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From quick-service restaurants (QSRs) to school foodservice programs, new items geared to the young have cropped up, some in response to the frenzy sparked by the need for healthier food. Some consumer-advocate groups and government agencies are up in arms about what to do about children's rising obesity rates. Even restaurants are under attack: New legislation, if it passes, will require large chain restaurants to print nutrition information on menus in five states. Creating new, healthy menus that appeal to kids presents a challenge. No doubt adults' heads and hearts are in the right places, but it seems not too many actually listen to what kids say. Parents may think their children will only order chicken fingers and macaroni and cheese, but maybe that's selling them short. Survey says ...Today's kids are big consumers, both in purchases they make themselves and in influencing parental purchases. According to a recent study by Dairy Queen (DQ), Edina, MN, the 8-to-12 age group alone (often referred to as "tweens") is responsible for about $14 billion in food-related spending annually. Strottman Consulting Group, an Irvine, CA-based youth and family market-research agency, recently conducted an online survey of 500 kids ages 8 to 12 and then gathered 6 groups of 40 kids to find out what kids think about nutrition and how restaurants and food manufacturers can meet their needs. Through one-on-one interviews with the kids, researchers found that, overall, nutrition from a kid's perspective is all about taste, choice, fun and performance. They also found that kids might eat healthful food -- because they do know what food is good for them -- but often only because mom or dad watches over them. What wins them over most is food that tastes good. A perception of immediate performance, not more-abstract ideas that adults understand such as nutrition, health and long life, also motivates kids. They want an instant gratification or benefit from a product or something associated with it. Instant motivators include that a food will make them run faster, jump higher, have more energy, have sustained energy, do better in school or just plain have fun. The study further indicates that the biggest void in healthful eating occurs at breakfast, a meal that kids prepare for themselves more often than any other meal. Given license to choose their own breakfast, kids often pick sugared products and simple carbohydrates, foregoing protein and vitamin-enriched foods. But moms still potentially control breakfast. Most moms think healthier products that are good-tasting, convenient/kid preparable, promote energy benefits, fun and/or have a premium attached can help them provide healthful meals that also appeal to their charges. DQ also turned to the 8 to 12 year olds last year, for help with new product development. They came up with several additions for DQ's menu, among them: the Cotton Candy Blizzard, a Tootsie Caramel Apple Pop and another ice cream treat with bubble gum. While the foods kids come up with aren't exactly healthy, the surveys do show that what kids like isn't always in line with what product developers are making. Another recent study, "Understanding Kids Menus 2004," conducted by Chicago-based Technomics, examined menus from 232 restaurants: 128 full service and 104 limited service. Out of the 232 restaurants, 195 had kids' menus. Of the full-service restaurants, 120 had kids' menus; only 75 limited-service restaurants had specific kids' menus. (However, some of the limited-service restaurants, like Dunkin' Donuts and Baskin Robbins, had menus that appeal to a broad base.) "We defined the insights we gained from a menu perspective, by looking at what was missing, what was different and what was innovative," says Mark McKeown, business development manager, Technomics. "Most of the proteins were fried, including hamburgers. Healthy options were few, and that is defined as items identified by operators as healthful." The survey also found that most kids' beverage menus had limited upsell items, compared to adult menus that had a lot of upsell beverages. "It would make sense, I would think, to offer a shot of cherry or vanilla to a soda for an extra cost," McKeown adds. Other findings included that, from a pricing perspective, ethnic items command a higher price point in both limited- and full-service operations. And few restaurants distinguish between toddlers and older children: restaurants offer the same food to a 2 year old that they offer to a 10 year old. Give a little r-e-s-p-e-c-tObesity issues notwithstanding, developing menus for children requires more than just offering healthier items. As the Strottman research found, kids have different motivators than adults. Put simply, if the food doesn't appeal, the kids won't eat it. Plus, foodservice operators realize that kids have wider food interests than many restaurants (and adults in general) give them credit for. While the majority of children's restaurant menus still tend toward the fried entrée and French-fry combo with a soda to wash it down, other operations offer more-imaginative options. Walter Staib, operator of the City Tavern in Philadelphia, recreated 18th-century cuisine for the restaurant when he came on board in 1994 and developed a menu specifically for his younger patrons. "The restaurant is also a living museum and a lot of children come through here as an educational experience," he says. "It was my aim to treat the kids equally as the adults. I wanted them to have the same food, not phony kid food. I believe in treating the kids with respect, and the kids who come here really appreciate the food."
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Creating Kiddy Cuisine
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