Starbucks is now introducing Congo Coffee as their latest beverage. Congo Coffee comes from the Democratic Republic of Congo, and it wasn’t always easy to get. Market access decreased during wars, making their coffee impossible to purchase. A peace deal was signed in 2013 allowing the stability of the coffee to grow again. During this summer Starbucks will now be offering a new Congo Coffee to customers. Purchases can be made online or in-store while supplies last.

Key Takeaways:

  • Stability is returning to the DRC and coffee production is returning.
  • Starbucks R&D team has been using this coffee to create a new beverage with a silly name.
  • Starbucks pays for subtle advertisements that read like articles but aren’t. Despite this, it was interesting to read.

“The Starbucks Reserve Roastery has been a source of innovation and inspiration since it opened in 2014, from Affogato to Whiskey Barrel-Aged Cold Brew.”

Read more: https://www.qsrmagazine.com/news/congo-coffee-introduced-latest-roastery-beverage

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Shake Shack is a fast casual restaurant chain specializing in hamburgers, chicken and, of course, shakes. One of the cornerstones of Shake Shack’s culture is it’s customer friendliness and its commitment to providing a fun dining experience.

In that vain, Shake Shack recently announced that they had released the Shackbot on the unsuspecting public. The Shackbot is an intelligent chat application that will interact online with current and potential customers. Shackbot is smart enough to answer over 300 of the most commonly posed questions, and will happily provide information on the menu, it’s nutritional data, and any current specials. Shackbot will also be kind enough to direct you to your nearest Shake Shack and inform you of its hours of operation.

Shake Shack has pledged that as Shackbot continues to mature his capabilities will be expanded. To visit Shackbot head over to Facebook Messenger or Twitter Direct Message to initiate a delicious conversation.

Read more: Shake Shack Launches Chatbot

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McDonald’s is expanding its McDelivery service globally with the help of the UberEATS platform. Nearly 8,000 McDonald’s restaurants in 47 countries on 6 continents are now offering delivery service and this is helping to position McDonald’s to take advantage of this largely untapped demand. They now have nearly $1 billion in annual delivery sales which helped lift their stock price to all-time highs after reporting first quarter earnings with an 8 percent revenue increase. They expect this trend toward more delivery sales to continue to buoy their revenue growth as 75% of the population in their top markets lives within 3 miles of a McDonald’s restaurant.

Read more: McDonald’s Delivery Expands Global Reach to 7,800 Stores

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For the past few years there has been a trend towards rapid menu expansion for more diverse foods in the American quick service style restaurants. Demand has grown with the public’s ever expanding knowledge of the ancient grains such as quinoa, buckwheat, sorghum, etc. Foodservice providers have taken notice and are serving up options to meet the demand. Some of the reasons these grains have been popular with chefs is their adaptability to be used in other dishes, such as breakfast bowls, burritos, pilaf blends and other places whole grains are used. With the ever expanding and changing American diet, there is no doubt that grains are a new staple of quick service restaurants.

Key Takeaways:

  • Quinoa, brown rice, farro and sorghum are being served regularly in many restaurants
  • Blending new grains with more familiar ones is the best way to introduce them in menus
  • Grains should not be served after 48 hours because they begin to lose freshness and moisture

“Right now, salads and bowls are taking over everything. Everyone is doing those because of their popularity and their ease.”

Read more: https://www.qsrmagazine.com/menu-innovations/why-grains-are-taking-quick-service

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