Yum Brands’ 2026 Trend Report Validates the Grocerant Growth Curve

 

How Taco Bell, KFC, Pizza Hut, and Habit Burger Are Winning With Food Discovery, Price Value, and Mix-and-Match Bundling

For more than a decade, Steven Johnson the Grocerant Guru®  at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®, has identified, quantified, and qualified consumer migration toward the grocerant ecosystem—those ever-blurring retail food spaces where meals are bought, mixed, matched, customized, personalized, and discovered. In 2025, that trend has only accelerated: 84% of consumers report purchasing at least one mix-and-match bundled meal per month, 62% seek new “micro-experiences” with food, and 71% say they now discover new flavors or formats through restaurants rather than grocery stores.

Now, for the first time, a major multibrand restaurant enterprise—Yum Brands—has released its own 2026 Food Trends Report. And what it shows is clear: Yum Brands is growing precisely because it is embracing the core levers the Grocerant Guru® identified years ago—Food Discovery, Price, Personalization, and Bundled Meal Strategy.

According to Ken Muench, CMO of Yum Brands and co-founder of Collider Lab, the goal of the report is simple: understand the why behind consumer cravings. The insights reveal exactly what today’s cross-channel diners value and where restaurant-retail food culture is headed next.

 

Trend 1: The Me-Me-Me Economy Validates the Rise of Food Discovery

Consumers are increasingly purchasing meals not just to eat but to express individuality. Solo dining occasions have surged from 31% (2021) to 47% (2025)—a 52% growth curve that mirrors the Grocerant Guru’s long-held assertion: food discovery begins with personal empowerment.

Key food-marketing insights include:

·       24% of solo diners purchase to satisfy a craving—an “immediate gratification” indicator long associated with food discovery behaviors.

·       Personal-size pizzas, premium beverages, and customizable snack platforms are now outperforming with Gen Z and millennials—demographics who over-index in grocerant exploration.

·       KFC’s “Saucy” platform—offering over 4,000 custom combinations—is textbook Food Discovery: modular, playful, layered, and driven by personalization.

Consumers are signaling loudly: “I want to build it my way. I want it fast. And I want new flavors.” Yum is listening.

 

Trend 2: Choice Therapy and the Power of Mix-and-Match Bundling

The Grocerant Guru® has long documented that curated meal bundles and mix-and-match components drive incremental sales, improve value perception, and increase frequency. Yum Brands’ trend data confirms this:

·       Taco Bell’s Build-Your-Own Taco platform generates 72% positive sentiment, demonstrating that flexible bundles outperform fixed-menu convenience.

·       71% of KFC’s top-performing menu tests included proprietary or premium sauces—flavor drivers that act as both emotional currency and repeat-purchase catalysts.

·       Consumers report sauces are 2.4x more likely to add excitement to everyday meals than any other menu component.

This is the grocerant formula in action: modular, customizable, choice-driven.

 

Trend 3: Vibe-Mathing—Emotional Value Meets Price Value

While traditional price sensitivity remains strong—62% of consumers still equate value with “cheap and affordable”—the modern diner is now weighting emotional ROI (uplifting, aesthetic, mood-boosting) higher than ever. This aligns directly with the Grocerant Guru’s Price-Plus-Experience model.

Notable signals:

·       “Cool” is now the No. 1 attribute driving QSR momentum—outperforming even craveability.

·       68% of weekday snackers pursue “little luxuries,” a behavior that historically converts strongly in grocerant-style beverage and snack platforms.

·       Taco Bell’s Live Más Café is capitalizing: 43% of its specialty beverages are purchased as standalone treats—high-margin, high-frequency, discovery-driven.

Yum’s trajectory shows that when emotional value pairs with accessible price structures, customers reward the brand repeatedly.

 

The Grocerant Guru®: Three Things Yum Brands Could Do Even Better

Yum Brands is clearly leveraging grocerant fundamentals, but there is still headroom for accelerated growth. Here are three forward-looking opportunities:

1. Expand Cross-Brand Mix-and-Match Platforms

Consumers increasingly want seamless bundled offerings that span categories. Yum has four powerhouse brands—yet offers limited cross-brand integration. A digital-only “Yum Sampler Box” enabling users to mix Taco Bell beverages with KFC tenders or Pizza Hut sides would tap directly into the fastest-growing bundled meal behavior in the U.S. restaurant market.

2. Double Down on Daypart Diversification

Data shows afternoon snacks are up 28% year-over-year across QSR. Yum should lean even deeper into snack-forward SKUs, micro-meals, and beverage-first programs—especially given Live Más Café’s standalone beverage success.

3. Develop a Unified Food Discovery Engine Across Brands

Consumers crave trends like global street-food flavors, premium sauces, spice exploration, and fusion mash-ups. Yum could accelerate relevance by building a shared “Flavor Innovation Exchange” where insights, sauces, and limited-time ingredients move fluidly across Taco Bell, KFC, Pizza Hut, and Habit Burger.

Yum Brands’ 2026 Food Trends Report does more than predict what is next—it demonstrates exactly how the grocerant movement continues to shape consumer expectations. By embracing Food Discovery, personalization, mix-and-match bundles, and emotional value, Yum is positioning itself for sustained growth across all dayparts, demographics, and digital channels.

For operators across the retail foodservice landscape, the lesson is clear: grocerant strategies are no longer optional—they are the future.

Success Leaves Clues—Are You Ready to Find Yours?

One key insight that continues to drive success is this: "The consumer is dynamic, not static." This principle is the foundation of our work at Foodservice Solutions®, where Steven Johnson, the Grocerant Guru®, has been helping brands stay relevant in an ever-evolving market.

Want to strengthen your brand’s connection with today’s consumers? Let’s talk. Call 253-759-7869 for more information.

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At Foodservice Solutions®, we specialize in consumer-driven retail food strategies that enhance convenience, differentiation, and individualization—key factors in driving growth.

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