Olive Garden is quietly testing out a new menu for customers with smaller budgets and smaller appetites.
The chain has rolled out a test menu with seven existing entrees at lower portion sizes and lower costs across 40% of its 900 some restaurants in the last quarter, said Rick Cardenas, the chief executive of Olive Garden’s parent company Darden Restaurants Inc, in an earnings call. Customers who order from the new menu still receive the restaurant’s unlimited breadsticks, soup, and salad.
“It’s just a wise thing to do in this era of belt-tightening,” said John Staszak, an analyst at Argus Research.
The change reflects the broad economic uncertainty that has come to characterize President Trump’s second term, as the company targets consumers for whom affordability is a chief concern. It also comes as Americans embrace weight loss drugs like Ozempic that reduce appetites, leading some diners to order smaller portions.
Consumer sentiment is down 21% from a year ago according to a survey from the University of Michigan, and although consumer spending has remained steady, it’s been powered by spending by higher-income earners. As lower and middle income earners feel the pinch from tariff-related price increases, continued inflation and a softening job market, the company believes that lower-priced menu options will bring in more business to Olive Garden.
“I don’t want to call them affordability” menu items, said Cardenas. “They’re the right portion size for the right price for a group of consumers.”
As far as smaller portion sizes, Cardenas said that the menu change could be for customers who take GLP-1 weight loss medications or just people who want to “be healthier or eat a little less.” Up to 12% of Americans have taken these drugs, a recent poll found.
Darden hasn’t marketed the menu change yet but says the initial customer response has been “encouraging.” While the company hasn’t seen a significant uptick in business from the menu change thus far, they expect it to drive traffic in the long run once they begin marketing it. Other Darden restaurants have not made similar changes, but Cardenas said that it could be a possibility if the change goes well at Olive Garden.