Mexican Food Spicing Up Fast Casual Segment

CHICAGOAmericas spicy love affair with Mexican food continues to smolder as limited service Mexican restaurant chains increased sales by 2.7 percent and unit counts by 1.8 percent in 2009, despite an overall industrywide contraction of 3.2 percent during the same time period, according to a new Technomic market trends report.

According to the 2010 Market Intelligence Report: Mexican," several Mexican chains within the Top 500 posted double-digit sales increases, and the number of Mexican entrees on U.S restaurant menus was up 3.3 percent from the first half of 2009 to the first half of 2010, with 5.4 percent more restaurant chains offering Mexican menu items over that time period.

Data revealed that while chicken and beef are the most prevalent ingredients in tacos, the number of fish tacos on restaurant menus was up 22.5 percent from the first half of 2009 to the first half of 2010. Consumers also have responded to regional preparations of Mexican items, much like Tuscan or Sicilian within the Italian category or Cantonese and Sichuan varieties of Chinese food.

The rise in popularity of Mexican food is the culmination of a number of factors all converging in foodservice at this moment," said Mary Chapman, director of product innovation at Technomic. "The fast casual boom is certainly part of the equationMexican concepts fit well into the fast casual model. Consumers are also calling for authentic ethnic dining experiences and spicier, more flavorful foods, so Mexican concepts and menu items are on trend in a number of ways right now."