QSR InView - M/A/R/C Research

QSR InView
April 2014
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Overview
 A survey of U.S. consumers found they tend to stick with menu items they have had before, as only
30% reported they had ordered a new or “unfamiliar” item at their most recent trip to a restaurant.
Even then, almost three-quarters of the consumers who ordered a “new” menu item really only
ordered something that had been on the menu for a long time and were not actually “new” to the
restaurant’s offerings. Visitors to casual dining restaurants were more open to trying new/different
menu items (40%) than those at fast food chains (19%). (Source: Nation’s Restaurant News, 1/14/14)
Burger/Sandwich Chains
 Burger King added a new version of its popular chicken sandwich, the Spicy Chicken Sandwich, with a
blend of black pepper and cayenne pepper in the chicken fillet breading. The new Spicy version will be
available for a limited time, as either a stand-alone item or as part of the 2 for $5 sandwich offer which
will be good through March 2nd. (Source: Business Wire, 1/16/14)
 McDonald’s warned its investors that its sales would again not meet industry analysts’ expectations
after its fourth quarter sales were lower than expected. The company’s executives said they had
“overcomplicated” the menu last year, echoing industry experts who said consumers were confused by
all the choices. (Source: New York Times, 1/23/14)
 Wendy’s introduced a new limited-time burger: the Ciabatta Bacon Cheeseburger. This
premium burger has a beef patty topped with applewood-smoked bacon, Asiago cheese,
“spring mix” greens, chopped roasted tomatoes, and a rosemary-garlic aioli sauce,
served on a toasted ciabatta bun. (Source: PR Newswire, 1/27/14)
 McDonald’s suffered a PR mishap after managers at a McDonald’s in the Queens borough of New York
City called police to remove a group of elderly people who refused to leave the restaurant after sitting
there for hours chatting but not buying anything more than a cup of coffee. Other McDonald’s
locations in New York have had to put up signs saying customers cannot sit at tables for more than 20
or 30 minutes. (Source: New York Times, 1/27/14)
 McDonald’s started a new campaign to show support for the U.S. Olympics team at the Sochi 2014
Winter Olympics. At the site CheerstoSochi.com, fans can register and send personalized messages to
specific athletics or teams. Twitter users can also send messages using the hashtag #CheersToSochi. At
the Athletes’ Village in Sochi, the members of Team USA will be able to print out the supportive
messages onto “ribbons” that they can wear around their wrists. If a message is selected to be printed
onto a ribbon, the Twitter user who sent it will be notified. (Source: Clickz.com, 1/28/14)
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Page 2  April 2014
 Carl’s Jr. added the Hand-Scooped Snickerdoodle Cookie Ice Cream Sandwich to its dessert menu. The
dessert treat costs $1.49, but for a limited time customers could get one for free if they ordered the
Philly Cheesesteak Burger combo deal. (Source: Business Wire, 1/29/14)
 A Burger King restaurant in Pennsylvania was reportedly testing a “chicken & waffle” sandwich
featuring a breaded chicken patty served between two sweetened waffles. The sandwich was
available at night, so it wasn’t being tested as a breakfast option. (Source: Bloomberg BusinessWeek, 1/29/14)
 Sonic brought back its popular Pretzel Dogs (hot dogs served in a pretzel bun) after their
summer debut last year. Along with the Original Pretzel Dog and the Cheesy Bacon
Pretzel Dog, Sonic added the Chili Cheese Pretzel Dog to the menu. When first launched
in 2013, the Pretzel Dogs saw sales four times greater than Sonic had anticipated. (Source:
Business Wire, 1/30/14)
 McDonald’s sent out a memo to its franchisees exclaiming the company wants all of them to deliver “a
gold-standard cup of coffee with every visit.” Many franchisees have not wanted to spend $13,000 on
espresso machines or pay for store renovations to create a special coffee ordering counter with pastry
display case. Also, many industry experts see that the time it takes to make these specialty coffee
drinks is slowing McDonald’s down and taking customer attention away from its core food product
offerings. (Source: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 1/30/14)
 Jack in the Box launched a new limited-time burger: the Bacon Insider
Burger. This burger has bacon pieces mixed in with the beef in the patty,
plus six half-strips of crispy bacon on top and a bacon mayo sauce, plus
