Wednesday March 4, 2026, 07:00:00
By Mark Kalinowski
Intouch Insight recently published the 2026 edition of its annual “Pizza Delivery and Carryout Study.” In this publication, the results from 600 mystery shops across ten different pizza concepts were examined. These brands include Domino’s, Pizza Hut, and Papa Johns – the publicly-traded pizza concepts that rank #1, #2, and #4 in terms of domestic systemwide sales within the pizza sector. In general, this report from Intouch Insight is the most comprehensive report of its type — focusing on the pizza sector — that we have come across in our 25+ years of researching the restaurant industry. Today, we look at results from the Intouch Insight report in the critical areas of Overall Satisfaction by Brand, Food Temperature by Brand, and Pizza Taste Rating by Brand.
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Tuesday February 17, 2026, 09:09:39
By Mark Kalinowski
Data out today from the U.S. Census shows that restaurants’ market share (with grocery stores/supermarkets making up the other component) was 56.6% in December 2025, just -10 basis points below the all-time monthly record of 56.7% set in November 2025. So, even though same-store sales for most large restaurant concepts during Q4 2025 were lackluster, this dynamic does not appear to be due to consumers meaningfully shifting their food spend to grocery stores and supermarkets.
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Friday February 13, 2026, 09:08:05
By Mark Kalinowski
The latest Consumer Price Index (CPI) data shows that prices for food-at-home (grocery stores and supermarkets) rose by +2.1% in January — sequentially down by -30 basis points since December’s +2.4%. This +2.1% number for January compares with price for food-away-from-home (restaurants) that increased by +4.0% year-over-year in January (sequentially down by -10 basis points from December’s +4.1%). This marks the 34th month in a row for which restaurant pricing is outpacing grocery/supermarket pricing.
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