To assist in evaluating their performance and drawing broader conclusions and recommendations, the report segregates the top 100 chains into major operational segments (full-and limited-service, as well as fast casual, fine dining, casual dining and midscale), but also examines them within 16 unique concept clusters, including Mexican, pizza, sandwich, beverage, specialty, etc. Beyond Restaurant segments of the foodservice industry are also included.

Among the developments cited in the report:

• The rising stars in the limited-service segment all compete with well-established and well-defined competitors, but have successfully carved out niches through strong points of differentiation, including more emphasis on “green ” elements such as organic foods, renewable energy and recycling programs, and other areas of corporate social responsibility.
• Casual dining chains dominate the emerging full-service segment and, as a group, experienced 13 percent growth rates in 2007. But three other full-service concepts performed even stronger, representing the fine dining and midscale categories, with growth rates of 33 and 32 percent, respectively.
• Several new players which pose unique challenges to restaurants are also examined. For example, one such noteworthy “Beyond Restaurant ” operator, NeXstore Marketplace, successfully combines a gas station, c-store and fresh food market with a thriving catering program and gourmet meals to go.

“We firmly believe that these 100 up-and-coming chains are driving many of the industry ’s latest trends and represent the leading emerging concepts, ” says Darren Tristano, Executive Vice President of Technomic Information Services. “Larger chains wishing to maintain their competitive edge would be wise to take a closer look at this group. ” Tristano also noted that suppliers to chain restaurants can also use the report to identify potential new customers primed for future growth.

In addition to providing extensive performance analysis, the 2008 Top 100 Emerging Chain Concept Report also includes detailed profiles on each of the 100 emerging chains and compiles related news summaries over the past two years.