Winter Holiday LTO Opportunities Widen

Consumer interest in winter limited-time offers rose meaningfully for several holidays and events this year, providing an opening for operators to expand their offerings this season, according to Datassential’s latest Winter Trends report. 

Overall, 51% of consumers say they are interested in purchasing LTOs or limited-edition retail items during winter, and 62% associate the season with special foods and beverages.

At the same time, the report noted that winter 2025 saw the fewest new releases from major restaurant chains of any season last year. “This means that there could be missed opportunities to release LTOs aligning with winter holidays,” it added.

While Christmas remains the top holiday for LTO interest, other winter holidays showed significant movement compared with a year ago. New Year’s Day interest reached 41% and Valentine’s Day 38%, marking a year-over-year rise of 12 percentage points for each. 

Meanwhile, LTO interest in Valentine’s Day alternatives, such as Galentine’s Day, climbed 11 percentage points, and the Super Bowl and New Year’s Eve each went up 7 percentage points.

Consumer association of special foods, flavors, and LTOs with winter holidays also strengthened. The Super Bowl and Valentine’s Day led the upswing, each up 14 percentage points, but every winter holiday either rose or held steady in terms of association. 

Some of the winter holidays that are gaining LTO interest skew young. Valentine’s Day alternatives like Galentine’s, for example, are observed by 23% of Millennials and 21% of Gen Z, statistically more than Gen X (10%) and Boomers (7%). And among consumers who celebrate Valentine’s alternatives, 32% go to a restaurant or bar.

“Operators and retailers can easily tie LTOs and specials into both Valentine’s Day and Galentine’s Day by adjusting the shape of an already well-loved item (think heart-shaped pancakes, pizza, cookies, etc.),” the Winter Trends report noted. It also highlighted the potential to lean into “chocolate-covered as a flavor for items like beverages.” 

The report counted 10 beverage releases in January and February of 2025 that leaned into “chocolate-covered” as a flavor, including the Superstar-rated Chocolate-Covered Strawberry Crème Frappuccino Blended Beverage from Starbucks. Other highly rated offerings that winter included a Chocolate Covered Strawberry Smoothie from Playa Bowls and a Chocolate Covered Strawberry Mocha from Dutch Bros Coffee.