Flavor Trends, Strategies and Solutions for Menu Development

 

 

 

By Katie Ayoub

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Tony Bahu

Yonutz! has mastered the art of creating singular, Insta-ready experiences, particularly with its trademarked SMASHED donut concept, which combines the best elements of donuts and ice cream. The donut is cut in half, stuff ed with a scoop of ice cream, pressed on a griddle, then finished with a medley of toppings, ranging from rainbow sprinkles to Sour Patch Kids. “Our SMASHED products bring a new twist to a very traditional market,” says Tony Bahu, CEO and Founder.

The kids’ cereal-topped Pebble Rebel, an original offering, remains a very popular seller, says Bahu. “When I was younger, my parents made it a rule that if I was eating cereal, it had to be at breakfast, and it could only ever be one kind of cereal—never a combination of two or more,” he says. “As we started working on the menu, I wanted to break those childhood rules.”

Whimsical builds are never in short supply at Yonutz! The three-time “Dessert Wars” award-winning Nutella Crunch is another fan favorite. It features cookie dough ice cream, Oreo and butter crunch pieces and a drizzle of Nutella. “It was one of the first SMASHED menu items and quickly garnered a significant following on social media,” says Bahu. “Since day one, it has outperformed all other menu items and continues to captivate taste buds with its combination of flavors and textures.”

 

About The Author

Katie Ayoub

Katie Ayoub serves as managing editor of Flavor & The Menu and content strategist for the Flavor Experience, an annual conference geared toward chain operators. She is president of Katie Ayoub & Associates, serving up menu trends expertise, content creation and food & beverage consultancy. Based in Chicago, Katie has been working in foodservice publishing for more than 20 years and part of the Flavor team since 2006. [email protected]