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But such is the world of giant quick-service and fast-casual business : Find interesting, “trendy,” flavorful ideas from any culture, dilute them into their most mass-marketable forms, and reap monetary gain without acknowledging the sources. To light the way , a new wave of fastcasuals is actively changing the status quo.
at the Italian casual-dining chain as its investments in affordability and Uber delivery paid off. 20, 2025 Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Consumers are finding value in casual-dining brands like Olive Garden. Same-store sales at the Italian casual-dining chain spiked 6.9% By Joe Guszkowski on Jun. Sign up here.
He owns several fast-food franchises, including Krispy Kreme and Papa Johns, where he also serves on the board of directors. Additionally, he launched Big Chicken, a fast-casual concept that combines his love for comfort food with high-quality ingredients. Operational Excellence Efficiency at scale drives profitability.
Fast-casual Condado Tacos—which prefers calling itself “next-gen casual”—has long had a bar program with a selection of conventional margaritas and beers to go with its Mexican-style menu and vibe. The 20 puree flavor possibilities were eventually narrowed down to six that were test marketed in Michigan.
It’s tempting to chase quick wins with deep discounts or paid promos, but those tactics usually eat into your margins as fast as they spike short-term numbers. Include direct links to your online ordering page in your bio, posts, and promotional emails. This is a low-effort way to drive repeat business for your loyal customer base.
Fast-casual Panera Bread has been going through significant change over the past two years, with multiple board and leadership changes. News leadership Fast_Casual Lisa Jennings is a veteran restaurant industry reporter and editor who covers the fast-casual sector, independent restaurants and emerging chain concepts.
But while some may predict a future with burger-flipping robots, it’s hard to imagine tech taking the place of a skilled line cook, experienced server, or seasoned marketer. For fast-casual or QSR brands, digital tableside ordering is equally beneficial. Marketing Automation to Maximize Team Bandwidth.
News prices commodities Breakfast Joe Guszkowski is a senior editor with Restaurant Business covering technology and casual-dining chains. Investors are leery about fast-food chains and they’re jumping onto a few key casual-dining bandwagons. Sign up here. View All Articles by This Author Want breaking news at your fingertips?
This guide will teach you everything you need to know about getting started with restaurant marketing. By the time you finish this article, youll know how to approach restaurant marketing the right way and not waste time doing guesswork, crossing your fingers, and then hoping you see new customers walking through the door.
A trendy, fast-casual spot will likely need very different content than a fine dining experience. You want someone who can both capture your brand visually and drive results. Prioritize Brand Fit The best content creators feel like an extension of your team. Ensure their tone, aesthetic, and values align with your restaurants vibe.
Continue to Site >>> Menu C-stores are stealing fast-food tactics. Not quite yet An easy way to bring bold Korean flavors to modern menus From BBQ to beverages, menus are seeing a lot of action Food C-stores are stealing fast-food tactics. Sounds like the hallmarks of any solid fast-food restaurant. By Heather Lalley on Jun.
Knowing how to calculate and optimize your customer acquisition cost (CAC) can help you make smarter decisions about your marketing and advertising strategies. CAC lets you get a clearer view of how your marketing efforts impact your bottom line. This way, you can attract the right customers at a lower cost.
. “Restaurants can't simply rely on their traditional playbooks anymore," says Forrest Morgeson, Associate Professor of Marketing at Michigan State University and Director of Research Emeritus at the ACSI. "Smaller, Chick-fil-A and Starbucks show broad appeal across regional markets. Regionally, differences arose.
That led to selling bagels at farmers markets. The families became fast friends. and Bruegger’s, Jeff sees a world of opportunity for bagels made better, especially in markets he sees as “bagel deserts.” The pandemic was in full swing, and we got really busy, like 300-400 DMs whenever we dropped a menu,” he said. We’d sell out.
And heres the other thing about focusing on customer retention: it saves you a boatload of money on marketing. New customers require you to convince them to come in and eatand this usually requires a lot of marketing tactics to keep your brand on the top of their minds. Marketing = tons of your money. Thats huge!
The fast-food franchisor is asking a federal court to sign off on its decision to terminate Paradigm Investment Group’s franchise agreement. Private-equity firm Savory Fund made a major investment in casual-dining chain Hawkers Asian Street Food. million last year, that’s more than double the next closest chain.
Understanding your target market is the foundation of making smart decisions for your menu, pricing, and overall guest experience. Without a well-defined target market, restaurants risk wasting resources on strategies that dont connect and menu offerings that dont selltrying to appeal to everyone, but standing out to no one.
Salad is rising as the next drive-thru concept The fast-casual Greenlane is plotting growth across Florida with investor and NFL star Rob Gronkowski working the drive-thru window. But Tampa-based Greenlane is among a growing number of fast-casual concepts making freshly prepared salads a drive-thru option.
11, 2025 Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Huddle House will add drive-thrus as it moves into more urban and suburban markets. | A rendering of Perkins Griddle & Go fast-casual concept. Simultaneously, the company also created a fast-casual version of Perkins called Griddle & Go, another nod to younger, on-the-go customers.
But it wasn’t quite so bad for fast-casual concepts , which outpaced other categories with 9% growth in 2024, according to Technomic. Fast-casual chicken chains, including Dave’s Hot Chicken, saw double-digit sales growth, while fast-casual pizza continued to falter. By Heather Lalley on Jun.
Fastcasual restaurants are popping up faster than you can say "build your own grain bowl." " They're somewhere between a full-service casual dining restaurant and a quick-service restaurant or fast food chain. Looking for tips on starting your fastcasual restaurant?
