Eighty-three percent of consumers say that cravings are the main reason they purchase food outside their home, according to a new report by market research firm Technomic. Nearly everyone is subject to some kind of comfort food craving at some point, and some restaurants know how to give customers exactly what they want. Want some cheesy biscuits? Go to Red Lobster. How about a massive portion of pasta? Hit up The Cheesecake Factory.
Technomic surveyed 22,459 adults and found that 75 percent of consumers who visit restaurants more than once a week are particularly interested in craveable items that they can't make at home.
Between 350 and 430 people were surveyed about each of the 115 restaurant chains that Technomic tracks. Here are the top performers:
Krispy Kreme has a pretty commanding lead, perhaps proving that a lot of people fall victim to donut cravings. In fact, dessert chains in general perform well, with Coldstone Creamery and Auntie Annie's (based on any time we've walked around a mall, we're going to go ahead and assume that the cinnamon sugar pretzel is a top seller) rounding out the top three.
Out of the casual dining chains, Red Lobster was deemed more addictive than Olive Garden or Cracker Barrel. Consumers found the seafood options to be the most crave-worthy, but also highlighted the cheddar biscuits.
Noticeably absent from the graph are any burger or pizza chains.
So what does this mean about our eating out habits? Given that only 25 percent of adults eat healthy when eating out, it seems like the other 75 percent are craving foods high in sugar, salt and fat.
To learn more, download a copy of the report here.
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