In the beginning episodes of “The Bear,” viewers see Richie, often referred to as “Cousin” by Carmy, in conflict with restaurant owner Carmy and many of the staff at the restaurant he works at The Beef. However, in episode seven of season two titled “Forks,” a more dynamic Richie emerges as he does a one-week training course at a fine dining restaurant and learns to embrace high standards for work and himself.

Although not scripted for TV audiences, the past five years has shown how dynamic the foodservice industry truly is and the steps purveyors have taken to rebound following challenging times.

“2025 has been dynamic for the foodservice channel. While we’ve seen some headwinds from weather-related slowdowns and consumer caution due to the flu season as well as broader macroeconomic pressures, there has also been resilience,” says Eric Blumenthal, vice president of customer value and growth at The Coca-Cola Co. for North America. “Consumers are still seeking quality experiences, especially in convenience and on-the-go formats.”

Ryan Tuttle, senior consultant at Chicago-based Euromonitor International, notes that as a whole the foodservice was up just shy of 5% in terms of value this past year, with limited-service as a whole up 5.1% in value for 2024.

“One of the best performing has been chicken limited service,” he says. “That probably doesn't come as a surprise because there's been a lot of big news in the chicken space. … [There is] lots of chicken showing up in every channel of food service. And limited service side is certainly performing a little bit better than full service restaurants, as you might expect in an economy where price sensitivity is important.”

Adjusting for the times

Although foodservice overall and limited service exhibited positive performance in 2024, experts note that it was not without its challenges, particularly as it navigates the impacts of inflation on operations.

“The Food Away from Home channel continues to be challenged by inflation. Over the past two years, foodservice inflation has outpaced the general U.S. inflation, causing consumer sensitivity to the high prices while dining out,” Coca-Cola’s Blumenthal says citing Technomic’s “Top 500 Report.”

Citing the State of the Marketplace Q1 2025 data, Blumenthal explains that the inflation gap between at-home and away-from-home food has narrowed in the past six months, yet consumers still remain affected from prolonged price increases.

“This sustained pressure is leading to spending trade-offs and increasing demand for value-driven deals and promotions,” he says.

Citing the National Restaurant Association’s State of the Industry 2025 report, Blumenthal notes that the average cost of food and labor has increased 30%, with many foodservice purveyors expecting additional increases.

“As a highly profitable item on a restaurant’s menu, selling more beverages, via an optimized offering at the right price, can help counteract these cost pressures,” he says.

Euromonitor’s Tuttle notes that inflation has been a challenge for many years, but adds that inflation rates coming through this year have been reasonable based on standards of the past few years.

“Obviously, everything is still quite a bit higher than it was throughout the teens and the aughts,” he says. “I would say the hope entering the year was that inflation was going to moderate a bit more.”

Tuttle adds that assessment is difficult to prognosticate though in the face of tariff threats.

“I would say inflation is definitely still a concern and one that probably remains a concern, at least for the foreseeable next year or two,” he says. “With a mind to how does the tariff situation play out? Because that’s kind of the driver at the moment of where inflation is going to go … with the exception of eggs, because those are fighting their own bird flu battle consistently throughout the year.”

Value and customizations

As consumers remain highly price conscious, foodservice operators are implementing a variety of tactics to keep visitors coming back.

“Value remains a top priority for consumers. After a year marked by heavy promotions and discounts, the industry is recalibrating,” Coca-Cola’s Blumenthal says. “While deals have played an important role in bringing consumers back, there is a fine balance for operators between affordability and performance. As consumers weigh tradeoffs, they are seeking deals and promotions and are recognizing the value for the money. We’ve seen that fast casual continues to resonate with the consumer as they perceive a better value equation from this channel.”

Beyond value propositions, Blumenthal notes that technology is playing a great role within foodservice.

“Digital convenience is becoming the norm,” he says. “Online ordering, automation and smart equipment are helping restaurants streamline operations while meeting consumer demand for speed and ease.”

Another important driver for engaging consumers has been the personal touches that foodservice purveyors offer to diners.

“Demand for personalization continues to increase,” Blumenthal says. “Consumers are increasingly seeking food and beverage experiences that feel tailored to their preferences.”

Euromonitor’s Tuttle also highlights the abundance of customization throughout foodservice.

