According to Menu Tracker, a tool created by Lumina Intelligence, in the third and fourth quarters of 2022, average food prices increased over all channels reaching an inflation of 4.1%.

The Menu Tracker Quarterly Report for Q4 2022 revealed:

• Coffee and sandwich shops were the key driver with 7.4% food menu inflation
• Chain restaurants came in second at 5%
• Total menu inflation was only 0.9% from June to September 2022.

The report also states that businesses increased the price of main dishes due to escalating food and energy costs. Even though new dishes were priced higher on restaurant menus compared to same-line dishes, same-line dish price inflation was bigger than on new items.

From Q3 to Q4, total same-line drink inflation increased by 0.6%, with non-alcoholic drink prices rising the most in quick service restaurants, while restaurants saw the highest alcoholic drink price increases. Other channels attempted to minimise drink price increases to encourage customer spending.

Moreover, menu counts saw ongoing growth. In the fourth quarter, the average number of food and drink items on menus was 151, up 2.7% from the previous quarter, with items rising over all channels.

Businesses also expanded their beverage offerings to include seasonal drinks during the holiday season, restaurants invested in Christmas cocktails, coffee and sandwich shops concentrated on hot drinks. The only channel that did not increase total drink counts was quick service restaurants.