The majority of UK diners would eat out to mark Thanksgiving if a pub or restaurant presented the opportunity to do so, according to new research by Moy Park Foodservice.
Sixty percent of those polled revealed they would dine out to celebrate the event (24 November 2016) which rivals Christmas for importance in its traditional home of North America. With the UK currently in thrall of American dining – US themed outlets are some of the fastest growing on our high streets – the survey found that 51% of respondents would like to see more pubs and restaurants actively putting on Thanksgiving celebrations.
Frannie Santos-Mawdsley, Senior Customer Marketing Manager, European Foodservice, Moy Park, says: “Diversification is key if pubs and restaurants are to keep profits ticking over and incremental occasions like Thanksgiving are a great way to entice people through the doors. You need only look at how something like Halloween has come into prominence as a key calendar event – Thanksgiving may currently be the preserve of our friends across the pond, but with the popularity of American dining soaring and a growing consumer curiosity, now is the time to take advantage.”
Moy Park Foodservice’s brand new casual dining range of chicken products is perfect for pubs and restaurants to quickly and simply take advantage of US Thanksgiving dining. From Buttermilk Wings and Smoky BBQ Chicken Drum Shanks to a Southern Spiced Chicken Thigh Burger and Nacho Cheese Steaks, the chef-inspired innovations have been developed and perfected following extensive trend research to help keep operators one step ahead in a burgeoning market.
Santos-Mawdsley concluded, “Turkey may be a Thanksgiving staple but delve deeper and it’s all celebration and doing different with your dishes. Sides and sharers also play a large part in proceedings giving sites licence to play with menus. Moy Park has the product range to help pubs and restaurants to seize the opportunity and profit in the process. Truly a reason to give thanks.”