lettuce, tomato slices, and American cheese. The Bacon Insider Burger
was the focus of Jack in the Box’s Super Bowl commercial, which featured
a “Bork” or pig/cow hybrid. (Source: Business Wire, 1/30/14)
 McDonald’s re-started its test of customized burgers at a location in Southern California. The initial
test period ended in December, but the new test is trying out flat-grilling the burger patties like their
regular burgers instead of chargrilling them. A spokesperson for the company said the flat-grill test will
help them compare the time it takes to create one of the custom burgers. A few weeks later, the
company announced it was expanding the testing to several other McDonald’s in the southern
California region. (Sources: Orange County Register, 2/1/14; Associated Press, 2/27/14)
 Sonic rolled out a special triple-treat dessert combination for February: the Red Velvet Molten Cake
Sundae. This dessert features a layer of cheesecake topped with a red velvet baby bundt cake filled
with hot fudge sauce, then a scoop of ice cream, whipped cream, and chocolate sauce. (Source: Business Wire,
2/4/14)
 Subway announced it would stop using azodiacarbonamide as a dough conditioner in its bread in their
U.S. restaurants. The chain had already stopped using it in other countries that ban it in food.
Today, 2/5/14)
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Page 3  April 2014
(Source: USA
 Sonic is continuing its nationwide expansion by rolling out restaurants that offer indoor dining at
locations in the northern parts of the country. At these locations, the traditional patio dining area is
enclosed with large windows and doors. Customers can order their food at a counter and have it
delivered to their table by a “carhop.” In the spring and summer when the weather is nice, the
walls/doors can be opened up to have the feeling of eating outside. (Source: Nation’s Restaurant News, 2/5/14)
 Subway has partnered with Univision on a deal to integrate Subway’s products and restaurants into the
storylines for the popular telenovela “Qué Pobres Tan Ricos” (Poor, but Rich).
(Source: QSRWeb.com, 2/10/14)
 Burger King increased the weight of the patties on the Big King burger to be 4 ounces pre-cooked,
which is more than the 3.2 ounce pre-cooked weight of its competitor Big Mac. The heavier patties will
be promoted in a new advertising campaign. (Source: USA Today, 2/10/14)
 Burger King reported the addition of its new Satisfries lower-calorie French fries and the Big King
burger led to an increase in same-store sales during the fourth quarter of 2013. (Source: Associated Press, 2/13/14)
 Sonic brought back its popular Asiago Caesar Chicken Club Sandwich and Sweet Potato Tots for a
limited time, plus unveiled a new Honey Mustard & Swiss Chicken Sandwich, also a limited-time offer.
(Source: Business Wire, 2/18/14)
 Carl’s Jr. and Hardee’s added two new fish menu items for Lent: the Charbroiled Atlantic Cod Sandwich
and the Charbroiled Atlantic Cod Fish Taco. The sandwich is available at all Carl’s Jr. and Hardee’s
locations, while the taco is available at Carl’s Jr. and the dual-branded Hardee’s/Red Burrito locations.
(Source: Business Wire, 2/19/14)
 Quizno’s launched a new menu line called “Toasty Pastas:” Macaroni &
Cheese (in classic, bacon, and lobster versions); Marinara; and Chicken
Pesto. Testing found the pasta offerings drove more traffic at night and
on weekends, plus they attracted moms with kids. (Source: Nation’s Restaurant
News, 2/19/14)
 Sonic introduced six new flavors of its Master Blast ice cream dessert: Triple Chocolate; Turtle Pecan;
Pineapple Upside Down; Banana Split; Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough; and Caramel Brownie. (Source:
Business Wire, 2/20/14)
 Wendy’s brought back its popular Premium Cod Sandwich for Lent, available as part of a combo meal
or on its own. (Source: PR Newswire, 2/24/14)
 Jack in the Box introduced two new varieties of its Monster Taco: the Bacon Ranch Monster Taco (with
hickory smoked bacon and cool ranch sauce) and the Nacho Monster Taco (with nacho cheese sauce
and jalapenos). (Source: Business Wire, 2/24/14)
 A report by the Associated Press said McDonald’s is considering
changing its rule that breakfast items are only available before
10:30am, which is turning off many younger customers,
particularly on the weekend. (Source: Chicago Business Journal, 2/24/14)
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Page 4  April 2014
 McDonald’s restaurants in San Diego began testing new Petite Pastries as a breakfast menu option.
