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Embracing Spooky Season with Halloween LTOs
CSSI Staff Post – October 29, 2020
We have seen Halloween-focused chain restaurant communication trickle in, focused on promoting new and limited-time specials or offerings to celebrate the spooky season. Many restaurant brands understand that Halloween will not look the same this year. With parties not happening and trick or treating being socially distanced, they are conjuring up fun Halloween activities for families and exciting menu items to make up for it.
Some brands promote family-friendly
DIY kits like cookie or donut decorating kits
with everything you need to decorate, from the baked goods to the icing and sprinkles. Meal and DIY kits were a big hit for operators as COVID has dragged on, so these operators are using the holiday to continue this revenue stream. Additionally, some operators offer
free candy or desserts to kids who say "trick or treat!"
or dress up in costume. Others are offering
free kids meals, costume or not, to get into the spirit.1
For chains that cater to adults, many are promoting holiday-themed LTOs, while still using a light-hearted tone. For example, Sheetz is announcing three seasonal drinks like the
Monster Mash candy shake, which features peanut butter sauce, salted caramel, brownie bites, and Reese's cups. Chili's and Applebee's bring back their scary cocktails like
The Spider Bite 'Rita
from Chili's. Slater's 50/50 is getting in the spirit with their Oozefest, featuring Juicy Lucy burgers and
Garlic Vampire Dip.2,3
Other chains embrace the digital boom by promoting Halloween offers exclusively online, like Chipotle, who is changing their Boorito promotion (dress up in costume and get discounted items) to a
BOGO offering dropped on Tiktok, Twitter and Instagram.3
Overall, many operators understand that Halloween won't look the same as it has in years past and is trying to offer fun ideas and incentives to consumers to get them to dine or order-in.
1 Cobe, Patricia. “Restaurants Get into the Halloween Spirit with Spooky Specials.” Restaurant Business, Restaurant Business, 20 Oct. 2020.
2 Sheetz, Inc. “No Trickz, All Treatz: Sheetz to Celebrate Halloween with Special Drinkz Menu.” PR Newswire: News Distribution, Targeting and Monitoring, 19 Oct. 2020.
3 Schena, Susan C. “Where To Eat Free On Halloween 2020: Restaurant Steals & Deals.” San Francisco, CA Patch, Patch, 27 Oct. 2020.
Eileen Stapleton
Senior Culinary Account Executive
March 1st, 2023 We’re thrilled to introduce the newest addition to our culinary family: Chef Steve Madonna. Formally trained in both Italy and the United States, as well as having worked for Wolfgang Puck, Chef Steve brings an extensive set of connections and culinary knowledge to our already stacked chef roster. Featured in this month’s issue is one of Chef Steve’s favorite recipes for making memories at home with your loved ones.
October 19, 2022 Pumpkin pie is a nostalgic menu item and my personal favorite when it comes to fall and winter menus, as it goes hand in hand with a traditional Thanksgiving or Christmas feast. We elevate the nostalgia by turning this must-have holiday dish into a clarified cocktail that leaves your taste buds as curious as your eyes. We get adventurous as we replace expected visual elements with an ice-cold glass of clarified liquors infused with pumpkin pie. This cocktail defies all visual expectations, while leaving your sense of smell and taste immersed in a seasonally nostalgic experience.
October 19, 2022 Canada is well known for many things. Hockey, snow, maple syrup, and a few other stereotypical but somewhat accurate concepts may immediately come to mind. What you may not know, though, is how invested we are in the snacks that we consume. Compared to the U.S., sure, we are no match for the quantity and variety offered in the land of the free, home of the snacks. However, what we know in our hearts is that Canada has a long-standing, tried-and-true, flawed, yet beloved top-notch snack game. I’m talking about comfort foods that have become so integrated and so established that they are classified as cult-favourites—and no, I did not spell favourites incorrectly. You are about to see a lot more of the letter “U” in this article. Sorry! The great Canadian snack game is easy enough to understand. You think of a flavour and either slap it on a potato or pair it with chocolate. Snacking has always been a huge part of Canadian food culture, but it is only going up from here. To put it lightly, the past few years have been tough on everyone around the world, and Canadians have chosen to increase their spending on snacks by 67% as an indulgence or, personally, as a coping mechanism. In no way, shape, or form am I claiming to be a culinary expert somehow employed in the field of Finance, but I have eaten a lot in my life and right now, I’m the best and/or only Canadian guide you’ve got. Let’s get into the details:
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