Classic Flavors Revived in New Menu Items

Creamy ranch and turkey gravy rank among the fastest-growing flavors among new item introductions on U.S. restaurant menus, rising alongside trending Asian flavors, according to Datassential’s Midyear Trends Event webinar.

Creamy ranch saw especially strong growth, up +1,288% among new item introductions. It was followed by nuoc cham and chili crisp (+1,201% each) and turkey gravy (+1,028%).

The pairing reflects a broader tension that Datassential flagged during the webinar. “We saw lots of traditional American flavors like creamy ranch, a turkey gravy … as well as that juxtaposition with a lot of Asian flavors,” Datassential Trendologist Renee Wege said during the event.

The uptick is particularly striking for turkey gravy, which has actually lost overall menu presence, falling 21% over the past four years, according to Datassential Menu Trends data. Its surge among new introductions suggests operators are reintroducing the flavor in updated contexts — a pattern consistent with what Datassential’s Comfort Food report described as growing consumer receptivity to turkey-and-gravy formats. 

The webinar showcased a “Leftovers” sandwich from Mancini’s Italian Deli in Lewiston, Maine — turkey, stuffing, cranberry, crispy french fried onions, and sweet potatoes served with a warm turkey gravy dipping sauce — as a prime example of how operators are packaging those nostalgic cues.

Creamy ranch, meanwhile, could be primed to see further menu upside amid the emergence of ranch as a breakout star of the World Cup, with international soccer fans flooding social media with viral reactions to trying ranch dressing for the first time. 

On the Asian side, chili crisp has now reached the proliferation stage of Datassential’s Menu Adoption Cycle — defined as the point at which an ingredient crosses from specialty operators into chain restaurants and mainstream grocery — after posting +1,119% four-year growth as the fastest-growing condiment on restaurant menus, according to Datassential’s Sauces, Condiments, and Dressings report. 

Nuoc cham, the Vietnamese dipping sauce built on fish sauce, lime, and chili, is earlier in that curve at +123% four-year growth and 0.6% menu penetration, currently concentrated in fine dining and Asian-focused concepts, per Datassential Menu Trends data.