Available in raspberry or cinnamon-cream cheese, customers can add two Petite Pastries to their
coffee purchase for $1.29 or just buy two of the pastries alone for $1.99. (Source: Bloomberg.com, 3/6/14)
 Wendy’s added two new salads to its permanent menu: the Asian Cashew Chicken
Salad and the BBQ Ranch Chicken Salad. These salads are replacing the Baja Salad
and Chicken Cobb Salad and are 50% lower in fat grams and 29% lower in sodium
than the Baja or Cobb. (Source: PR Newswire, 3/101/4)
 McDonald’s launched the limited-time Bacon Clubhouse Sandwich which features a quarter-pound
beef patty, grilled chicken or crispy chicken and is topped with applewood-smoked bacon, grilled
onions, white Cheddar cheese, lettuce, tomato and “Big Mac” sauce, served on an “artisan” roll. (Source:
Nation’s Restaurant News, 3/10/14)
 Workers at McDonalds in California, Michigan, and New York filed lawsuits claiming several franchisees
forced them to show up and work, but did not allow them to clock-in to the timekeeping system for
over an hour in order to have them work without pay. The lawsuits also claimed McDonald’s itself
does not meet the national minimum wage law because they require workers to pay for their own
uniforms out of their paycheck, and they were denied rest breaks and federally mandated meal times.
(Source: New York Times, 3/14/14)
 Quizno’s Corp. filed for bankruptcy protection and announced plans to reorganize the company and
cut its debt by $400 million. The chain said most of the companies it owes support the reorganization
plan and it will keep stores open while going through the bankruptcy process. (Source: Bloomberg.com, 3/15/14)
 As a tie-in with its promotion of the upcoming “X-Men: Days of Future Past” movie, Carl’s Jr. and
Hardee’s added two new items to its menu: the Western X-Tra Bacon Cheeseburger and the X-Tra
Bacon, Egg & Cheese Biscuit. Both items have twice the normal amount of bacon – four strips instead
of two. (Source: Business Wire, 3/18/14)
 Burger King and Wendy’s both announced plans to roll-out a mobile phone app
allowing customers to pay with their smartphone through a virtual gift card
embedded in the app. Subway is also testing an app which lets customers order
and pay for their meal with their smartphone. (Sources: Chicago Tribune, 3/18/14; Associated Press,
3/21/14; Nation’s Restaurant News, 4/3/14)
 McDonald’s kicked off a two-week campaign to promote itself as a breakfast destination by giving
away free small McCafe brewed coffee to customers every day from March 31 st through April 13th.
After the coffee giveaway ends, McDonald’s plans to surprise one @McCafe Twitter account follower
each day for the rest of the year with McCafe coffee and other prizes. (Source: PR Newswire, 3/28/14)
 Whataburger added a new limited-time breakfast option to its menu: the jalapeno-cheddar biscuit.
The spicy biscuit can be made into a sandwich, served with gravy, or just ordered by itself.
Antonio Business Journal, 4/1/14)
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Page 5  April 2014
(Source: San
 White Castle announced plans to add new waffle breakfast sandwiches to its menu. The waffle
sandwiches will be available in bacon, egg & cheese, sausage, egg & cheese, or “classic chicken &
waffle” varieties and will come with a cup of syrup for dipping. (Source: Los Angeles Times, 4/1/14)
 Sonic will bring back its “Summer of Shakes” promotion for the second year. Among the twenty-five
flavors of shakes will be OREO® Peanut Butter, Salted Caramel, and Chocolate Covered Jalapeno.
