The playbook is changing—and the old rules aren’t working.

In today’s foodservice market, innovation isn’t the only thing accelerating—so is the complexity of getting a "yes."

With tighter labor models, shrinking back-of-house space, rising costs, and constant turnover impacting skill and execution, chain operators are more selective than ever. Getting on the menu requires more than a great-tasting product. It takes relevance, timing, and a deep understanding of operator realities.



Yet many food and beverage brands are still approaching the operator like it’s 2012. They’re leading with product specs instead of problem-solving, marketing from the inside-out instead of the outside-in, and missing opportunities to resonate when it counts.

It’s time to reset. Based on real conversations with hundreds of commercial and noncommercial operators through Kinetic12’s Emergence community, here are six things every brand needs to know to break through in 2025.

1. Operators aren’t short on options. They’re short on time.

"Don’t waste my time with things that aren’t ready," one operator bluntly put it in our last forum. It’s not that operators aren’t looking for innovation—they just don’t have the capacity to weed through half-baked pitches.



They want ready-now solutions, not concepts in development. If your pitch isn’t immediately relevant and operationally sound, it’s not getting airtime. Think speed-to-value, not speed-to-market.

One operator shared, "When someone shows up with something that just works—fits our footprint, needs no training, and delivers value day one—we listen."

If your value prop isn’t instantly clear and grounded in their reality, it gets passed over. Respecting their time means doing the work upfront – anticipating their questions, mapping to their priorities, and showing exactly how your solution fits in their world.

2. Menu relevance beats novelty.

Innovation doesn’t mean reinventing the wheel – it means solving what’s already broken. Operators are asking:

• "Can I execute this with the labor I have?"
• "Does it solve something I’m already trying to fix?"
• "Can it scale across locations with consistency and ease?"

This is the new lens for innovation: relevant, executable, and smartly simple.

In our Q2 Emergence Forum, one participant shared, "If I can’t plug it into my kitchen today, it’s a waste of my chef’s time. I’m not looking for flash—I’m looking for fit."

Relevance now means:

• Fitting within existing build structures
• Working with minimal training and prep
• Driving margin or check growth without requiring new equipment or tech

As one chain leader said: "Stop showing me what you can do. Show me what I should do."



When brands meet these criteria, they stop selling and start enabling – giving operators confidence to say yes because they see your solution as theirs.

3. You’re not in the room – your materials are. Make them count.

Decks, one-pagers, videos, sell sheets – these are your silent salespeople. Yet too many marketing teams are building them for internal use, not external impact.

Only 27% of operators say the sales materials they receive are directly relevant to their current needs. They’re not looking for another sell sheet—they’re looking for:

• Simplified training guides and labor-tier prep instructions
• Back-of-house visuals showing before/after execution
• Peer proof points or mini case studies
• Real-world use cases tailored to their constraints
• Transparent data: cost, sourcing, and performance

As one operator put it: "Don’t talk to me like a consumer. Talk to me like a business."

4. Transactional relationships won’t move the needle. Trust will.

A product sample and a follow-up call aren’t a relationship – they’re transactions. The brands making the biggest strides are the ones investing in long-term strategic collaboration.

That means showing up with ideas, sharing data, and solving problems together. One participant summed it up: "We don’t need another supplier. We need more partners."

Kinetic12PLUS+ General Manager Kevin Gross expands on this:

"Foodservice is built on relationships – but relationships that do something. At Kinetic12PLUS+, we help brands shift from selling to serving: showing up with insights, tools, and ideas that create real operator value. This isn’t about volume – it’s about velocity through trust."

5. Your culinary voice matters more than ever.

Operators crave inspiration – but not if it’s disconnected from reality. Culinary content that bridges the aspirational and the executable is a powerful unlock. Think videos that show the "how," ideation decks rooted in constraints, and demos that speak the operator’s language.

One operator put it clearly: "It’s not about the idea. It’s about showing me how to bring the idea to life with my team."

Strategy needs to breathe. The most effective culinary storytelling lives at the intersection of inspiration and execution. At Kinetic12PLUS+, we help brands build not just ideas, but momentum – by aligning insight with action, and possibility with practicality.

6. Insights don’t matter unless they drive action.

Most suppliers say they’re insight led. Far fewer actually translate those insights into tailored strategy, messaging, and sales tools. Your ability to take what operators are saying and turn it into action – quickly and meaningfully – is what sets great brands apart.

Matt Luaders, Vice President, Culinary, at Kinetic12PLUS+, brings both a culinary and commercial lens to this shift:



"Great culinary ideas don’t live in a vacuum – they live in kitchens. I’ve spent my career translating insights into scalable recipes, sell-in stories, and operator-ready tools. When insights drive execution, everything changes: you earn the meeting, you prove relevance, and you build belief."

The Bottom Line:

The pathway to foodservice growth isn’t about louder marketing or more touchpoints. It’s about relevance, clarity, and trust.

It starts by deeply listening to operators. It continues by crafting smarter, sharper, operator-facing stories. And it accelerates when you connect insights to execution.



The brands that win in 2025 will be the ones who don’t just pitch better – they partner better.

Ready to Rethink How You Engage Operators?

If your brand is ready to stop guessing and start growing, Kinetic12PLUS+ helps foodservice brands bridge the gap between strategy and sales. We combine marketing, culinary, and operator insights to help you:

• Craft messaging that resonates
• Tell food-first stories that drive action
• Build practical tools like sales presentations, training guides, and video demos
• Connect with the right operators, in the right way

Rooted in Kinetic12’s deep relationships with 250+ commercial and noncommercial operators through our Collaborative Innovation and Emergence Forums, Kinetic12PLUS+ is built for the foodservice channel. We speak operator, and we design for impact.

Let’s turn your operator insight into your competitive edge. Contact us to schedule a call today.