Quick Bite: Burger King’s version of the McRib will sold nationally starting Tuesday, May 21.

Burger King on Thursday will unveil its 2013 summer menu plans, highlighted by a new, limited-time BK Rib Sandwich, which is boneless like McRib — has a tangy sauce and comes with sweet bread and butter pickles. It will be sold nationally beginning May 21.

BK’s other summer roll-outs include a return of Memphis Pulled Pork sandwiches, a line of Carolina BBQ sandwiches and sweet potato fries. It also will introduce a new BBQ Chicken Salad and line of Oreo-infused desserts. All of the products, including the rib sandwich, will be available only though the summer.

Read more from the source: usatoday.com

No, you didn’t eat the bones. Like newspapers ditching the printed page for digital, QSRs are betting on new boneless chicken menu items to attract younger customers.

“No mess. No fuss. No bones about it.” That is the new mantra going around at KFC according to the chicken-focused QSR’s CMO, Jason Marker. And unlike Colonel Sanders’ original recipe of 11 herbs and spices, KFC is making it no secret that boneless chicken is the future of their business.  “We joke a lot that young people today barely know that chicken has bones in it because of all the forms and formats that we eat it in,” Marker joked with Time Magazine.

In short, KFC is using new boneless offerings to appeal to Millennials, the generation that grew up with the McNugget.

“This is the biggest new product introduction for KFC in modern times,” KFC CEO John Cywinski told USA Today. The national roll-out of Original Recipe Boneless began in mid-April and is the focus of the largest media campaign in KFC’s history. And while the shift to boneless offerings may be shocking to some, it makes sense given that 80 percent of all fried chicken is now served off the bone in the form of nuggets, strips and filets.

So why are boneless chicken options becoming a popular item, especially with younger consumers? Many are suggesting that today’s young adults are more comfortable eating processed foods than older generations because they grew with them. “Younger people don’t tend to be fans of bones — they’ve grown up with nuggets,” according to KFC spokesman Rick Maynard.

KFC isn’t the only QSR to change its menu because of this insight: With the introduction of its (boneless) Chicken and Bacon, Chicken and Ranch, and Chicken and Sweet Chili wraps in early April, McDonald’s is aiming their sights directly at the roughly 59 million US Millennials as well. “McWrap offers us the perfect food offering to address the needs of this very important customer to McDonald’s,” according to a McDonald’s memo.

Boneless options have become a major growth driver among chicken wing outlets as well, regardless of the fact that the meat found boneless chicken wings doesn’t come from the wing at all. Boneless wings generally are breaded and fried pieces of whole breast meat. According to a 2012 study from GuestMetrics, a hospitality research firm, total chicken wing sales were up 10.7% last year. Boneless wings were responsible for 81% of that growth. We expect this trend to continue.

photo credit: Marufish via photopin cc

Restaurant chains are constantly developing new menu items and the Lent season has become a key period for menu innovation in the last two years.  For many Christians, Lent (the 40-day period between Ash Wednesday and Easter Sunday) means abstaining from eating meat on Fridays.

What could mean lower traffic for restaurants has instead inspired new innovative Lenten seafood offerings, moving past the typical and expected fish sandwich.

McDonald’s introduced Fish McBites this year, an item that is available on both the regular menu and Dollar Menu. McDonald’s has also improved its Filet-O-Fish sandwich, and announced in January that Marine Stewardship Council certifies the fish as 100 percent sustainable.

Marie Callender’s restaurants is promoting several seafood options this season, Salmon & Jumbo Shrimp, Grilled Mahi Mahi Cabo Tacos and Crispy Jumbo Shrimp Dinner as alternative options during Lent.

Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen brought back its Butterfly Shrimp for the season. Served in Popeyes’ original Seafood Tackle Box: shrimp, Cajun fries and buttermilk biscuit.

Quiznos brought back its Lobster and Seafood Salad sandwich as well, offering an alternative to sandwich lovers and a healthy under 500-calorie option.

Wendy’s has introduced its Premium Cod Fillet Sandwich, which includes a 3.4-ounce hand-cut fillet of 100 percent North Pacific Cod with panko crumb coating.

