RECIPE: How to Make the Easy f’real Cherry Milkshake [Sponsored by f’real]
Any frozen beverage program needs the classics. Enter the Easy f’real Cherry Milkshake. It’s a perfect throwback to the days when milkshakes were menu royalty at local diners & soda stores. Here’s how to make it a staple of your frozen drink menu.
DID YOU KNOWS…
An Average World Cup
With France’s 4-2 win over Croatia, the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia ended in spectacular fashion. While the tournament’s ultimate game, it was the highest-scoring final in more than 50 years, turned out immensely entertaining to the neutral fan, the same cannot be said for all World Cup games, which were often dominated by defensive strength rather than by attacking flair. With a total of 169 goals scored, among them a record-setting 11 own goals, Russia 2018 was an average World Cup in terms of goals. On average, football fans saw 2.64 goals per game, falling just short of the 2014 tally of 2.67 goals per fixture.
Most Americans Say Russia Is an Enemy
U.S. public views of Russia have steadily deteriorated in recent years.. Back in 1999 when Boris Yeltsin was still president and close to the end of his time in office, 46% of Americans considered Russia a friend or ally according to Gallup and positive relations hit an all-time high of 73% by 2006. Perceptions started to go downhill in 2008, the year Russia and Georgia went to war and they have not recovered. The downward trend sped up after Russia's annexation of Crimea, Moscow's alleged shootdown of a Malaysian airliner over Eastern Ukraine and the alleged election interference.
Beer, Wine, Spirits Sales Heat Up
This summer has been great for the alcohol industry. Sales for beer, wine and spirits have all risen since the great ball of light in the sky started dropping intense heat on us all once more. This includes on-premise alcohol sales. The biggest winner are flavored malt/coolers and “domestic super premium beer.” Drinks with tequila, gin, rum and vodka are also have been popular this summer, so if you haven’t yet, you might want to consider a refreshing frozen drink program while sales (and the weather) are hot.
BEER N SPORTS N PIZZA
Why it matters to you: Pizza hut tries to go big with the food-booze delivery combination.
If you follow what we do you may remember a piece from February where we mentioned Pizza Hut trying to go big with alcohol deliveryin a few of their stores. The plan was to appeal to Millennials and Gen Z’ers with their newly founded alcohol delivery in addition to the regular program. This was to serve as a push to get a head start on the rest of the pizza chains’ delivery and come out ahead by beating the rest to the punch. It may be starting to work thanks in part to Papa John’s shooting themselves in the feet and Domino’s lack of alcohol sales.
Brands Inc. has made revitalizing Pizza Hut -- a focus of theirs since 2016. Taking over the NFL sponsorship once held by Papa John’s will likely play a major role in this process. America as a whole has made it clear that delivery is a very important aspect of what people look for in a dining choices, so adding beer can only help as a point of differential.
So, what does this mean for all us “little people?” Mainly that we should ensure that our delivery programs are top notch. We need to do what we can to choose the right takeout containers that protect the integrity of the meals, hire the right delivery staff and treat them properly and, if we can, include the option of alcohol in our delivery programs. What could be better on game day than getting beers delivered with guests’ pizza and wings? Not much!
DELIVERY IS REALLY DELIVERING.
Why it matters to you: The massive uptick in delivery is affecting what our menus look like.
Certain foods don’t travel well in takeout containers. And many of us have thought about how we could tweak takeout containers for the better or wished we could deny someone from ordering certain plates to go due to how poorly they travel (it really just hurts your soul to spend real time on a dish only to slop it right into a Styrofoam container, doesn’t it?). Well then this should come as no surprise: the sheer amount of delivery orders that go on today are now shaping what our menus look like.
Certain dishes do not travel well, so now chefs and owners are leaving those off their delivery menus and replacing them with items that travel better and taste better after sitting in traffic for 45 minutes on the way to guests in Styrofoam. We all know how disappointing that soggy, lukewarm order of buffalo wings can be if it takes too long to get to guests.
So, what is our move? We should just all be mindful of what we are allowing to represent our restaurants in people’s homes, whether that means potentially making certain items in-house only (a good way to incentivize actually coming in to the restaurant) or completely tailoring the menu to be good both in-house and to-go. Either way, with the sheer amount of competition out there having the best delivery program could mean the difference between staying afloat and drowning. Getting that menu detail is super important.
