Extra Serving: A restaurant industry podcast
Cava and Chili’s wow once again, McDonald’s adds an energy drink, and a 'Hot Ones' promo bombs
On this week's Extra Serving, NRN editor in chief Sam Oches and executive editor Alicia Kelso discuss the latest restaurant industry news, including quarterly results from CAVA and Chili’s, new products from McDonald’s and Domino’s, and marketing promotions that have been surprising failures. First up is a recap of this week’s earnings reports, including updates from CAVA, Brinker International, Jack in the Box, and Red Robin. CAVA and Chili’s continued to wow, with sales and traffic both positive even as they lap big quarters from last year. Sam and Alicia unpack the results and discuss why the strategies at Cava and Chili’s are working so well, even as the rest of the restaurant industry struggles to drive business. They also take a look at results from Red Robin and Jack in the Box, the latter of which saw sales drop 1.1% — making it nine of the last 10 quarters that the brand has been negative. Next they discuss big marketing promotions from this year — and particularly promos tied to massive IP that somehow still bombed. That includes Jack in the Box, which ended a campaign with the YouTube series ‘Hot Ones’ early because it was performing poorly. Why didn’t that campaign work? And what could be behind failures like Papa Johns’ partnership with ‘Toy Story 5’ and Wendy’s campaign with ‘Minions’? Sam and Alicia examine the trend. They next shift their attention to new products from McDonald’s and Domino’s Pizza. The Golden Arches unveiled a new energy drink in collaboration with Red Bull — the Red Bull Dragonberry Energizer — that it hopes will drive business among younger generations and help it compete with the fast-growing beverage brands. Meanwhile, Domino’s introduced a new Detroit-style slice that could help it differentiate among competitors while embracing its Michigan roots. Sam and Alicia discuss these new innovations and how they could help those two brands drive renewed interest among guests. After closing things out with an examination of restaurants that have recently shuttered or filed for bankruptcy, they share a conversation between NRN senior food and beverage editor Bret Thorn and Urbane Cafe founder Tom Holt. For more on these stories: Cava same-store sales grow 9% in Q2 McDonald’s is getting into the energy game with Red Bull Have restaurant marketing collaborations lost some luster?