These are just a few examples of how restaurants are accommodating consumers who observe Lent and showing they are listening to what their customers want. This can help encourage brand favorability and increase positive brand perception.

Giving customers a way to stay loyal to their Lenten obligations and still enjoy your brand is a great way to show customers you support them.

Plus, some restaurants have found that menu items developed specifically for the Lent season have performed so well that they were added to the menu full time.

David Kincheloe, president of National Restaurant Consultants in Golden, Colorado, told QSR Magazine that “one of his clients started offering lobster bisque on Fridays during Lent and sold out almost immediately. Now the restaurant is looking at adding the item to the year-round menu.”

Photo credit: Flickr.com/roslynyoungrosalia

It’s a good thing when consumers seek out your establishments to celebrate special occasions. It’s even better when consumers seek out your establishment for everyday occasions. Who wouldn’t want the repeat traffic of more occasions? But how do you change their perception and ultimately buying behavior?

Before doing anything else, a restaurant needs to look at their product. The menu items need to be broad enough to appeal to a higher frequency guest while still staying true to the brand. The cost of the products needs to allow consumers with a budget to be able to come back more often.

As with anything, communication is key.  To effectively get consumers to perceive your restaurant as a regular everyday option, the majority of the advertising should do the following:

1. Showcase everyday situations
2. Highlight menu items for everyday use.
3. Communicate in a way that uses everyday language. Talk the way your audience would talk.
4. Have continuous communication that doesn’t revolve only around holidays, events, etc.

With the right products and communication strategy, consumers will begin to move toward everyday occasions, thereby increasing frequency.

Go Greek or go home. That’s the sentiment from the yogurt giants regarding the new “Healthy and Indulgent” trend: Greek yogurt. This yogurt segment helped rocket previously unknown brands like Chobani and Fage to the top of the yogurt category in market share.

And now, frozen treat chains like TCBY and Ben and Jerry’s, are catching on, turning Greek yogurt into a frozen treat packed with twice the protein and lower in calories than regular ice cream. National retail sales of Greek yogurt more than doubled in 2011 according to Mintel.

As dessert trends go, if it’s going to be a “bad for you” dessert, then make it smaller. Brands like Chili’s have seen the increase in dessert orders by switching from the uber-indulgent, calorie-busting, plate-filling desserts to small, even quaint, portion sizes.

Can the QSR category learn from these fast-growing trends? I think they can. Here are a few ideas that would coax me into pulling a couple extra bucks out of my wallet:

• Update the formula – Take what you do well in desserts, cut back the sugar content and add healthy benefits like whole fruit or protein powder. We already know healthy options attract a broader customer base like Millennials, so why not extend those to desserts?
• Reinvent the “Value Meal” – Take your basic desserts, cut the size and offer them as an add-on to the value meal for a smaller price. Two or four ounces of an indulgent treat are a lot more palatable than 12+ ounce gut busters after a large meal.
• Sell sample platters – People love to try and share desserts. Offer them tiny versions of all flavor varieties…they may just come in outside of mealtimes to check it out.

What other successful dessert trends are you seeing?

Operators will continue to drive home “fresh” and “handmade” as consumers increasingly jump on the “cleaner” food bandwagon, according to Mintel’s recent Dining Out: A 2012 Look Ahead report.

With the influences of the documentary “Food, Inc.” and public health advocates like Dr. Oz, Americans are swapping overly processed foods for foods with “clean labels” in grocery stores. Restaurant operators are also adjusting their communications to better align with this shift in consumers.

To convey “made-just-for-you,” restaurants are “adjusting their preparation techniques to demonstrate a slow, methodical process, which expands the fresh idea to include handmade and individually crafted comfort food,” as reported by Mintel.

Tex-Mex chain Taco Cabana discovered such success with their Brisket Taco that the popular LTO became a permanent fixture on the menu. The company hit on the slow, methodical process describing it as “seasoned with salt, pepper, and garlic before smoking for several hours with hickory wood flavors and then crisped on a flat grill before being served.”