(Source:
Business Wire, 4/1/14)
 Subway launched a new pizza menu item called the Flatizza, made with the
flatbread used in its breakfast sandwiches and topped with ingredients also
used on their sandwiches, then toasted. Not all franchisees are offering the
new Flatizza, as some are still promoting the existing round, personal-size
pizzas. (Source: Associated Press Online, 4/11/14)
Chicken Chains
 Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen brought back its popular “3 of a Kind for $3.99” combo meal limited-time
offer. Customers get a fresh biscuit and their choice of three whole chicken wings, three chicken
tenders, or a leg/wing/thigh combination. Along with the 3 of a Kind for $3.99 deal, Popeyes is also
offering its Strawberry ‘N Cream Cheese Pie as a limited time dessert offer. (Source: Business Wire, 1/30/14)
 Chick-Fil-A announced it has started working with its suppliers so it can purchase meat from chickens
raised on antibiotic-free feed and which aren’t given antibiotics any other way. Chick-Fil-A already only
sells chicken that does not have fillers or additives, and is from poultry which are steroid-free. (Source: New
York Times, 2/11/14)
 Church’s Chicken brought back its fish fillet and fried shrimp menu items for the Lenten season. An ad
campaign featuring seagulls hovering around a Church’s restaurant like they would do at the coast was
used to promote the seafood items. (Source: BusinessWire, 2/24/14)
 Popeyes announced it added several seafood items to its menu permanently, not just for the Lent
season. The new items include: Cajun Fish (whole fillet whitefish seasoned with Popeyes spice blend
and fried in a Southern-style crumb coating); Catfish; Popcorn Shrimp; and a Fish & Popcorn Shrimp
combo meal. In addition to the seafood items, Popeyes also added Spicy Chicken Tenders, Blackened
Tenders, and Cajun-spiced rice to the menu. (Source: Business Wire, 2/27/14)
 Some Chick-Fil-A locations were offering a fried cod sandwich during the Lenten season. The sandwich
had two seasoned & breaded cod filets on a plain toasted bun with pickle slices, and a packet of tartar
sauce on the side. (Source: Memphis Business Journal, 3/25/14)
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Page 6  April 2014
 Chick-Fil-A passed KFC in terms of sales to become the top company in the U.S. chicken QSR segment.
In 2013, Chick-Fil-A had over $5 billion in sales, while KFC only had $4.2 billion in sales at its U.S.
locations, even though it has more locations (4,491 vs. 1,775) and is open seven days a week (Chick-FilA is closed on Sundays). (Source: Bloomberg BusinessWeek, 3/28/14)
 Yum Brands opened a concept store in Arlington, Texas for a new premium
chicken restaurant that is not affiliated with KFC. The Super Chix store has
a limited menu with only a chicken sandwich (hand-breaded and topped
with a choice of pickle slices, onions, or jalapeno peppers), chicken tenders
(with sauce options of honey mustard, smokey honey pepper, Sriracha
sweet & sour, and a “signature” sauce), French fries, drinks, and
milkshakes. (Source: Advertising Age, 4/7/14)
 Chick-Fil-A added new grilled chicken options to its menu: the Grilled Chicken Sandwich, the Grilled
Chicken Club Sandwich, and Grilled Chicken Nuggets. The nuggets have been available on the kids’
menu since last year. The new grilled chicken is also being used in the Grilled Market Salad, Grilled
Chicken Cool Wrap, and Chicken Salad Sandwich. (Source: Chick-Fil-A press release, 4/8/14)
 KFC launched a novel promotion offering “chicken corsages” to teens going to
their high school proms. Only 100 of the corsages were available. Customers
could order the corsage kit online and for $20 they would receive a wrist
corsage of baby’s breath flowers and a $5 coupon good for a piece of Original
Recipe, Extra Crispy, or Grilled Chicken to be attached to the center of the
corsage. Several students tweeted about being asked to prom with the
Chicken Corsage and used the hashtag #putawingonit. A YouTube video explaining the Chicken
Corsage was posted on April 9th and had been viewed over 200,000 times within four days. (Source:
Newsday.com, 4/13/14)
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Page 7  April 2014
Pizza/Pasta Chains
