Nestle Stouffers White Cheddar Mac and Cheese - skyscraper - both - 08.18

Rich's Plant Based and Gluten Free Crusts - banner - both - 07.18

Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt banner - both - 04.23

Seafood is Better - banner - both - 05.21

Hormel - Fire-Braised Chicken - Now Serving Flame-Seared Perfection - skyscraper - both - 02.20

Hormel - Fire-Braised Chicken - We Cook It - Operators Take Credit - skyscraper - both - 02.20

Tyson - Jimmy Dean - Loaded with Flavor - banner - both - 04.21

Campbells Culinary Reserve Thai Curry - both - skyscraper - 02.26

Shrimp that Brings the Big Picture - skyscraper - both - 11.22

Cargill - Truvia Serve Americas Best Selling Stevia Sweetener - banner - both - 03.19

Performance Dairy Clarified Butter - banner - both - 04.24

Catch of the Season - skyscraper - both - 07.22

A Family of Fine Cheeses - skyscraper - both - 08.22

Hormel - Fontanini - Handcrafted Meats - Unparalleled Flavor - banner - both - 02.20

Flattop Grillers - banner - both - 06.24.26

Cooper Shreds Have Now Arrived - banner - 02.24

Ambrosia Chocolate - skyscraper - both - 03.23

Golden Tiger Vegetable Spring Roll - Elevate Dishes with Vibrant Flavor - OE - banner

Portion Roast and Stew Meats - banner - both - 06.24.26

Simplot - Delivery Solved - Conquest Fries - skyscraper - both - 08.20

Certified Cage-Free Egg Bites - Portable, Protein-Packed Breakfast - banner - both - 09.23

Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt banner with chef - both - 04.23

Tyson - Bonici - Crave Chorizo - skyscraper - both - 04.21

Deliver Flavor and Value with Galbani Mozzarella - skyscraper - both - 07.22

Cargill - Truvia Sweet Customer Satisfaction Naturally - skyscraper - both - 03.19

Nestle - Hot Cocoa Bulk and Single-Serve Packets - skyscraper - both - 09.21

Simplot Conquest Crispy Potato Strips - banner - both - 01.20

Tyson - Wright Brand Bacon - skyscraper - both - 04.21

Nestle Vitality - Build a Refreshing Beverage Program - banner - both - 04.20

Simplot - Pineapple Perfected - RoastWorks - skyscraper - both - 08.20

Savor Imports - banner - both - 06.24

Fuel Foodservice Sales - banner - both - 07.26

Nestle White Cheddar Mac - Customize Creamy Comfort - skyscraper - both - 04.19

Rich's Plant Based Cooking Creme - skyscraper - both - 02.18

Wild Alaska Keta Salmon - skyscraper - both - 08.25

Performance Dairy Convenience and Consistency - banner - both - 04.24

Hormel - Fire-Braised Chicken - Ease Your Operator's Kitchen - banner - both - 02.20

General Mills - Pillsbury Takeout and Delivery Tips - skyscraper - both - 04.20

Simplot Harvest Fresh Avocado - banner - both - 01.20

Stacked for Success - OE - banner - 05.01-08.31.26

Essity - Clean Dry Hands - banner - OE - 03.17

Simply Potatoes Low Sodium Mashed Potatoes - skyscraper - both - 09.23

Knorr's Cook with More Possibilities - banner - both - 09.24

Indiana Packers - Vertical Integration - banner - both - 07.21

Rich's Plant Based Cooking Creme - banner - both - 02.18

Reel in Greater Appeal - both - banner - 10.22

Sugar Foods ecoStick Less Waste - banner - both - 10.16

Sugar Foods ecoSticks Beautiful Inside and Out - skyscraper - both - 04.18

Indiana Packers - Vertical Integration - skyscraper - both - 07.21

Sugar Foods ecoStick Dispensers Beverage Station - skyscraper - both -10.16

Grab 'n Go! Anytime. Every Time - banner - both - 07.23

Sugar Foods ecoSticks Dress Your Table for Success - skyscraper - both - 04.18

Nestle Minors Slow-Simmered Stock - Free Sample - banner - both - 02.20

Nestle White Cheddar Mac - Mac Pizza - skyscraper - both - 04.19

Campbells Masterbrand SnackCore Crackers - both - skyscraper - 02.26

Nestle White Cheddar Mac - Customize Creamy Comfort - banner - both - 04.19

Fabri-Kal - Packaging solutions for environmental and off-premise needs - banner - both - 11.19

Cargill - Truvia Serve America's Best-Selling Stevia Sweetener - skyscraper - both - 03.19