One word restaurants are attaching to their product names is the term “artisan”; however, it doesn’t seem to be resonating with consumers as much as you might think. Interestingly, Mintel asked respondents to rate their interest in a list of descriptions/preparations. “Artisan” drew in the least interest with only 28% of respondents finding it appealing while “fresh” garnered the most interest (among 89%), followed by “made from scratch.”

Consumers are too savvy for brands to be anything but authentic. When half of the menus in the repertoire of dining establishments include some version of artisan (consider Domino’s line of Artisan pizzas, Wendy’s Artisan Egg Sandwich, and Burger King’s BK Chef’s Choice burger on a new artisanal-style bun), consumers can quickly see the term as overplayed.

That doesn’t mean that restaurants should all shift their product names to “fresh” and “made from scratch” instead. The key is a combination of an appealing name and a demonstrably appetizing preparation process.

Due to the new health legislation that is coming into play this year, many QSRs are struggling to find a balance between representing nutritional information and maintaining their current menus.  Many fear that this new mandate, where nutritional information must be included on menus, will cause them to lose business. However, that fear appears to be unfounded as long as QSRs approach this law with the right mindset.

According to a recent QSR Magazine article and another article from Times Union, dietary practices are not really changing in markets where this law is already in effect, and if they do change, diners are ordering different things versus not ordering anything at all.

To ensure a successful transition, you must identify a menu strategy to “prioritize [your] brand’s desired business objective as it relates to the food and beverage products offered.” A strong strategy will help with communication to customers (visionary goals) and thus work toward business goals.

One aspect that is extremely critical to QSR users right now is value, as we see nearly all QSRs rushing to introduce value initiatives. This value must be a visible part of the overall menu strategy as consumers are looking for this value message, and the QSRs that deliver on the quality-to-price ratio will be more likely to succeed.

When looking at menu strategy, don’t forget the menu board itself, as this is the main consumer touchpoint. Some things to consider when evaluating a menu are:

• Visuals – We all know a picture is worth a thousand words. Visuals grab customer’s attention.
• Layout – The center is the sweet spot. This is the place where customers naturally look first. Typically, this is where your most popular and frequently ordered items should go.
• Readability – Customers will read the menu, even if they are seasoned guests. The menu needs to be in an easy-to0read font and offer some open space so customers don’t get frustrated. If a menu is difficult to read, a guest won’t read it and may consider the visit a failure.
• Colors – Colors should accentuate the food and be pleasing to the eye.
• Information – All information should be necessary (or mandatory) for the customer’s experience.  Limit unnecessary information (see Readability).

How are you adjusting your menu strategy to address nutrition labeling requirements?

Photo credit: Ed Yourdon

Watch TV, drive down the highway and see a billboard, or even go on the internet and what you’ll find is McRib. Everywhere! McDonald’s has brought back the sandwich that never quite makes it on the permanent menu for another promotional blast. In fact, much of their TV poses the sandwich with a Dr. Pepper instead of the traditional Coke.

So, the question is:  “When the biggest hamburger player isn’t talking hamburgers, what is the rest of the category doing?”

• Burger King is definitely talking burgers—particularly the $1.99 Toppers.
• Wendy’s is all in with Dave’s Hot ‘N Juicy.
• Sonic is talking about their new Toasters—they’re burgers on bread instead of a bun.
• And Jack in the Box is proud of their Outlaw Burger.

So you would think that this would be an opportunity for McDonald’s major competitors to increase their share of the burger pie. But will they?

Although the data won’t be in for a few months, I am sticking my head out there and predicting that they won’t. And, I have a theory as to why. You see, I don’t think any of these five brands (I am including McD in this) are in the fast food hamburger category anymore. Yes, they are definitely QSR, but that’s a whole lot different than fast food hamburger.

The reason—menu proliferation! The number of non-burger items on the traditional fast food hamburger menu has grown. And not by a little. What once was a single chicken item for veto purposes has morphed into the market leader promoting barbecue. Which may be okay if you’re the market leader, but if you’re not, where are you planting your flag?