First, we seek a deep understanding of the restauranteur’s vision and values, as well as their target audience and market positioning. Finally, we look at the launch strategy and marketing plan. We want a new brand to hit the market with impact. First is standing out in a market more crowded today than ever before.
Take the casual-dining chain, TGI Fridays, for example. The best thing to do is find online ordering software that is easy to set up, fast to get started with and doesn’t cost a lot of money. As a result, restaurant marketing, specifically digital marketing, is of extreme importance.
The New Jersey-based fast-casual chain has been acquired by private-equity firm Thompson Street Capital Partners, the company announced Wednesday. News acquisitions franchising Lisa Jennings is a veteran restaurant industry reporter and editor who covers the fast-casual sector, independent restaurants and emerging chain concepts.
The convenience-retailing giant on Wednesday announced a Craveables Value Menu, pitting it in head-to-head competition with fast-food chains also looking to win consumers over with low prices. marketing retail News Heather Lalley is the managing editor of Restaurant Business, Foodservice Director and CSP Daily news. Sign up here.
In addition to delivery, it now offers software such as online ordering and mobile apps, and will soon add reservations and marketing tools with the pending acquisition of SevenRooms. “At News marketing delivery technology Joe Guszkowski is a senior editor with Restaurant Business covering technology and casual-dining chains.
News Emerging Brands technology Lisa Jennings is a veteran restaurant industry reporter and editor who covers the fast-casual sector, independent restaurants and emerging chain concepts. Become a Restaurant Business member today and unlock exclusive benefits, including unlimited access to all of our content. Sign up here.
One of the key functionalities within many QSR and fastcasual mobile apps these days is the ability to order ahead and select curbside pickup. What’s more, this type of location technology can be used to power omnichannel strategies such as email, SMS, and location-based push messaging.
Formerly with Yum Brands, Davenport worked with Pizza Hut for more than nine years, including as managing director for global franchise markets and managing director for the Middle East, Turkey and Africa. The eight-unit fast-casual concept Off The Hook Restaurants is beefing up its executive team as it plans growth in Louisiana.
Probably not The Bottom Line: The fast-casual Mexican chain remains a shockingly good value and its first-quarter sales slowdown was not out of the ordinary. Among fast-casual chains, the slowdown was more pronounced. None of this isn’t to say that there aren’t potential issues with the fast-casual chain.
The company plans to expand into more markets and expects to have thousands of bots on the ground by the end of the year, which it says will give it the largest autonomous vehicle fleet in the world. News technology delivery finance Joe Guszkowski is a senior editor with Restaurant Business covering technology and casual-dining chains.
Casual Dining velocity has grown by 158 percent over the same period, suggesting many of the Casual Dining business models were able to maintain sales to some degree through pandemic restrictions. All markets within Texas experience negative trends in the week to April 17, following a week of positive trends to April 10.
They are popping up more often in conversations this year, and they point toward deeper trends in the restaurant tech market. For fast-food restaurants, where every second counts, this could be a particularly valuable tool, especially as more transactions come through digital channels. Add these six terms to your vocabulary.
Restaurant marketing strategy, design, and internal systems will evolve for independents and chains alike in the coming year. In 2021, restaurant marketing strategy, restaurant design, and internal systems—for independents and chains alike—will evolve, and technology and robotics will become commonplace.
This edition of Modern Restaurant Management (MRM) magazine's Research Roundup features consumers' dining desires, the power of personalization and the untapped opportunity in localized marketing. Quick service and fastcasual segments continue outperforming full-service restaurants by a very wide margin.
Email Send out a weekly email blast telling customers about your upcoming event. Email lists are a powerful marketing tool because they provide a direct customer link that you fully controlno one can take it away from you except the customer, and if used correctly, thatll never happen.
News independents chefs Lisa Jennings is a veteran restaurant industry reporter and editor who covers the fast-casual sector, independent restaurants and emerging chain concepts. Become a Restaurant Business member today and unlock exclusive benefits, including unlimited access to all of our content. Sign up here.
Founded in 2006, Just Salad is the fast-casual restaurant industry’s leading proponent of zero-waste practices. “The market is still ripe for continued expansion and growth,” said Kapoor. “Their continued growth demonstrates the viability, feasibility and desirability of circular business models.”
And fast-food customers Chef Jonathon Sawyer discusses his Chicago restaurant, Kindling, and his latest TV appearance Are we reaching peak chicken tender saturation on menus? It’s easy to score what’s marketed as a Dubai Chocolate Bar at specialty retail food stores; in New York City a 7-ounce bar sells for about $19.
For example, customers at a steakhouse may be willing to spend more for a fancier cut of meat, versus a fast-casual restaurant customer who may prioritize paying for convenience. Personal Information: Contact details such as phone numbers or email addresses can help you reach your audience through additional channels.
We quickly pivoted to offer Family Meals To Go and have continued to expand our third-party delivery partnerships in key markets, which has contributed to our continued growth, even during one of the most difficult years on record for so many restaurants. Dennis Becker, CEO, Mobivity.
This trend reflects the growing popularity of drive-thru and fast-casual dining, coupled with the demand for digital technologies such as QSR digital signage and QR codes. – Corin Camenisch, Product Marketing Lead at SumUp 1 + 0 = 3: The New Math of Marketing!
The fast-casual brand Dave’s Hot Chicken has now more than 200 units committed despite its franchise initiative being just launched in October 2019 (3). The franchisor already went through the pains of trial and error and the expense of branding, marketing and putting systems in place,” says Daskowski (4).
And the last few Data Marketing Association (DMA) reports find that direct mail is becoming increasingly more persuasive over time. The latest DMA report found that direct mail had a higher response rate than email, social media, and paid search — even if you combined them all and THEN tripled their response rates.
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