2025 was a bad time to be a chicken
Hamburgers got a swift kick to the buns in 2025, often bumped from their star menu billing by chicken tenders. Oh, sure, beef barons like McDonald’s and Wendy’s kept the patties flowing, but much of their sales effort shifted to the boneless strips that turned specialists like Raising Cane’s and Zaxby’s into family favorites. They were joined in that endeavor by unlikely converts ranging from Taco Bell to Golden Corral.
Chili’s touted its revamped tenders as a key reason for the casual giant’s stunning turnaround. No wonder Applebee’s, an arch-rival, added the poultry planks as an all-you-can-eat option. TGI Friday’s revamped both its chicken and the sauce that’s served with it.
The list goes on and on. Consumer appeal seemed to be the main reason for the widespread adoption of a new menu must-have, but topspin was undoubtedly added by a steep climb in beef costs and a newfound ardor among consumers for protein-heavy diets.
At this rate, we may even see In-N-Out add a seventh menu item.
New on every menu: The tariff scramble
Advances in technology have armed foodservice operations with sophisticated tools for controlling food costs. Yet even the highest-def crystal ball couldn’t deliver a clear near-term picture after President Trump embraced steep protective tariffs as a signature policy.
Starting April 2 and continuing into November, he imposed and lifted protective duties in no predictable fashion. One day, operators groused that they could no longer afford staples like coffee and cocoa. A day later, to the surprise of everyone, the surcharges were largely gone.
The industry has been struggling since what Trump termed Liberation Day to calculate the surcharges’ impact on costs. But the variables keep changing. Implementation dates have been postponed. Tariff rates have soared or fallen unexpectedly, surprising even White House aides.
A number of the surcharges were eventually scrapped outright, including most of the duties on imported foods. Yet the levy on pastas from Italy have remained so high that some of the importers say they may exit the U.S. market.
The tariffs on many wines and spirits also remain in place—though it’s anyone’s guess for how long.
All in all, there’s still no clarity on how much of a squeeze the tariffs will put on margins. And that’s not even the most vexing uncertainty.
The charges could be ruled illegal by the U.S. Supreme Court. But the White House has said it will be ready with alternative ways of jacking up the cost of imports. For the industry, it could be back to Square One with a whole new approach affecting food costs.
Nostalgia trumps innovation
Disorienting times brought a clear bend toward the familiar and comforting in menu development. Indeed, innovation seemed to take a backseat to nostalgia in shaping bills of fare during 2025.
Without a calendar at hand, restaurant-chain regulars might have thought they’d slid back in time. KFC brought back Potato Wedges, a guest favorite in the 1960s.
McDonald’s crowed about reintroducing its Snack Wraps, an option customers hadn’t found under the Golden Arches in nearly two decades. Warm memories were also the goal of the Happy Meals line that was showcased for a limited time. The bundled lunches and dinners were intended to draw adults who’d ordered the meals as children.
Taco Bell delighted a near-cult-like sector of its fans with the return of Mexican Pizza, while Denny’s trawled for business with a renewed spotlight on its Grand Slams breakfasts.
Krispy Kreme introduced a new line of doughnuts that paid homage to Peanuts, a comic strip that hasn’t added any new installments in 25 years.
At a time of increased price sensitivity, customers opted for rewarmed memories over items offered at a bargain price.
“Nostalgia-focused [menu] promotions had a 75% success rate, compared to purely price or value-based promotions that only had a 57% success rate," explained David Portalatin, SVP and Industry Advisor on Food and Foodservice for the research company Circana.
Sleeper trend of the year: An edit to menu labels
The nostalgia trend even extended to regulatory and government-affairs issues. Nineteen years after sparking a movement to include a nutritional breakdown on menus of every item listed, menu labeling made headlines again.
California became the first state in the nation to enact a requirement that chain restaurants flag items on their menus that contain any of the nine most common food allergens. It takes effect next July.
New York City initiated an awareness campaign to promote compliance with a requirement that local chain restaurants designate items containing at least 50 grams of added sugar with a warning icon. Only ready-to-consume items that are also marketed in prepackaged form, like sodas, have to be identified. It takes effect Jan. 1.
Local lawmakers have already proposed an update of the Big Apple’s requirement that menu items containing at least 2,300 milligrams of sodium be flagged with a saltshaker icon. A proposal introduced in the fall would lower the trigger threshold to 1,800 milligrams of sodium.
Louisiana restaurants that cook with seed oils will be required to highlight that fact via menus or in-store alerts beginning Jan. 1, 2028. Establishments will also have to designate dishes that contain any item off a list of ingredients that are believed to be health detriments.
The head-scratcher among the new disclosure requirements is Texas’ mandate that restaurants tag menu options containing any of 44 ingredients whose consumption is discouraged or banned in certain other nations because of health concerns. It takes effect Jan. 1.
Big brands give beverage spin-offs a try
The success of beverage specialists like Dutch Bros and Swig hasn’t gone unnoticed by the big quick-service brands that feature soft drinks merely as an add-on to food purchases. Several of the giants have responded by hatching new concepts or menus centered on libations.
McDonald’s found instant success with a drinks venture called CosMc’s , but opted to absorb some of the spin-off's signatures into the company’s mother brand rather than build a new chain.
Taco Bell and KFC opted for the new-chain approach. The former is opening a Taco Bell variation called Live Mas Cafe, with at least 30 units under development.
KFC, a sister concept within the Yum Brands portfolio, is growing a secondary brand called Saucy. The venture features 11 beverage options, a nod to the 11 herbs and spices used in KFC’s chicken batter, as well as 11 sauces for aucy’s signature chicken tenders.
Chick-fil-A joined the flock with the October 30 opening of Daybright, a drive-thru operation featuring cold-pressed juices, smoothies, and hot and cold coffee drinks. A seating area for drink-in customers is also included.
But just like its mother concept, Daybright is not open on Sundays.
Keep your eyes open during the next few days for more installments of our 2025 recap for the food-away-from-home industry.