Menu Matters Monthly Minute | October 2025

Oct 22

Do you want to print this newsletter out?

It sounds like an odd question, but print is making a comeback. Nordstrom is sending out a 100-page holiday catalog this year, while Amazon sent their 700-item catalog out last month.

“People like getting something in the mail that’s not f—ing awful,” Chief Executive Ben Collins said of the print edition of The Onion, which is expected to turn a profit next year.

Getting hands-on again may just be the hottest new trend. Target is not only sending out a holiday catalog, but they’re also introducing in-store toy demos every weekend through Christmas.

At a time when most of our interactions happen through a screen, those tangible experiences stand out even more. And consumers are loving them, with a whole new generation embracing “grandma hobbies” like knitting and gardening.

Food experiences are arguably one of the most sensorial, tactile experiences a person can have, but too often brands forget to center this human need in their innovation process. How do you not only highlight the hands-on nature of a restaurant visit or home meal, but take it to the next level?

Not sure where to get started? Drop us a line — we’d love to chat.

Maeve and Mike

P.S. Are you in Chicago? We hope you’ll join us for the 4th annual Trends & Tastings event with Kalsec and RCA on November 4. Tickets are still available.

Did you know?

A third of consumers feel pressure to try trendy foods and beverages.

Over a third of consumers — 35% — say they feel pressured to enjoy trendy foods and beverages even when they don’t appeal to their taste preferences. Perhaps unsurprisingly, younger consumers were far more likely to agree, with 55% of Millennials agreeing, while 49% of Gen Z said the same thing.

While social media platforms have their positives and negatives, there’s no doubt they can drive a culture of conformity, where users are afraid to be themselves out of fear of being seen as cringe. So they wear the same brands, eat the same foods, and never, ever embrace being unique or even weird.

But some people are pushing back. Some younger consumers are embracing the cringe, leaning into weirdness.

How do you give the consumer something unique, interesting, and one-of-a-kind? How do you get them excited to try a new menu item or product because it looks so interesting or appetizing, not because they feel like they have to try it? How can you, as a food brand, embrace the cringe and be a little more real and unique?

Best of LinkedIn

Do you follow Maeve and Mike on LinkedIn? From their #MondaySparks (three creative ideas to jumpstart the week) to their popular #FridayFive (five things they learned in the past week) and beyond, here are five posts that earned plenty of engagement last month:

You can catch every #FridayFive, #MondaySparks, and more from Maeve and Mike on LinkedIn. Follow Maeve here and Mike here.

Menu Matters in the News

Try This! Maeve & Mike’s Hot List

Delicious meals, excellent hotels, favorite products, thought-provoking books, great TV shows and movies — these are some of Maeve and Mike’s favorite recent discoveries.

“There are a lot of great hotels in the world offering fantastic hospitality. The Dylan in Amsterdam has got to be close to the top of the list. Set in a historic building that was originally a theater and, later, what amounted to a food bank, The Dylan has a lot of character measured with a modern design sensibility. As fantastic as it is (ask me about the climate-controlled Dutch-designed FreshBed), the staff exemplify hospitality. If you're there, treat yourself!” MAEVE

“As the weather gets cooler, it’s time to get out those cookbooks that feature heartier, more comforting recipes. I’ve talked about my love for Snowflakes & Schnapps before, but a few more that stay in the fall and winter rotation are: Alpine Cooking (try the Ricola ice cream); Smoke, Roots, Mountain, Harvest (the onion apple soup is phenomenal); Lark (one day I’ll make the wild boar shoulder with chestnuts and pumpkin); Around My French Table (the “pumpkin stuffed with everything good” is exactly that); Nordic Kitchen (with recipes that are a lot more achievable in the U.S. than many other Nordic cookbooks); and Winter Drinks (with lots of entertaining and warm options). ” MIKE

“Two recent restaurant recommendations. As someone in the food industry, I get to eat a lot of great meals. But every once in a while you come across a dish that just levels it all up. The pig ear tots at The Block at Woods Hill is that dish. The flavor is exceptional and unexpected. Handmade, the outside is crisp while the inside is toothsome but tender. But the flavor...no way to describe it. You have to experience it for yourself.

Also, it's so easy to dismiss what's happening in smaller cities, particularly those in the Midwest, but do so at your own peril. One great restaurant I had the opportunity to visit recently is Fox & Pearl in Kansas City. It's a beautiful space, that emphasizes woodfire prep and plays expertly with flavor taking influences from local purveyors and global cuisines. If you're in KC, make sure to take a minute to visit.” MAEVE

Let’s Meet Up

Chicago, IL - November, 4 - RCA Trends & Tastings Event
Ossining, NY - November 5 - Client Event
Chicago, IL - November 17 - 21 - Client Event
New York, NY - December 4 - New York Produce Show Foodservice Forum

How do you innovate against emotion?

The latest episode the Menu Matters podcast — The Mess Hall, where we have messy conversations about the thorny topics that matter to the food and beverage industry — is here.

In this episode, we talk to Chef Rosalyn Darling about whether there is a place for emotion in the food industry. How do you create new food products, menu items, or experiences that solve for human anxiety, or the need for some excitement in our lives? How do you think through the entirety of the emotional experience, including for food industry workers? Is it possible to weave empathy and compassion into a restaurant or retail experience? Plus, we kick off the episode discussing our biggest hotel pet peeves, from privacy door hangers that fall off every time you open the door to the clever solutions that upgrade the hospitality experience. And Chef Darling answers The Mess Hall Five Questions, including a recommendation for another podcast that she thinks will level up your thinking.

We hope you'll give it a listen. You can find it on all of your favorite podcast platforms (Apple, Spotify, Amazon, Overcast).

Learn more