If it’s the Q in QSR that everyone is chasing, this larger menu is public enemy #1. A diverse menu is the enemy of speed, not to mention profits.
Two brands that seem to be kicking you know what in terms of sales and profits are faithful to fast food hamburger with limited menus—Pal’s Sudden Service and Five Guys.

Pal’s, a Malcolm Baldrige Award winner, gets their burgers out in 18 seconds—and they only have 9 menu items. As for Five Guys, they’ve got burgers and burgers—and don’t ask for a shake. They don’t have them.

If you’re going to win at burgers, I believe it will take more than promoting them when McDonald’s isn’t. It will take a focus on burgers—on the menu as well as on TV.

Photo credit: Darin McClure

I am driving down an expressway, and my eye is drawn to a Chipotle billboard. It has a picture of a gigantic burrito wrapped in silver foil. I don’t remember what the message was. I can only remember the picture of that giant burrito. It is etched in my brain.

Fast forward to a visit to my local Chipotle with my almost 9-year-old son who can eat like a 19-year-old boy. He orders that very same burrito I saw on the turnpike and we sit down at a table. I watch him struggle to finish it. This very same child who can devour a double cheeseburger at McDonald’s is struggling with this regular-sized Chipotle burrito. In fact, he doesn’t finish it

As I look around the restaurant, I see that a majority of the people eating there are either taking part of their meal home or have got an empty box on their table just in case. In this “new economy” with people either worried about finding a job or losing the one they have, one order can often mean two meals.

We all know that The Cheesecake Factory is known for their generous portion size.  It’s one of many reasons why they have the highest average unit volume in the restaurant industry. Their CEO, David Overton, has gone on record as saying that their customer wants to make sure that they are getting every calorie they’re paying for. My 90-year-old mother loves the Cheesecake Factory. She brags that the “leftover” salad she brings home lasts her for two more meals.

The easiest and most successful marketing is to encourage customers to do what they were going to do anyway. In that spirit, now may be the time to make your “leftover take-home package” the star of your next TV commercial. In today’s environment, what could possibly be better than eating out AND eating at home, all for the price of one meal?

Photo credit: we are dc

Value Menus boom during times of economic hardship, but they don’t produce high returns for the fast feeders’ bottom lines.

The marketing trend for QSR advertisers has begun to change. Instead of having more dollars allocated to the value menu, budget will be shifted toward more margin-friendly menu items such as drinks and core menu items. Does that mean franchisees should do away with the value menu?

Currently QSR advertisers are keeping their value menu items backstage while bringing their new and/or higher-priced promotional items to center stage, along with beverages. It’s likely that the franchisees are on board with this strategy since it seems as though operators and corporate often feud over national advertising.

Dennis Lombardi, executive VP of WD Partners, agrees in the article The Case for Cheap Eats, “Franchisors and operators have been at odds, but the truth likely lies in the middle. If you can start creating incremental traffic, then the operative leverage inherent in the restaurant business will help generate more profit.” He added that operators often underestimate the magnetism of value offerings.

Burger Business suggests that the future of the value menu is more about the beverage than the burger. Especially during the summer, drinks are being pushed due to warmer weather but also due to their high margins. “It’s partially because of the time of year, but drinks are also extremely profitable,” said Dick Adams, a former McDonald’s franchisee, in a recent Ad Age article.

McDonald’s is continuing to push their dollar menu breakfast items just in select markets with more of the focus on their core items.  They are advertising their signature namesake item, The Big Mac, as well as four new dipping sauces for their Chicken McNuggets. But their beverages are still $1.

After Burger King franchisees had feuded with corporate over $1 double cheeseburgers and prevailed, BK went on a short stint of promoting their Stackers line of burgers, $1 for a one-patty burger, $2 for a two patties, and so on.  However BK is going back to its roots, advertising their Whopper with “Whopper Lust.”

Consumers will always be looking for the deal, no matter the economic state. And now that they know what things could sell for, it would be hard to be the solo QSR who does not participate in value menu offerings.

As Lombardi said in the abovementioned QSR Magazine article, “If others have value offerings and you don’t, odds are you’ll be taking less money to the bank a year from now.”

Photo credit: Packmatt