheese led the group, rising to 51%, followed by Mexican Chihuahua cheese (46%), and South Asian paneer (45%). Spanish Manchego posted the sh

Younger consumers are sourcing dairy away from home at far higher rates than older generations, according to Datassential’s Cheese & Dairy report. Dairy skews heavily toward at-home consumption, between 75% and 86% of last occasions happening at home depending on the category, among consumers who had that item in the past two weeks. That uniformity makes the generational divide notable: among Gen Z and Millennials, at least one-quarter of last cheese, yogurt, and sour cream/

Consumers are willing to pay more for a meal, but only if that extra money buys something they can see on their plate, Datassential highlighted in its recent State of Value webinar. That pattern held across menu categories Datassential tested. For an entrée Caesar salad priced at $10.99, purchase interest started at 40%, rising to 44% when diners could add grilled chicken for $4 more, then dropped to 35% once the price reached $18.99 for steak or salmon (an $8 upcharge). Pizz

Dinner has become supermarket operators’ single biggest growth priority within the prepared-foods department, according to Datassential’s Supermarket Prepared report. Sixty-eight percent of supermarket operators say they are actively trying to grow their dinner business, up 18 points from 50% in 2023, the largest gain of any daypart in the report. Lunch and off-peak hours are also priorities for at least half of operators, though neither moved as sharply: lunch rose 3 points

Food companies racing to eliminate artificial dyes are increasingly choosing to go colorless altogether rather than pay escalating premiums for natural alternatives. The shift comes as Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has pushed the food industry to phase out synthetic colors by the end of 2026. Bloomberg reported that natural colorant costs are poised to skyrocket as the industry races to reformulate. Carotenoids derived from pumpkins could climb roughly 600% in price

Sixty-one percent of consumers actively seek out coupons, rewards, or deals before deciding what to eat or buy, Datassential highlighted in its recent State of Value webinar. Which discounts land depends on who is being asked. Gen Z over-indexes on time-based offers such as happy hour, while Boomers respond more to permanent ones such as a senior discount. Operators have adopted some of these tactics more than others. Combo meals, daily menu specials with reduced pricing, and

Protein remains the reigning king of viral food content, pulling more engagement than any other term tracked in Datassential’s latest Social Listening Quarterly report. Protein mentions climbed 57% over the first quarter, and engagement rose 21% to 51 million, driven largely by time-saving recipes that deliver the macronutrient without sacrificing flavor: “lazy” formats, 30-minute builds, and bold Mexican- and Japanese-inspired dishes did the heavy lifting. “Over the past two

Korean kimbap, Malaysian karipap, and Moroccan makouda are gaining ground with consumers, thanks to a shared trait: portability, according to Datassential’s World Bites: Global Snacks report. Kimbap makes the clearest case. The Korean rice roll — seaweed wrapped around sesame-oil seasoned rice and packed with fillings like bulgogi beef, spicy tuna, or crab — is up 133% on menus over the past four years, with another 74% projected. Retail drove much of kimbap’s visibility, wit

Caffeinated and CBD waters generate more consumer curiosity than any other water format, though conversion has yet to catch up. Roughly three in ten consumers say they’re open to trying caffeinated water (31%) or CBD water (30%), according to Datassential’s BUZZ: Water Topical report. Both formats rank ahead of every other water type on openness, but usage still trails. The share of consumers who have had caffeinated water many times climbed to 10% in 2026 from 8% in 2025, w

Pickup of ready-to-cook meal kits from supermarkets posted the largest gain of any weekly meal source tracked since 2023, according to Datassential’s Supermarket Prepared report. Thirty-four percent of consumers now pick up a ready-to-cook meal kit from a supermarket or c-store weekly, up 11% from three years ago — outpacing every other behavior in the report’s weekly meal-sourcing table. Pre-made meal pickup gained 7 points, third-party delivery apps orders gained 7 points,

Two Indian street foods, pani puri and papri chaat, are drawing outsized interest from younger and multicultural consumers, making them prime targets for stateside menus, according to Datassential’s World Bites: Global Snacks report. A quarter of U.S. consumers say they want to try pani puri, also known as golgappa or puchka, a bite-sized crispy shell filled with spiced mashed potato and chickpeas and dunked in tamarind-and-mint-infused water, yet only 11% know what it is. Th

Restaurant menu prices remained elevated but steady in the year through June 2026, rising 2.6% overall, even as individual menu categories split sharply by region, according to Datassential’s Menu Price Tracker report. The widest gaps fell on the menu’s periphery. Dessert prices climbed 19.1% in the West and 15.4% in the Northeast, but just 9.3% in the South and 7.4% in the Midwest — an 11.7-point spread. Non-alcoholic beverages split wider still: 20.5% in the Midwest against