Sugar Foods - Turn Up the Beets Crispy Beets - skyscraper - both - 05.18

Sugar Foods - Add Savory Beet Notes Crispy Beets banner - both - 05.18

Sugar Foods - Turn Up the Beets Crispy Beets - banner - both - 05.18

Basic American Shred Competition operator banner ad - 12.17

Hormel - Bacon 1 - Great Bacon in Half the Time - skyscraper - both - 02.20

Sugar Foods ecoSticks Style and Substance - skyscraper - both - 04.18

Mini Cinnamon Swirl French Toast - banner - both - 09.23

Rich's Plant-Based - Good Things Grow - banner - both - 11.20

Catch of the Season - banner - both - 07.22

Rich's Plant Based and Gluten Free Crusts - skyscraper - both - 07.18

Wild Alaska Burgers - banner - both - 04.25

Simplot Sidewinders - Bendy is Trendy - skyscraper - both - 01.20

Simplot Conquest Crispy Potato Strips - skyscraper - both - 01.20

Simplot Delivery Solved - Conquest Fries - banner - both - 08.20

Fuel Foodservice Sales - skyscraper - both - 07.26

Campbells Culinary Reserve Jerk Chicken - both - banner - 02.26

Campbells Culinary Reserve Jerk Chicken - both - skyscraper - 02.26

Reel in Greater Appeal - skyscraper - both - 10.22

Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt skyscraper - both - 04.23

Indiana Packers - All-in-One Pork Supplier - skyscraper - both - 07.21

Rich's Plant-Based - Good Things Grow - skyscraper - both - 11.20

Hormel - Bacon 1 - Less Time Less Grease Less Mess - banner - both - 02.20

Hormel - Fire-Braised Chicken - Don't Labor Over Great Chicken - banner - both - 02.20

