Big Chains Seek a Dash of Flavor, Humility, as Dining Options Grow - National Restaurant Association - Brief Article

Brandweek, May 28, 2001 by Bob Sperber

Visions of menu expansion, variety and strong growth are clashing with the reality of a sagging economy as top family and fast-food brands look to redefine the staple of so many American diets: hamburgers and fries. Among the options for juicing sales in a tough market: a cautious use of bold flavors, more co-branding and simplifying operations.

On the flavor trail at the National Restaurant Association show in Chicago last week were some 85,000 attendees, who were treated to a variety of sauces, rubs and seasonings vying for a centerplate spotlight. The spicier and more exotic flavors tend to migrate from fine dining to family/casual outlets and finally to fast food, where the mass-feeder must cater to mainstream tastes. But taking the lead of Wendy's Spicy Chicken Sandwiches, for example, more chains are at least looking for a way to venture into spicy territory.

Farmland Foods' "Ribbits," for instance, offer bone-in appetizers with traditional barbecue sauce as well as teriyaki, spicy buffalo and Chinese flavors, that were introduced last fall into a handful of casual chains. Tyson, chicken supplier to McDonald's, Burger King and most other top chains, is also pushing buffalo spice from wings to appetizers and sandwiches with pepper rub, chipotle and three-pepper "rush" flavors.

But extra flavors can also increase costs at major chains, as additional items often require extra training and can slow down service.

"They're still going to be challenged by labor issues and other [operational] limitations ... but they still need new flavors," said Paul Gere, dir-marketing at Anchor Food Products. Anchor's jalapeno "Poppers" have already made the migration from casual dining to Burger King's menu. Next up: Olivenos, a stuffed olive now en route to casual menus.

Still open to question, as evidenced by McDonald's latest troubles with vegetarians angered by its "beefy" french fry formula: Will the QSR gang find alternatives for shifting appetites without losing core taste, quality and profit goals?

Suppliers are also trying to find ways to meet demand for expanded menu offerings at sandwich and pizza chains that need to draw more traffic without big expenditures for new equipment. The answer? Such eyebrow-raising concoctions as baked fries and "oil-less" fryers.

Food suppliers are pushing bakeable "fries" that are typically prepared part-way before freezing and shipping off to stores. McCain's was showing bakeable fries and appetizers, while J.R. Simplot just launched "Cornados," which look like french fries but are made from corn, addressing the popularity of corn-based products among Hispanic audiences. Additional shapes are also on tap as chains want to reduce labor, training costs and simplify operations." [The chains] need to have things to either drive up the check average or bring more traffic in," said Tim Long, national accounts sales manager with Simplot's Food Group in Brighton, Mich.

Meanwhile, meat makers Bridgford and Hormel showcased pre-cooked, frozen sandwiches and patties, respectively that offer convenience to c-stores that don't have cooking facilities. Labor savings, safety and quick service are the touted benefits. Flavor and moisture losses, however, are an issue.

Building on the growth of ice cream sales at QSR chains, Good Humor's Breyer's brand is making inroads with Subway Hardee's and McDonald's, which is testing the product at one Chicago area outlet, per a source.

Breyer's is eager to spread its name beyond supermarket freezer case onto QSR menu boards: In one 50-store test, Breyer's said it found that displaying its logo boosted sales 33% better than at stores with the same product but no logo.

The 130-year-old Tabasco hot sauce brand has been leading the way to promote bold flavors through ventures with McCain Foods on X-treme Fries and ingredient branding at Burger King and Carl's Jr., plus spicy wraps and other products at KFC and Popeye's. Tabasco is now developing a new chipotle flavor formulation that could see limited production by year-end.

In the pursuit of convenience, equipment suppliers ponied up newer, faster replacements for baking, roasting, broiling and frying. The goal: More variety to ease use and service to improve customer satisfaction and hence retention.

In the wake of McDonald's rollout of its "Made For You" cooking system, equipment makers AutoFry and TurboChef (which jointly lost out on the McD's bid) had an entry that can cook a variety of products using high-tech airflow and microwaves, storing dozens of menu offerings behind onboard keypad controls. The result: More sophisticated dishes that can be cooked in a jiffy--how about a salmon en croute in a flaky crust that goes from oven to table in 2.5 minutes? Several large chains are now testing the cooker.

The big soft drink makers are also seeing an opportunity to use their vast resources to help restaurant partners on say customer service.

Coca-Cola, for instance, which already has its own 500-employee consumer call center, just created an independent "Good Answer" subsidiary that enables restaurateurs to offload the entire customer feedback process, from letters to e-mails and toll-free calls. It's likely however, that the big chains will keep this function to themselves.