Bundled Meals Earn the Right to Upcharge

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).

Pizza told the same story: a $12.99 cheese pizza drew 47% purchase interest, held near that level with one or two toppings added at $14.99 and $16.99, then fell to 32% for a $22.99 gourmet version with four premium toppings.

A cheese pizza bundled with six wings, by contrast, held at 42% interest at a similar price point, roughly $20.99.

Burgers followed the pattern most clearly. A basic $8.99 burger drew 61% interest. Adding medium fries for $10.99 pushed that to 64%, and adding a drink as well held steady at 63% for $11.99. But tacking on cheese alone for another dollar, with nothing else added, dropped interest to 55%.

The through-line: a modest price increase reads as a better deal when it delivers a more complete meal.

That preference shows up in how consumers describe value more broadly. Among the value elements they say have grown more important to them, consumers put bundles and meal deals, or getting a full meal, third at 66%, ahead of a low base price (59%) and premium ingredients (51%).

Price is carrying more weight in those judgments than it used to. The correlation between price point and perceived value ran above its historical average in 2025, according to Datassential’s State of Value report.

Still, price alone does not define value for most diners. Just 15% of consumers say they want the cheapest option on the menu, while 64% want a good deal that doesn’t cost them food quality or experience and 21% will pay more for a great meal.