NRN presents Consumer Picks, a data-driven report on customer preference and restaurant brand strength. Data for this report is provided by market research firm Datassential. Find out more about the data here.
As they do every year, in early 2020 (before the pandemic swept the nation), Datassential polled consumers on which restaurants they prefer for food in various menu categories.
This photo gallery rounds up the winning restaurant brands from both the full-service and limited-service segments in the following categories: coffee, burgers, breakfast, pizza, chicken entrees, fries, hot sandwiches and cold sandwiches.
The winning brands had the highest percentage of consumers declaring their items “best in class” or “above average.” Some of the favorites are consistent with last year’s, but some, such as Yard House and Jersey Mike’s, are newcomers. We even saw ties in limited-service coffee and full-service chicken entrees.
Click through to see which menu items from which restaurants were fan favorites before the pandemic.