Pretzels have staked out their place on US restaurant menus as a differentiator, something to get people in the door to try something new.  

“Pretzels bring a spark to the menu,” said Mark Budd, vice president of sales for foodservice, Pretzilla, Milwaukee, in a Baking & Snack interview at the International Dairy Deli Bakery Association Show in New Orleans earlier this month. “Pretzels offer an elevated experience that’s unique.”

This makes pretzel buns well-suited to limited time offers (LTOs) at quick-service restaurants (QSR). And their presence on restaurant menus in the United States continue to grow, according to a Dataessential Food Report on pretzel buns. 

The restaurant sector with the most growth for pretzel buns is casual dining with 4.1% growth in 2025 and 3.7% and 3.9% growth project for 2026 and 2029, respectively. Overall, Dataessential showed a 5% growth of menu occurrences for pretzel buns and predicts 7% growth over the next four years.

While pretzel buns are showing up on more menus across the United States, the Midwest is seeing the most occurrences with a 4.8% increase in 2025 and a projected increase of 4.7% and 4.6% in 2026 and 2029, respectively.

While Budd expects much of this menu occurrence to remain as LTOs, particularly for the QSR segment, soft pretzel bites are a different story.

“Pretzel bites as an appetizer are taking off and becoming a permanent item on menus,” he said.

Soft pretzel menu penetration saw 3% growth over the past 12 months and 4% growth over the past four years. However, when looking ahead to the next four years, Dataessential predicts a 14% increase in menu penetration for soft pretzels, putting these products ahead of other products. Like pretzel buns, much of this growth is spread out across restaurant-types and regions but the most growth is seen in casual dining and the Midwest.

Budd’s experience is supported by the data. Dataessential reported that when soft pretzels are on the menu, 76.4% of the time it’s as a bread appetizer.