Innovation is the lifeblood of menu development, with countless new items invigorating restaurant brands and energizing the industry as a whole. While many of these may not evolve into long-term trends with major-league status, they still represent valuable niche opportunities to perk up offerings and generate buzz. Each month, we’re serving up a platter of ideas that aim to create a connection with customers and deliver a promotional pop.

Chicken Chronicles I: Shawarma Taking Wing

As the foodservice chicken juggernaut roars on, scarcely a week goes by without the debut of a new chicken-centric concept touting its sandwiches, tenders, fingers, wings or some combination of the above. Items are typically breaded, fried and flavor-forward, often tapping into the cayenne-based Nashville hot craze.

When we will reach peak Nashville hot is anyone’s guess, but for operators looking for a new and less incendiary option, chicken shawarma may fit the bill.

Middle Eastern in origin and a culinary first cousin to Greek gyros, shawarma consists of marinated, spiced meat roasted on a rotating vertical spit. The meat, often lamb, is shaved off the spit, wrapped in pita, lavosh or a local variant and topped with condiments like hummus and shredded vegetables.

A chicken version has been popping up on chain menus of late, as at 15-unit Birdcall, which greeted spring with a limited-time Crispy Chicken Shawarma Sandwich made featuring the chain’s signature all-natural chicken, shawarma seasoning, tomato-blended hummus and cucumber-yogurt salad on a brioche bun. Around the same time, Sajj Mediterranean unveiled a new permanent menu item: Traditional Chicken Shawarma Wrap with marinated and grilled chicken in new Levantine flatbread with garlic spread and diced pickles.

And as part of a larger menu revamp, The Cheesecake Factory recently added a Chicken Shawarma Sandwich, in which the chicken is flavored with a shawarma spice blend that’s crafted in house, then packed into a pita along with tomatoes, housemade pickles, onion, garlic and cilantro. This item is particularly noteworthy, as The Cheesecake Factory has long functioned as a leading indicator of menu trends that subsequently appear in the broader restaurant space.

Chicken Chronicles II: Al Pastor Rising

Credit: Chipotle

Chipotle’s recent Chicken Al Pastor LTO featured a marinade of seared morita peppers and ground achiote, pineapple juice and a finish of lime juice and cilantro.

Introduced by Lebanese immigrants in the early 20th century, al pastor is Mexico’s answer to shawarma. In the traditional preparation, pork and pineapple are spit-roasted with the latter basting and tenderizing the meat. But now, adaptations that feature chicken have also been making waves on chain menus.

Last fall, Taco Bell tested Chicken Al Pastor Street Chalupas, an extension of its highly successful Cantina Chicken platform, in which slow-roasted chicken is seasoned by a pineapple-and-chile marinade then topped with onions and cilantro and served in street-sized Quesalupa shells. Watch for the brand to introduce new al pastor-inspired offerings this year.

Chipotle’s Chicken Al Pastor Burrito Bowl, along with burrito, salad, taco and quesadilla options, first launched in 2023 and marked one of the chain’s most successful introductions. During its limited-time run, the bowl entrée alone accounted for 20 percent of all transactions. Chipotle’s chicken al pastor is marinated in morita peppers and ground achiote, with a boost of flavor from a pineapple juice and lime-cilantro finish.

Emergence of chicken shawarma and al pastor variations is driven by their approachable global flavors and a preparation format that suggests a level of expertise that, like fried chicken, most consumers are unlikely to replicate at home.

Beverage Beat: Lavender Blooming

Credit: Caribou Coffee

The lavender lineup at Caribou Coffee is now a permanent part of the menu and includes the Honey Lavender Espresso Shaker (left), Lavender Lemonade Energy Drink (center) and Iced Lavender Matcha Tea Latte.

The New York Times boldly proclaimed that “Lavender Is the Springtime Answer to Pumpkin Spice” last year and noted its appearance across seasonal menus at coffee shops, cocktail bars and ice cream emporiums.

Its arrival on the Starbucks menu in 2024 was reportedly sparked by a flurry of customer requests, and it’s back for a repeat engagement this year. In addition to the returning Lavender Oatmilk Latte and Iced Lavender Cream Oatmilk Matcha, the lineup also features a new Lavender Crème Frappuccino Blended Beverage.

In January, competitor Caribou Coffee announced that lavender is back for good and available year-round in options like the Honey Lavender Espresso Shaker and Frozen Lavender Matcha Tea with Bubbles, which also delivers on the boba trend. Cold foam, the trendy topper that’s been turning up everywhere, is getting the lavender treatment, too, as with Black Rock Coffee Bar’s Matcha with Lavender Cold Foam.

The fragrant herb is influencing other beverages as well, such as Caribou’s Lavender Lemonade Energy Drink and Peet’s Coffee’s Lavender Sparkling Lemonade, which combines lemonade with lavender syrup and club soda. Clean Juice brings the flavor profile to the smoothie realm with its newly launched The Relaxation One. Combining almond milk, blueberries, banana, avocado, honey, collagen and lavender, the smoothie leans into lavender’s functional side, touting it as an ingredient that promotes relaxation and better sleep.

Indeed, lavender boasts a long-established reputation as a calming aromatic, giving it an automatic leg-up in the F&B world. Its raging popularity as of late has been driven in part by post-Covid interest in self-care and has led to surging growth of lavender farms in the last decade. Whether or not lavender ultimately achieves the spring-time equivalent of fall favorite pumpkin spice remains to be seen—after all, lavender is technically a summer herb. Nonetheless, it’s a good bet that it will become a early spring beverage menu perennial.