Top entree salads
Top entree salads
Specialty salads are the leading type of entree salads on Canadian menus, according to Technomic’s MenuMonitor database. This type of salad allows a concept to differentiate their menu from that of competitors, offering up unique flavours and ingredients created specifically with customer preferences in mind. Specialty salads are an opportunity to showcase culinary creativity and incorporate current food trends.
Speaking of current food trends, two of the leading entree salad varieties are inspired by global fare. Asian salad and Greek salad both rank high on the list, which is in line with a growing interest in these ethnic cuisines. Consumers are becoming increasingly familiar with the flavours and ingredients found in Asian and Greek foods, explaining the prevalence of these cuisines across the menu.
These findings indicate an opportunity for operators to create chef-crafted, specialty salads that incorporate trendy ethnic flavours to appeal to changing consumer interests. For example, MenuMonitor data finds that the fastest-growing Asian ingredients on menus are soy lime dressing, mirin dressing and wagyu beef, all of which could be easily incorporated into an entree salad.
