Top takeaways from over 12 football fields of restaurant activations in Chicago, Google’s new “preferred sources” play and a fresh face joining the Belle team.
What’s Hot Right Now: National Restaurant Association Show Recap
Walking the floor at this year’s National Restaurant Association Show, one thing was clear: today’s operators want menu offerings that do more, mean more and ask less of the back-of-house. Functionality, versatility and sustainability ran through nearly every booth, demo and session — and the suppliers and distributors who can deliver on all three are the ones who’ll earn the menu spot and the repeat order.
Our team’s full recap pairs each trend with a practical PR play for suppliers and distributors. A quick look at what made the list:
- GLP-1’s not-so-quiet pull on the menu — smaller portions and protein-forward messaging are showing up everywhere, with 42% of operators considering GLP-1-friendly dishes.
- Functional beverages doing real work — adaptogens, prebiotics and bold flavor layered into drinks built for the camera and the menu.
- Protein in every format — it’s escaped the entrée and landed in waffles, pretzels, snacks and shake mixes.
- Meat alternatives get an ingredient-first refresh — mushrooms, chickpeas, truffle and dates are leading the pitch for beef alternatives, not “plant-based.”
- AI and automation, now with connectivity — operators have moved past “Should I automate?” to “Can my tech stack talk to itself?”
Read the full recap and PR tips for each trend.
Industry News: Google Just Made PR Even More Valuable
Google just expanded Preferred Sources to every language and region where Google News operates. The feature lets users hand-pick which publications get prioritized in their Top Stories feed and search results.
What this means for foodservice brands: the trade publications operators already trust — Nation’s Restaurant News, FSR, Restaurant Business, Food Institute — stand to gain even more visibility with the audiences that follow them. Earned media in those outlets now does double duty: it builds credibility and earns algorithmic lift in Google search.
It’s the latest signal that publisher authority is the new SEO. Google is rewarding the outlets users trust most, which means the brands consistently cited in those outlets win the visibility race.
That same dynamic is playing out across AI search. ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini and Google AI Overviews all pull from a similar pool of trusted sources, making earned media one of the most efficient investments a brand can make right now.Curious where your brand shows up across AI-powered search?
Our AI Search Analysis maps it for you and shows where to invest to close the gap.
News We’re Noting:
A few National Restaurant Association Show recaps and post-show reads worth bookmarking from the past two weeks:
- NRN — 5 food and drink trends highlighted at the National Restaurant Show: A complementary read to our recap, with Senior Editor Patricia Cobe spotlighting some unexpected finds — duck as “the new pig,” matcha with cold foam, real-vegetable burgers replacing fake meat, functional refreshers from Osia and reinvented Italian spirits.
- FoodService Director — 4 stealable ideas from the 2026 National Restaurant Association Show: Senior Editor Benita Gingerella’s takeaways skew operator-practical, from Campbell’s chefs using soup as a topping for nachos and a ravioli sauce to Bloom Nutrition’s social-media-ready mocktail happy hour — a useful lens for suppliers thinking about how chefs will actually use their products.
- The Food Institute — 3 Key Trends on Display at the 2026 National Restaurant Association Show: VP of Content and Insights Chris Campbell breaks down fusion flavors (Philly cheesesteak egg rolls, shawarma chicken tacos), beverage customization platforms from Coca-Cola and Keurig Dr Pepper, and the renewed appetite for real meat.
Fresh Off The Press: Top Client Wins
- The Wall Street Journal | Why Gen Zers Love ‘Boy Kibble’ and These Other Food Trends
- MRM | Compounding Value: Blending Butter for Maximum Menu Impact
- Food Institute | Flavor Trend: Next-Gen Fusion, Health
- Convenience Weekly | More From the National Restaurant Show
- The Distiller | Gin in 2026: Juniper Returns as the Market Premiumizes
- Aviation Pros | How Airports Can Scale eGSE Charging Without Disrupting Ramp Operations
- Connector Supplier | High Power Connectors Product Roundup
- What Should We Do Today Columbus | 15 Fun Things to do in Lancaster Ohio with Kids
Belle Headlines: A BIG Welcome to Mark Kutowy
Mark Kutowy joins us as our newest VP of Growth, ready to help our clients sharpen the strategies that turn visibility into adoption and sales growth.