If you’re a fan of the KFC brand, you may be aware that they have recently announced the Clean Eating Burger (#cleaneating burger). And whether or not you believe this new menu item is real is now beside the point. You see, the point here is that everyone was talking about it. A lot.
It didn’t actually matter if the chia-seeded cauliflower bun was real and meant to actually be a bun. And it doesn’t matter about the unsweetened almond yoghurt or the ice cube relish. The spiralized chicken breast and 100 per cent British kale? Doesn’t matter.
Growth in the quick-serve, fast-casual space is very fickle. All the signs of a strong brand can be present, yet when a brand expands beyond it’s current turf, failure can be swift and fatal.
For the record, size doesn’t matter when it comes to success. There are small brands (under 500 locations) and larger brands (some with tens of thousands of locations) that have seem amazing and profitable growth. An each brand has a different approach to how it works with franchisees. Chick-fil-A as an example has a rule where operators my only have one location whereas others encourage multiple units.
The stomach wants what the stomach wants – when the stomach wants it.
There was once a time in this world where, after dinner, people would wind down their day and actually do the unthinkable – go to bed and sleep until morning. Then, one day, a restaurant had an idea that it would not just add a meal to the day, but also start a trend that would change our eating habits forever.
Taco Bell decided that Americans needed a fourth meal. They bought it and now we’ve got a mix of late night dominators trying to up their breakfast game and leaders in the QSR sector offering all day breakfast.
The Twilight Years of Soda are Upon Us. And That’s Not a Bad Thing.
It’s no surprise that global soda consumption is down – way down, in fact. It’s a trend that’s been going on for quite a few years now. But one drink segment that has managed to avoid this trend is that of premium beverages that are typically made in-house. We’re talking about drinks that include iced teas, bubble teas, cold-pressed juices, lemonades and smoothies.
These types of beverages have seen double-digit growth over the past year and have seen amazing growth (approaching 50%) in the past five years.