“A lot of the innovation is happening on that beverage side. One of the storylines of last year was, and I think it was two years ago, but across the last year, was McDonald's opening their CosMc’s brand, which was their first new chain concept in multiple decades, I believe,” Tuttle says. “And that was heavily focused on customizable drinks, kind of in that Starbucks vein, where consumers could come in and buy it, you know, be focused specifically on a beverage and then maybe buy a snack. So that was an interesting trial that they basically ran.

“Recently they announced that they are closing the standalone stores and working to integrate that concept into their mainline McDonald’s brand with a couple of main ideas,” he continues. “One of them being that it’s easier to pair traditional McDonald’s food options with the drinks. So, if they can get people in the door with an interesting drink, then they can sell them a Big Mac or Quarter Pounder or what have you.”

Noting that beverages offer a high margin opportunity for foodservice, Tuttle notes that value propositions as well as experimentations with limited offerings can help get consumers into establishments with the hope of selling more food items off of that.

Coca-Cola’s Blumenthal also points to beverage’s ability to drive revenue and versatility within foodservice.

“As operators balance the various needs and trends of the consumer, beverages are a lever that can be quickly tailored,” he says. “Whether it’s an affordable option for the consumer looking to spend less, a premium beverage that provides an experience or indulgence, or a mixology-crafted creation, there is a beverage for every consumer. With a growing emphasis on value and experience, modest gains like selling just one additional beverage per day can make a meaningful difference to an outlet’s bottom line.”

Blumenthal further details that for foodservice outlets, it’s not just about having the right brands available, but also the right categories. He adds that limited-time offerings and category innovation can serve as ways to address trends such as customization, wellness, premiumization in addition to daypart or flex formats.

Highlighting the company’s May release of Sprite + Tea, Blumenthal cites this as an example of its trend-forward innovation.

“It blends the crisp lemon-lime refreshment of Sprite with the classically refreshing flavor of tea ― an idea sparked by the viral trend of consumers steeping tea bags in Sprite,” he says. “Available in both packaged and frozen formats, Sprite + Tea meets the growing demand for variety, customization and bold, craveable flavors.”

Another beverage trend gaining traction, Euromonitor’s Tuttle notes are dirty sodas, carbonated soft drinks augmented with mix-ins or topped with creams and other syrups. Despite its presence in the zeitgeist, Tuttle adds that these have been around in various formats for quite some time.

“[I] think the most famous that most people are familiar with is going to be Sonic, which has long had mix-ins of things like Nerds and, I want to say, pop rocks and all kinds of other things that you can add on to the soda,” he says. “But you’re seeing that a lot more in more mainline, you’re much more widespread chains. Taco Bell experimented with this with their Baja Blast. They had mix-ins of kind of like a cream to it. It was like a powdered cream. That was one of them.

“You’ve seen Burger King has been playing with this quite a bit,” Tuttle continues. “I want to say that they have Nerds right now on like a frozen Fanta, so adding in the frozen side of things, adding in mix-ins … but there were several different brands that have been playing with that. Chick-fil-A has been doing more experimenting with their lemonades to get different flavors in there. And then the soft drink companies themselves are leaning into this.”

Wait and see

Although beverages have played a positive role in foodservice operations this past year, experts note that other factors will play into how the channel finishes out the year.

“While early 2025 has presented challenges, the long-term outlook for foodservice remains cautiously optimistic,” Coca-Cola’s Blumenthal says. “Consumer demand hasn’t disappeared; it’s simply more deliberate. Guests are making fewer visits but expecting more from each one, which puts pressure on operators to differentiate, drive repeat visits and deliver consistent quality. Success this year will hinge on flexibility: balancing efficiency with experience and leveraging high-margin categories like beverages to increase check value and build brand affinity.”

In terms of performance predictions, Euromonitor’s Tuttle says that the market research firm anticipates that 2025 will have a little bit of a slowdown compared with 2024. Accounting for inflation, it predicts 4.7% increase for 2025 and 4.5% for 2026 from a limited-service perspective.

“I would say the biggest factors on that are not the interest in products, but that we’re pricing in a potential recession and potential deterioration of the economy depending on how tariffs go and just generally based on the level of uncertainty in policy at the moment,” Tuttle says. “Certainly, there will be winners in there that are going to be doing well above the growth rate.

“You know, we’ve seen a lot of growth in Latin American limited service ― think different regional cuisines often perform better than the baseline,” he continues. “And places, I think, that are leading into a lot of these beverage trends and a lot of the limited time offerings are going to see some of the better performance on that front.”