Olive Garden plans nationwide rollout of lighter portions menu following successful testing

Darden Restaurants will roll out a new lighter portion entrées menu at all Olive Garden locations in January, the company announced during its quarterly earnings call Thursday.

The Italian-American chain is adding the new menu section, which features seven existing dishes in smaller portions at lower prices, after seeing strong results from tests earlier this year, CEO Rick Cardenas said on the call. 

“Olive Garden has seen a double-digit increase in affordability perceptions from guests who order from the lighter portions menu and an increase in frequency among these guests, which should help build traffic over time,” Cardenas said. 

“Olive Garden plans to complete the rollout systemwide in January.”

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Cardenas noted that the company is rolling out the menu section “faster than we anticipated.”

“We had originally expected to roll it out over the fiscal year and maybe even into next fiscal year, but it’s doing so well and delivery is doing so well, we just decided to keep going,” Cardenas said.

In September, Darden Restaurants confirmed it was experimenting with smaller portions at 40% of Olive Garden locations.

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The menu section is an additional option for guests and is “not replacing anything” on the chain’s menu, a spokesperson for Darden Restaurants told FOX Business at the time.

The reduced portions section includes Olive Garden’s Chicken Parmigiana, Eggplant Parmigiana, Lasagna Classico, Five Cheese Ziti al Forno, Cheese Ravioli, Spaghetti & Meatballs and Fettuccine Alfredo, according to Darden Restaurants.

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The lighter portion entrées are priced between $12.99 and $13.99, though they vary by market, the spokesperson told FOX Business at the time.

A spokesperson for Darden Restaurants did not immediately respond to FOX Business’ request for comment.