Daniel Barash, director of research and development at Moe’s Southwest Grill, worked with the National Pork Producers Council while developing the product stuffed into the Pulled Pork Homewrecker burrito, Closetalker salad and Billy Barou nachos.

Sounds simple. Too simple. And once Barash gets talking, he says that opportunities reveal themselves all the time and that ideas come from all sides.

“Trying to be a creative chef, reading trade magazines, talking to other chefs, looking at other menus in all segments,” he says, running down the list.

Looking beyond just Southwest or fast-casual, Moe's team watches casual dining, but with a realistic eye. “If we can do something that they're doing that's easily executable—because in our segment it's really about speed of service in anything—then we look at doing things as well.”

One source of inspiration comes from food associations such as the National Pork Producers Council. Moe's worked with the group when it was developing the grain-fed pulled pork that it rolled to the core menu in September. The pork marinates in a green-chile mixture and cooks for eight to 10 hours before being spooned into the Homewrecker burrito and other menu items.

Similarly, the Mushroom Council contacted Moe's about a year ago to build awareness about the seasonality of some mushrooms and what was currently available. At the time, the chain was about to test a Philly cheesesteak burrito and quesadilla. Moe's put mushrooms in the recipe and rolled it in about 40 stores. The product did well enough that it will run as a limited-time offer next year, according to Barash.

While the chain didn't take advantage of it at the time, the Mushroom Council and others like it offer marketing funds and help promoting items that use their products. Barash says Moe's might look to them for assistance with the LTO.

Barash expects a lot of innovation with product tests and LTOs next year. Tests usually run seven to nine weeks in about 40 stores. The best items are put on the LTO calendar, which calls for about two offerings a year.

He's eager to explore the snack category as well as dinner, a daypart not traditionally strong in fast casual. “If customers are trading down, they go to a Chili's or an Applebee's or something like that,” Barash says. “We're going to try to take some of that business. We feel there's a huge opportunity, especially with the way the economy is, to bring people into a Moe's, and give them that great fajita platter and that great smothered burrito platter or enchilada platter at an affordable price.”

Those items, however, are tricky to execute with the restaurants' current equipment lineup, which does not include an oven. Moe's is approaching the problem two ways. First, the development team might try deconstructing and rebuilding some items to work with the existing system. At the same time, R&D brought in an impingement oven and conveyor ovens to test new items.

“With technology, you can cook a frozen pizza in a minute and a half,” he says. “We're in that segment where we can utilize some of that technology and hopefully pass that speed and great food along to our consumers.”

If Moe's determines customer traffic and sales will justify adding a piece of equipment to the restaurants, it will test it in several stores throughout the country, backing up the franchisees with techical and marketing support. “If it's going to justify the sales, we'll bring the equipment in,” Barash explains. “If not, then you're back to square one.”

Franchisees don't wait for headquarters to push them product tests and LTOs. At regional meetings and frequent conference calls, Moe's encourages them to send ideas and recipes. This year, for example, the chain tested a Buffalo chicken taco and quesadilla that one of the franchisees came up with, and Barash hopes to run it as an LTO next year. “It scored real well with consumers, it met our sales goals, and it's a great product,” he says. “We're excited about that.”

While ideas come from all over, Barash and his team don't test everything, recognizing they have a brand to protect. “We like to think of it as looking through Moe's colored glasses.”

He points to the Philly cheesesteak test or the cheeeseburger tacos that are currently running as a test in the Birmingham, Ala., market. “We try to take products that people are familiar with and make it Southwestern, or take American food and Mexicanize it or take Mexican food and Americanize it. People tend to be drawn to that.”

Barash says the team has also been working on seasonal salsas for the salsa bar, flatbreads and more he won't talk about. “We try to keep some of that under wraps,” he says. “But we have a great lineup of things we're working on. We're going to show them to the franchise advisory council the first quarter of next year and hope to get some of these things in test right thereafter. So it's exciting.”

MORE: Menu developers and their marketing partners can take the heavy "gap analytics" route or examine the these areas for opportunities.