{"id":346669,"date":"2025-12-13T16:28:11","date_gmt":"2025-12-13T16:28:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/346669\/"},"modified":"2025-12-13T16:28:11","modified_gmt":"2025-12-13T16:28:11","slug":"appetizers-boom-in-worrying-sign-for-the-economy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/346669\/","title":{"rendered":"Appetizers boom in worrying sign for the economy"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"dist__StyledText-sc-14098c7c-8 ceoswy\">A new semi-scientific recession indicator just dropped: surging appetizer sales. Restaurant-goers are <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnbc.com\/2025\/12\/12\/food-inflation-affordability-economy-consumer-spending.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">loading up<\/a> on apps like there\u2019s no tomorrow, CNBC reported this week, based on data from Buyers Edge Platform, a company that helps eateries source ingredients.<\/p>\n<p>Mozz stick index<\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__StyledText-sc-14098c7c-8 ceoswy\">Buyers Edge attributes what it dubbed the \u201cappetizer economy\u201d to budget-conscious eaters forgoing pricey entrees and dessert and opting instead for finger foods that often come with promotions and drink specials:<\/p>\n<p>Sales of mozzarella sticks, pickle chips, and cheese curds\u2014dishes notorious for denting the appetite for the main course\u2014are up by about a third in 2025 compared to last year.Meanwhile, dessert orders dropped 2% over the same period.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__StyledText-sc-14098c7c-8 ceoswy\">The Great Appetizer Awakening comes as Americans increasingly feel the bite of inflation when eating out. The price of a meal at a full-service restaurant was up 4.2% in September compared to a year before, according to government data.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__StyledText-sc-14098c7c-8 ceoswy\">Big picture: The trend fits into the so-called K-shaped economy, in which wealthier people continue to spend, while lower-income consumers tighten their belts. For instance, the New York Times recently reported that online pizza orders <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2025\/12\/01\/business\/consumers-pizza-sales.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">have declined<\/a>, while Papa John\u2019s customers are opting for smaller pies and fewer toppings. Sagging sales are potentially caused by the proliferation of competing options on delivery apps and weight loss drugs\u2014but are also a sign that many diners might be struggling to afford even relatively inexpensive indulgences.\u2014SK<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A new semi-scientific recession indicator just dropped: surging appetizer sales. Restaurant-goers are loading up on apps like there\u2019s&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":346670,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[28,101],"class_list":{"0":"post-346669","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-economy","8":"tag-business","9":"tag-economy"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/346669","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=346669"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/346669\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/346670"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=346669"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=346669"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=346669"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}