Price is paramount in the foodservice purchasing decision, and ideal price points are inevitably influenced by occasion type, restaurant, mealpart, daypart and beyond. This week’s Consumer Flash infographic assesses the flexibility of these thresholds and where consumers may be willing to pay a bit extra. Having trouble viewing our Infographic in Firefox? Try installing the […]
Chipotle Looks to Leverage Customer Goodwill
Last week, Chipotle Mexican Grill announced plans to take its first nationwide price hike in almost three years to help offset rising food costs. In discussing the move, Chipotle CFO Jack Hartung expressed confidence that the chain—No. 2 in the fast-casual restaurant segment behind Panera Bread, based on U.S. systemwide sales—had built up sufficient customer […]
A Look Back on the Year in Fast Casual
It has been some 15 years since Panera Bread and Chipotle emerged as leaders of the next wave of fast-casual development, but 2013 still will go down as a milestone year for the fast-casual restaurant sector. Among the highlights were the initial public offerings for two well-established fast-casual brands, Broomfield, CO-based Noodles & Company and […]
Beyond Price: Technomic Study Identifies Key Value Factors for Restaurants
Have Internet deal sites become an ingrained consumer behavior, even as the economy slowly improves? Recent research by Technomic seems to point in that direction. For consumers, the prevailing mindset is to stretch every dollar. But when consumers consider a restaurant’s value equation, they’re thinking about much more than just price. Technomic’s study identified numerous […]
Pricing Fast-Casual Restaurant Meals
We know that consumers are willing to shell out a little more for meals at fast-casual restaurants than at fast-food restaurants. Fast casual’s food-and-beverage quality positioning drives this; entrées at fast-casual concepts often are customizable and made to order, and operators frequently tout their use of “all-natural” ingredients, never-frozen beef, scratch-made sides and desserts, etc. […]
Canadian Diners Looking at Value Beyond Price
Even for low-cost meal occasions, consumers say value is more important than absolute low prices. Technomic’s Canadian Menu Positioning & Occasion Driver Consumer Trend Report found that, above all else, consumers want to feel like they got a good deal for the money spent when seeking low-cost meals (54 percent). Rather than searching for the […]
