With many of us trying to do the right thing, choosing healthier food, when we eat it’s no wonder so many restaurants are making a shift to healthier menu ingredients.

Recently, Papa John’s (the global pizza brand) made good on its promise to eliminate a number of chemicals and ingredients from its menu items and ingredients list. The list of ingredients that the brand removed includes:

- Synthetic Beta Carotene

- Caramel Color

For many people, coffee is life. And for the true coffee aficionados out there it can be difficult to get a quality cup of coffee in the average QSR or fast-casual restaurant. The truth is, coffee just isn't a big part of the profit mix for most restaurants. Because of this, they simply don’t invest in the products or the equipment to support quality coffee.

Take a look at the menu of your favorite restaurant. Chances are, they don’t have much more than “coffee” listed. No mention of brand, percolation method, 

It’s safe to say that restaurants have been around far longer than TV commercials to promote them. But TV has played a major role in the success of many restaurants. Big, international chains as well as smaller local brands know the importance of exposure and are turning to TV (and now YouTube and other media channels) to promote their brands with the goal of increased revenue.

Setting all the extraneous internal marketing aside, we’re going to focus this post on the part where a restaurant brand (or its marketing agency) reaches out to production companies with a brief in order to get proposals.

In terms of culinary life, tater tots are still very young. Making their debut in cafeteria trays in American schools just under 70 years ago, the dish is simple - it’s potatoes. Or, maybe you prefer to call tater tots the UN-fries of American cuisine. Regardless of what you call them, or how you feel about them, they’re making a move into the spotlight lately - especially in burger joints where they are fast-approaching the simple french fry as the potato dish of choice to accompany burgers.

If you enjoy the McDonald’s signature burger, and you also enjoy spicy Sriracha sauce, this post will be of interest to you. If you also just enjoy reading about new and interesting ways big QSR brands are doing to stay relevant, keep reading as well.

The global burger chain announced recently that it is testing a Sriracha Big Mac burger menu item in the USA. The test is only taking place in one city as of right now - Columbus Ohio. The city has been a popular test location for other “Mac” products that are set to be introduced nation-wide in 2017.