Menu price increases remain ahead of inflation as operators use premium ingredients to drive spend

The reports shows that the proportion of main dishes on chain restaurant menus that are new rose 12% in Q2 2024, up 2ppts (percentage points) year-on-year.

These new dishes are also priced 23% higher than the channel’s average main, indicating the use of more premium ingredients with operators utilising higher-quality meats and dairy products.

Examples include Zizzi’s new wagyu meatball arrabbiata; Wagamama’s marinated chicken thigh coconut kare; and ASK Italian’s butterfly king prawn insalata.

More broadly, menu counts for chain restaurants have remained steady year-on-year, with Lumina noting that operators are ‘looking to strike balance between catering to a range of dietary requirements and consumer preferences whilst mitigating challenges around skills shortages and volatile ingredient costs’.

In contrast, menus across the pub and bar channel are on average 12 food items shorter, with main options being reduced by an average of five dishes as operators look for cost increase mitigation and ways to simplify processes.

However, Lumina notes that operators are broadening the scope of menus to modernise propositions and attract a more aspirational customer.

Operators are adopting ingredients and dishes that have increased profile in the UK through increased kitchen tourism and channels including social media.

Examples include the wider adoption of kimchi-based dishes such as the kimcheese bites at O’Neil’s; and Chef & Brewer’s duo of chicken served rice, tangy kimchi, and a rocket and cucumber salad.

Across the eating out sector, food menu prices increased 4.5% year-on-year in Q2 2024.

Pub and bar menus recorded the largest average increase, with prices rising 5.5%, while coffee and sandwich shops have seen the lowest (+2.1%).