Continued Rise of Blue Cheese Usage
The end of summer means a few things: cooler temps, different colors and of course, football season. Whether you’re tailgating before the game, watching at home on your big screen or looking to offer some new menu items this fall – you should take a look at incorporating Blue Cheese.
Marzetti Foodservice recently acquired trend information, and the findings were substantial.
Blue Cheese can be a dressing, dip or sauce depending on the item. Menu mentions of Blue Cheese dressing and dips have increased by 7% and 3% over the last year, respectively. Most notably, menu incidence of Blue Cheese sauce has increased by 51% in 2013. Specialty burgers are far and away the top menu item featuring Blue Cheese sauce.
Much like fish sandwiches being the focus of menus in March and April, new items can be found this fall. It occurs in all types of restaurants from casual dining to QSR. It is often paired with Buffalo sauce like this burger from Carl’s Jr. Blue Cheese can be great as a complement to the spicy sauce like with this simple recipe for Buffalo Chicken Pasta.
Football season breeds ingenuity with different regions of the country creating their own dishes to serve surrounding the big games. From Green Bay to Baton Rouge, fans ramp up their delicacies specifically for games.
While they were created in the parking lot, you can bring them into your restaurant. Serving these Roasted Potatoes and Onions will either console a sullen fan after a big play for the other team or provide the energy for a full day of football watching.
Blue Cheese dressing is also more of a consideration among males than females which makes perfect for this time of year. Some other key factors around Blue Cheese include:
- The consumer skews to the demographic over age 35, with those age 55 and over as the largest group.
- Blue Cheese dressing is most frequently offered in the entrée portion of the menu.
- More than a quarter of consumers would like Blue Cheese dressing as a dipping option for chicken nuggets/strips.
- Nearly one fifth of consumers would consider ordering Blue Cheese sauce as a burger topping.
- The sauce is offered most often at Varied Menu concept restaurants.
Although it’s undeniably great as a dipping sauce for those Buffalo wings or covering that wedge salad, try incorporating it into new favorites, like this Roasted Pear Salad. Blue Cheese is as versatile as it is delicious.
Source: Technomic, Inc. Trend Reports 2013
