Acceptable attributes

Consumer demand for nutrition information about the foods they eat is a key driver of increased interest in the back-story of where food comes from. Proteins sourced from animals that are “responsibly raised” is a mega trend that has interested more than half of consumers, according to research by Datassential. Along these lines, grass-fed beef is gaining traction among consumers, with demand for grass-fed, antibiotic-free and free-from meat products showing annual growth.

Mintel found that 79 percent of consumers surveyed said they believe grass-fed beef is higher quality than regular beef, and this perception is motivating 43 percent of consumers to want more beef burgers sourced from grass-fed cattle on foodservice menus.

“With its purported superior taste, healthfulness claims and ‘feel good’ connotations, burgers made with grass-fed beef are an especially important foodservice trend right now,” Bryant said. “Diners today are interested not only in food that is good for them; they also want food that makes them feel good. This is magnified for food that comes with a ‘story,’ as consumers increasingly want to know where their food was made and how it was prepared and produced. This presents an opportunity for restaurants to better compete with retail packaged beef, which often times does not provide such information to consumers.”

Separately, foodservice operators are experimenting with resizing and stuffing burgers. Datassential said in its 2015 Burger Keynote that 63 percent of consumers were interested in mini-burgers while 60 percent were interested in stuffed burgers.

Arby’s Restaurant Group capitalized on the trend of mini-handheld sandwiches with the chain’s lineup of sliders, which includes a Buffalo Chicken flavored slider and a Crispy Chicken ‘n Cheese version. Meanwhile, White Castle went the alternative protein route and introduced crab cake and fish sliders to a lineup that includes beef, chicken and veggie. The small size of sliders makes them a flexible menu item that diners can order as an entrée to share or as a snack.

According to Datassential’s Keynote Report: Snacking “…more consumers are seeing burgers and other handhelds as a ‘snackable’ item that can be eaten outside the standard meal dayparts. Only one-third of operators are actively promoting these items to diners as snacks.”

There also is consumer demand for morning iterations of dinner items, including breakfast burgers. Datassential reported 45 percent of consumers expressed interest in trying a breakfast burger. Alongside this trend is the appearance of eggs as a burger topper.

“The trend to ‘put an egg on it’ continues to grow though the focus is less on fried eggs as it was a few years ago and more on sunny-side up eggs over the past four years,” according to Datassential. “These are often used on brunch burgers.”

Butcher-free burger

Next on the horizon of burger trends may be “test-tube” meat, or meat that is grown in a laboratory from animal stem cells, according to Datassential. Memphis Meats, a company founded by three scientists, is working to become the first company to sell through retail meat that is produced in a lab.

The company’s founders expect to have products ready to market in less than five years. Products will include hot dogs, sausages, burgers and meatballs. The company revealed its cultured chicken and duck meat in March. Memphis Meats unveiled its cultured beef in February 2016.

“This is a technology that is getting closer to being reasonable for large-scale execution and mirrors the texture, taste and structure of traditional meat, but without the environmental and global impacts,” Datassential said. “Somewhat related are meat-free offerings that continue on the growth of alt-protein burgers, such as meat-free burger brand Beyond Meat.”

And traditional meat processors have taken notice – in 2016, Tyson Foods Inc., Springdale, Arkansas, created a $150 million venture capital fund called Tyson New Ventures LLC, which will focus on alternative proteins, among other segments in agriculture. The fund’s first investment was a 5 percent stake in El Segundo, California-based Beyond Meat, a manufacturer of meat-free burgers, strips, crumbles and single-serve meals.