'Frorks,' unicorns: 5 trends rocking the food industry

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Fast food joints are cleaner than swanky restaurants and even cleaner than your home kitchen! Sean Dowling (@seandowlingtv) has more. Buzz60

The unicorn became a food, McDonald's went "artisanal" and Amazon delivered a jolt to yet another unscathed corner of the retailing world.

The restaurant and supermarket industries enter the new year reeling from transformations that affect the way Americans eat.

Yet the goal for all remains the same: Drive up often stagnant food sales in an otherwise healthy economy.

"Coming out of the Great Recession, it took a number of years for restaurants to really recoup,," said Janet Lowder, a Los Angeles-based restaurant consultant. "2017 has been a really good for restaurants -- and I hope it might carry into 2018."

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Here are five of the biggest developments churning the food business:

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Mario Batali is stepping back from his restaurant empire as well as his hosting gig on ABC amid multiple accusations of sexual misconduct Time

Weird foods, drinks light up menus

Taco Bell invented the Firecracker Burrito, designed to make customers feel like tiny explosions were going off in their mouths. Arby's added exotic meats like venison to its sandwich lineup. Burger King created the Lucky Charms milkshake and brought back its wacky Mac 'n Cheetos -- macaroni bits encrusted with a crunchy Cheetos coating -- this time in a Flamin' Hot flavor.

The weirder the gimmick, the better. Fast-food chains discovered during 2017 that no strange concoction was off limits. The object didn't appear to be sales as much as it did to create a social-media buzz and pick up publicity in the hopes of standing out from the pack.

The hope is these stunt foods bring regulars back in the door to try something new as well as attract new or lapsed customers.

Many of the items appeared tailor-made for Snapchat and Instagram. McDonald's, for instance, created buzz around its "Frork," a fork in which the prongs are french fries.

One sensation was Starbucks'  Unicorn Frappuccino, a pink drink that with a taste that goes from sweet to sour. The drink, among others, planted Starbucks squarely in the outrageous foods game.

Fast-food chains blur the lines

Restaurant chains are blurring the once fairly well-defined lines of their respective genres -- even as others encroach on them. If you can't grow market share -- people can only eat so much -- then the goal becomes to take it away from others on new turf.

Starbucks, for instance, gave every indication that it is going to try to become a lunch spot, not just a place for morning coffee runs. It launched an expanded Mercato menu starting in April in greater Chicago and Seattle. The line-up includes a Burrata & Basil Pesto Small Sandwich, a Za’atar Chicken & Lemon Tahini Salad and a Green Goddess Avocado Salad.

McDonald's ventured upmarket by introducing Signature Crafted Recipes sandwiches, like Pico Guacamole, Sweet BBQ Bacon and Maple Bacon Dijon. It also poked at Starbucks with hand-crafted McCafe drinks, like Caramel Macchiato and Americano.

Amazon enters the supermarket wars 

When Amazon bought Whole Foods Market in August for $13.7 billion, the supermarket industry wasn't the only business rocked to its core.

It signaled that the online retail giant is making an even bigger push into Americans' daily lives, this time with stores. The grocery world already is dealing with competition from big-box stores, like Walmart, which now is the largest grocer in the U.S., and specialty markets, like Trader Joe's or Sprouts.

Now, it has to contend with a company with such deep coffers that it will be unfazed by the supermarket industry's notoriously slim profit margins and street-level skirmishing for consumers' grocery dollars. Amazon quickly lowered prices on select items at the Austin-based chain, long dubbed "Whole Paycheck" due to its traditionally hefty price tags.

That Whole Foods could attract such a huge suitor also means organic food has come into its own. Organic produce and packaged goods are now sold at most traditional supermarkets around the country. According to the Organic Trade Association, sales of organic food was a record $43 billion in 2016; that's an 8.4% increase over 2015's tally.

Eatery chains gobble up each other

The restaurant industry is all about food, so it makes sense they're devouring each other, right?

With customer foot traffic in the quick-service sector stagnant in the year ending this past August, according to NPD Group's research, restaurant companies are looking to expand reach and shave overhead. Deals included: 

•Arby's Restaurant Group announced it will buy Buffalo Wild Wings.

•JAB, the investment firm that controls the Krispy Kreme, Keurig and Caribou Coffee, picked up Panera Bread. Panera, in turn, took over Au Bon Pain, which its soon-to-be-ex-CEO Ron Shaich co-founded;,

•Burger King and Tim Hortons owner Restaurant Brands International purchased Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen.

•Fatburger's parent company, FAT Brands, staked out the Ponderosa Steakhouse.

•Golden Gate Capital, the private equity firm that owns Red Lobster and California Pizza Kitchen, took over Bob Evans Restaurants.

Java expands into bottles, not just cups

Dunkin Donuts followed Starbucks into supermarket aisles in February. McDonald's joined them in September with bottled versions of its McCafe Frappes. Both are bottled by Coca-Cola.

Plus, Starbucks plans to introduce a new alternative-milk version of the oldest product in its ready-to-drink portfolio in July -- Bottled Frappuccino Chilled Coffee Drink with Almondmilk.

Follow USA TODAY reporter Zlati Meyer on Twitter: @ZlatiMeyer