Here in the South, Pumpkin has long reined as king of the fall; but this year, chefs, limited-service brands, quick-service, and fast casual concepts have introduced non-pumpkin products and innovative spins on the pumpkin flavor with creative marketing campaigns.
For Au Bon Pain's Fall menu, the bakery rolled out several first-time releases, including, Pumpkin Croissant, Pumpkin CroisBun (a croissant and bun hybrid pastry), Caramel Apple Bar, Pumpkin Pie Latte, and an Oven Hot Turkey and Cheddar on 9-in Grain Cranberry Ciabatta Sandwich. For the fall flavors, "we talked about how to deliver them in a distinct and different way" says Maria Feicht, chief brand officer for Au Bon Pain.
In order to build early attention for their Pumpkin Spice Latte, Starbucks held a "Spot the Spice" challenge on @TheRealPSL. The account tweeted out hints about certain challenges, those who completed the challenges received a special password. On August 26th customers who showed or said their PSL password to a barista, "unlocked" the beverage early allowing it to be sold at their local Starbucks store that day.
Dairy Queen also earned social attention with this year's "DQ Blizzard Battle." The promo highlights the company's returning Pumpkin Pie Blizzard and the all new Apple Pie Blizzard. On the dedicated website, customers can vote for which blizzard tastes better and receive tips and "coaching" from the two different towns where DQ gets these two major fall flavors from - Wenatchee, Washington known for it's Apples, and Caro, Michigan known for their pumpkins.
Denver-based, nine-unit ModMarket designs its menu around seasonal ingredients. Corn, bacon, fall fruits, and carrots are all prominent on their Fall menu. Doing the menu this way is complex, but makes financial sense for the company, says co-founder Anthony Piliacampo.
While promotions are stirring up fall excitement across the industry, the season really is all about menu innovation. Your menu should have hearty, delicious recipes that highlight all of the very best fall ingredients. Whether your restaurant serves up breakfast, brunch, lunch, dinner, or desserts and pastries, fall presents the perfect opportunity for your restaurant menu to engage in seasonal specials, after school deals, and to heighten your customer experiences with seasonal decorations!