Hormel - Bacon 1 - You've Never Seen Bacon Like This - banner - both - 02.20

Campbells V8 Peach Mango and Pomegranate Blueberry - both - banner - 02.26

Dixie Ultra Surface Systems - banner - both - 02.23

Sugar Foods - Add Savory Beet Notes Crispy Beets skyscraper - both - 05.18

Knorr's Cook with More Possibilities - skyscraper - both - 09.24

Indiana Packers - All-in-One Pork Supplier - banner - both - 07.21

Seafood is Better - skyscraper - both - 05.21

Banner Ad - 4 - PICs - Operator - supersized

Entree Redi Wild Alaska Pollock - banner - both - 08.25

Honest Earth - Better Potatoes for a Better World - skyscraper - both - 05.23

Sunny Fresh Egg Bake Bites - banner - both - 03.23

Dixie Ultra Surface Systems - skyscraper - both - 02.23

Banner Ad - 3 - OE - Operator - supersized

Hormel - Bacon 1 - Full Case of Bacon No Grease - skyscraper - both - 02.20

La Ranchera Birria Base - both - 09.24

Butterball - Your Trusted Partner - skyscraper - both - 07.19

Cargill - Truvia Sweet Customer Satisfaction Naturally - banner - both - 03.19

Campbells Masterbrand SnackCore Snyders Pieces - both - skyscraper - 02.26

Empress 5-Compartment School Food Tray - 05.22

Adopt Innovative Approaches to Reduce Ingredient Costs
How can successful restaurants maintain the same level of customer experience&mdash;food, mood and service attitude&mdash;in the face of current challenges such as rising food costs? The short answer: strategic thinking.
Foodservice operators know that supply chain disruptions affect lead time and, consequently, their restaurant&rsquo;s ingredient costs. Managing food costs is the No. 1 business challenge for operators, followed closely by increasing customer traffic and managing labor costs.1
Strategies such as paring down the menu, incorporating ready-made items and offering high-margin meal add-ons can help operators be savvy and simplify back-of-house operations&mdash;all while keeping customers satisfied.
Amanda Gourley, Custom Services Lead at Nestl&eacute; Custom Services, is no stranger to helping operators develop strategies and find solutions to cost challenges.
&ldquo;Nestl&eacute; Custom Services offers the Menu Now&trade; Collection, which is full of ready-made items that can help operators protect against rising costs,&rdquo; Gourley says. &ldquo;Plus, our exceptional product development team can work with operators to swap out raw materials, which helps with savings, too. For example, if an operator likes one of our cheese sauces but has requirements around pricing, we can explore a more cost-effective cheese blend.&rdquo;
Streamline Your Menu 
Across the industry, operators are making efforts to stay competitive while managing costs. One way is by paring down their menus. Smaller menus can mean more efficiency, which can help combat rising ingredient prices and lower margins. Consider streamlining your menu to feature only best-selling items.
To understand which items may be eliminated, gather information from staff. Ask questions such as:
<ul>
<li>Which menu items are ordered most often and draw rave reviews? Conversely, which menu items are the least popular?</li>
<li>Are there certain menu items that customers modify consistently?</li>
<li>What are the least-profitable menu items?</li>
</ul>
Even with all this information, streamlining your menu can be challenging. Gourley explains how <a href="https://www.nestleprofessional.us/custom-menu-development-0" target="_blank">custom menu development</a> from Nestl&eacute; Custom Services analyzes menus to see if there are ways to reduce your total SKU count. &ldquo;For example, we can create a custom base sauce or recommend a product from our Menu Now&trade; Collection that can be used in different applications,&rdquo; she says. &ldquo;This helps one SKU do a lot of work across your menu.&rdquo;
Rethink Your Pantry
Time is a hot commodity in restaurants. Using ready-made items, like ready to use butter sauce for pasta, seafood, chicken and vegetables, can shorten lead time without cutting quality.
The products in our Menu Now&trade; Collection are heat-and-serve and help get customer-pleasing food to the table more quickly, which increases throughput and shortens table turnaround time. Additionally, these products offer consistent flavor and great taste&mdash;and there are no order minimums.
Put Trends to Work with Menu Add-Ons
Restaurant experiences remain in demand among customers who want to connect with others over a shared meal.2 What&rsquo;s more, dining occasions are enhanced when patrons can experience new flavors or fresh iterations of their favorite menu items. High-margin menu add-ons offer customers the option to customize or elevate their meal without putting unnecessary strain on staff. Even better, such menu add-ons can increase check averages.4
Consider the following approaches to build a selection of high-margin menu add-ons:
<ul>
<li>Identify multi-use ingredients.&nbsp;The ingredients you already use in other menu items can be turned into enticing side dishes. For example, four cheese sauce&nbsp;can enhance favorites like shareable dips or signature flatbreads.</li>
<li>Offer an additional salad option or LTO.&nbsp;Restaurants are creating opportunities to entice customers with <a href="https://www.nestleprofessional.us/trends-insights/restaurant-strategies-more-profitable-peak-hours" target="_blank">off-hours or slow-day meal offerings</a>.</li>
<li>Add more better-for-you choices. With 34% of consumers agreeing that healthfulness or better-for-you qualities increase the value of a food item,3many operators are planning to add more healthful and nutritious options to the menu.2</li>
<li>Feature popular desserts. Offer an indulgent treat without adding extra work to the back-of-house by using brownie batter.&nbsp;</li>
</ul>
Anticipate Inventory Challenges
Incorporating more shelf-stable items or single-serve frozen pouches means fewer items to work with and less waste. Additionally, making simple swaps can help. For example, replace romaine lettuce with spinach or kale, which last longer and can be used in multiple dishes.
Look for recipes where products such as high-quality, premade sauces might work in place of made-from-scratch sauces, too.&nbsp;
Gourley also notes that if a restaurant consistently has leftover product, like extra burger patties, Nestl&eacute; Custom Services can recommend how they use the surplus to make the ingredient go further and reduce waste.
&ldquo;For one customer, we make a soup base for chili that just has to be opened, heated and the burger meat added to it,&rdquo; she shares. &ldquo;If you&rsquo;re an operator who doesn&rsquo;t know what your waste will be, a frozen soup base like this is great to keep on hand when you have leftovers to use as needed.&rdquo;
Keep Cooking with Creativity
In 2025, 86% of foodservice operators saw an increase in food costs over 2024.5 However, higher costs don&rsquo;t have to hamper menu creativity or profitability. Operators who make proactive decisions around menu size and ingredient swaps can expect to maintain their profit margins. The experts at Nestl&eacute; Custom Services are on hand to help restaurants work around rising expenses with access to custom solutions that meet needs on both operational and financial levels.
&ldquo;The rising cost of food has been tough for operators looking for ways to shorten ingredients lists and reduce BOH time to increase throughput,&rdquo; Gourley says. &ldquo;Our goal is to provide kitchen-ready and tailored solutions that give restaurants the opportunity to provide quality, delicious meals that keep guests coming back.&rdquo;
Content courtesy of Nestle Professional
Sources:
1Datassential, Pulse Industry Overview, August 2025
2National Restaurant Association, State of the Industry Report, 2023
3MenuMatters, 2025 Trends, November 2024
4Kinetic 12, Emergence Q4 2022 Report
5Datassential, Industry Overview, August 2025

Rising food costs don’t have to hamper menu creativity or profitability. Implementing simple changes can help combat rising restaurant food costs.

How to Counteract Rising Restaurant Food Costs

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How to Counteract Rising Restaurant Food Costs