Has food become secondary to foodservice?

Ask restaurant and food trends expert Suzy Badaracco what drives diners to quick-service restaurants today, and the answer might surprise you.

"Food is not the driver anymore," said the founder of Culinary Tides, a data analysis and trend predicting company.

In an industry created to both create and serve food, food is playing second fiddle to safety and affordability.

"The top issue is budget. Budget trumps everything," Badaracco said in a recent interview with this website. "Consumers are trading down across the board in all areas of their lives. Drive-thru and take-out created a physical and psychological alliance between consumers and the restaurant. Takeout and drive-thrus didn't drive consumers to those restaurants because of the quality of the food, but because they could safely get food.

"The second driver is safety. The third driver is the desire to support local businesses. The food and food quality is a distant forth. The type of food is not on the radar other than, 'Can I afford it?' and 'Can I get enough to feed my family?'"

These are just a few assessments from a report, recently released by Badaracco, who analyzed more than 220 lists of predictions from nearly 180 foodservice experts. The analysis ultimately paints an up-to-the-second picture of U.S. society at this point in time around everything from politics and health, to travel, food and beverage.

She and her team of analysts used the data to reveal a few things that restaurateurs could do to reap the greatest rewards. See below for an interview with Badaracco.