Restaurant brands are hoping hot new menu items will drive visits among younger customers. Hot, in this case, is literal.

Spicy items like chicken sandwiches, seasoned sides and sauces are cropping up more often on menus at major fast-casual and quick-service chains. The idea is to introduce easy-to-execute and buzzy options that can capture the attentions of Gen Z and Gen Alpha diners, even if it’s only a flash in the pan.

One of those companies was Chipotle, which in June introduced Adobo Ranch, its first new dip in five years, as a limited-time offer.

“From an operations perspective, the sauce is a lot easier to do than bringing in another LTO or another protein. And you get a lot of the same benefit,” Chris Brandt, Chipotle’s president and chief brand officer, told CNBC.

The draw toward spice is yet another way restaurants are responding to slower consumer spending while trying to keep costs in check. A KPMG Consumer Pulse survey found that U.S. consumers plan to spend 7% less per month at restaurants this summer.

“There’s been a pullback, especially from lower-income consumers,” said Gregory Francfort, lead restaurant analyst at Guggenheim Securities. “Spice is a low-cost, high-return way to re-engage them.”

“Restaurants are really trying to be aggressive with their marketing calendars and releasing new products now,” Francfort said.

From March to June, U.S. restaurant chains collectively launched 76 new spicy menu items, representing roughly 5% of new menu items, according to market research firm Datassential. That includes permanent additions and limited-time offers and is roughly in line with historical menu item additions in the category over the last several years.

Around 95% of restaurants now offer at least one spicy item on their menu, according to Datassential.

Though the concept of spice on menus isn’t new, it appears to be catching fire with Generation Z and Generation Alpha — those roughly under the age of 30. Their preference for bold, spicy flavors is inspiring more restaurants to turn up the heat.

Up to 50% of Gen Z consumers eat at least one spicy meal a week, according to data from soda brand Sprite, which has been playing up its tangy flavor profile.

“Younger generations (Gen Z, for example) are fueling the spicy trend, craving bolder, more adventurous flavors,” a Wendy’s spokesperson said in a statement to CNBC.

“They’re not looking for bland or predictable,” said Cava’s chief concept officer and co-founder, Ted Xenohristos. “They want strong flavors.”

In April, Cava launched Hot Harissa Pita Chips to meet the rising demand. The chain also offers the Harissa Avocado bowl, hot harissa vinaigrette, and harissa honey chicken.

In May, Taco Bell launched the Mike’s Hot Honey Diablo Sauce, a collaboration between Mike’s Hot Honey and the taco chain’s signature Diablo sauce. It followed a February launch of the Caliente Cantina Chicken Menu, building off the…

The cost of some baby gear has risen in recent weeks due to President Donald Trump’s tariff policies, according to a new congressional report.

The cost of five common items bought for babies has increased 24%, or by $98 combined, between April 1 — the day before Trump’s sweeping April 2 tariff announcement — and June 9, according to the analysis by the Joint Economic Committee’s minority arm.

The analysis tracked the prices of five popular baby gear categories: car seats, bassinets, strollers, high chairs and baby monitors. It leaned on data from baby registry website Babylist.

“New parents already have their budgets stretched thin by all the products that they have to buy for their child – the last thing they need is a new tax on babies created by President Trump,” said Sen. Maggie Hassan, D-N.H., ranking member of the committee, in a media release.

The findings come as companies grapple with Trump’s ever-changing tariff policies. Some have said they will work to mitigate the impact of the levies and offset the costs to consumers, meanwhile, others, including Best Buy and Costco, have said they already raised some prices. Walmart and Target said they plan to hike prices on some items.

Baby gear sold in the U.S. is specifically at risk of tariff impact because 97% of strollers and 87% of car seats are manufactured in China, according to Babylist.

The committee’s report tracked the prices of the most popular Amazon listings for products from five of Babylist’s categories of baby goods. The Amazon bestsellers included items from brands Graco, AirClub, Summer by Ingenuity, Evenflo and HelloBaby. The report measured the price increases over time using the price-checking websites Keepa.com and Camelcamelcamel.com.

Of the five items studied, the Graco car seat saw the highest price increase. The Graco SnugRide Lite LX Infant Car Seat got 44.8% more expensive over the measured time period. Prices for the other products that were reviewed rose between 10% and 30%.

A spokesperson for Graco owner Newell Brands told CNBC in a statement that the report appears to have started collecting data on the Graco car seat during a period when retailers were running a promotion.

The spokesperson said the car seat was on sale on April 1, so the price was hiked by about $20, not by $43, as suggested in the report.

Executives from Newell said during an April 30 earnings call that the company had raised prices on its baby gear by about 20%. The company said at the time it was equipped to handle Trump’s tariffs, excluding hypothetical further hikes on imports from China.

A broader Babylist analysis of 11 categories, including products like bouncers and diaper bags, found that costs increased by an average of $400 combined between March 10 and June 3. Those higher prices for new parent households in the U.S. amounts to $875.2 million…

The Trump administration’s plan to slap steep tariffs on goods from dozens of countries is expected to spike prices for consumers. Some items, like leather goods, will see a bigger jump than others.

The overall impact on households will vary based on their purchasing habits. But most families — especially lower earners — are likely to feel the pain to some degree, economists said.

According to an analysis by the Budget Lab at Yale University, the average household will lose $3,800 of purchasing power per year as a result of all President Donald Trump‘s tariff policies — and retaliatory trade actions by other nations — announced as of Wednesday.

That’s a “meaningful amount,” said Ernie Tedeschi, the lab’s director of economics and former chief economist at the White House Council of Economic Advisers during the Biden administration.

The analysis doesn’t include the 34% retaliatory tariff China announced Friday on all U.S. exports, set to take effect April 10. The U.S. exported nearly $144 billion worth of goods to China in 2024, the third-largest market for U.S. goods behind Canada and Mexico, according to the Census Bureau.

Under the “reciprocal tariffs” Trump announced Wednesday, Chinese imports will face a 34% duty. Goods from Vietnam, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh face tariffs of 46%, 44% and 37%, respectively.

Taking into account the pre-existing tariffs on China totaling 20%, Beijing now faces an effective tariff rate of at least 54%.

“The tariffs are disastrous for the apparel industry worldwide, but especially for smaller countries with highly specialized garment manufacturing,” Green said.

A lot of clothing production has moved overseas over the last 50 years, Tedeschi said, but it’s “very unlikely” clothing and textile manufacturing will return to the U.S. from Asia in the wake of the new tariffs.

“People will still import clothing to a large extent, and they’ll have to eat the price increase,” he said.