Restaurants Dress Up Their Greens For National Salad Month

Get your forks out and your croutons on standby, America, because May is National Salad Month. As this celebration of greens gains popularity with each passing year, US consumers are seeing more salad options on menus.

According to Mintel Menu Insights, the number of salads menued across total US commercial restaurants increased 3% from Q1 2012-15. Greater growth occurred in the fast casual segment, with a 12% rise. Furthermore, there was a 208% increase in seasonal salads during this time, as well as an 80% growth in freshly-made claims.

With their popularity increasing, there has been a shift toward entire menus dedicated to salads, thus giving consumers a greater variety. Among the fastest growing salad types are kale, fruit and chicken salads. Three operator strategies to take advantage of the salad craze are limited-time salads, nutritional salads and upscale salads.

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