 Pizza Hut announced plans to test selling “pizza by the slice” at two locations in
Nebraska and Rhode Island. The slices will be cut from an 18” large pizza and
heated up in less than 4 minutes. The pizza “bar” will have plain cheese and
pepperoni pizzas as well as “chef-inspired” ingredient combinations. Slices will
cost $2-3 each. The Nebraska location will also be testing salad and pasta
“stations” where customers can order food and have it delivered to their table. (Sources:
Associated Press, 1/13/14; PR Newswire, 1/14/14)
 Pizza Hut said during the first ten days of the year, almost 40% of its orders came from digital sources
and not phone calls, with some markets seeing fifty-plus percent of orders coming from its website,
mobile site, smartphone/device apps, or Xbox 360. (Source: PR Newswire, 1/13/14)
 Domino’s Pizza launched a special sale with 50% off menu-prices for any pizza ordered online from
January 13th through January 19th. (Source: PR Newswire, 1/13/14)
 Pizza Hut launched a new version of its hand-tossed crust that is “lighter, airier” and sprinkled with
“cheese blended with five Italian flavors” and “brushed with garlic-buttery goodness.” The new crust is
supposed to look more “artisanal” with “imperfections.” (Source: Advertising Age, 1/15/14)
 Domino’s told attendees at its annual “investor day” conference that the company is focusing on
remodeling all stores by 2017 to a new design which features seating areas, flat screen televisions,
“grab and go” food items , and a “pizza theater” where customers can watch pizzas being prepared
while they wait for their own pizza to be baked. (Source: PizzaMarketPlace.com, 1/16/14)
 Papa John’s has partnered with CashStar to offer digital gift card purchases through a mobile device.
Customers can customize and purchase digital gift cards on the Papa John’s/Cashstar website and
select the date they want the gift cards to be delivered to the recipient, at some point in the future or
immediately. (Source: Business Wire, 1/20/14)
 7-Eleven went up against the pizza QSRs when it announced it would sell its freshbaked Pepperoni and Triple Cheese large pizzas for $5.55 and its Deluxe Meat large
pizzas for $6.99 on Sunday, February 2nd (Super Bowl Sunday). Customers who
bought any 2-liter bottle of soft drink along with the pizza received a $1 discount on
the pizza. A combo meal deal of a large pizza with 10 chicken wings or a large pizza
with 5 chicken wings and 4 mozzarella sticks was also available for $10. (Source: PR
Newswire, 1/28/14)
 Papa John’s customers who had orders of at least $15 between January 30th and February 2nd received
a coupon code good for one free large pizza with up to three toppings on an order placed on or after
February 3rd. The free pizza deal was part of Papa John’s 30th anniversary celebration as well as its role
as the Official Pizza of Super Bowl XLVIII. (Source: Business Wire, 1/29/14)
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Page 8  April 2014
 Domino’s poked fun at its competitor Papa John’s and its role as Official Pizza of Super Bowl XLVIII by
promoting itself as the Official Pizza Sponsor of the day’s other “big event” – Groundhog Day.
Domino’s gave away free samples of its Handmade Pan Pizza to people attending the event in
Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania on February 2nd. Fans could also vote online as to whether or not
Punxsutawney Phil would see his shadow. Each vote also counted as a contest entry to win a trip for
two to see the 2015 Groundhog Day event in person – or $5,000 in cash. (Source: PR Newswire, 1/31/14)
 Little Caesar’s launched a new lunch deal: the $5 Lunch Combo – available every day from 11am to
2pm. The $5 Lunch Combo includes four slices of deep dish pan pizza and a 20-ounce soft drink. (Source:
PR Newswire, 2/3/14)
 Pizza Hut received over 10,000 marriage proposals from fans via Twitter last year, so now the company
has decided to “settle down” and commit to one fan with the #CommitToGreatness contest, with the
winner receiving free Pizza Hut pizza for life. Fans could comment on Pizza Hut’s OkCupid profile or
submit creative proposal ideas via Vine or Instagram. Three fans will be chosen as finalists and brought
to Pizza Hut’s headquarters to “meet the parents” and participate in various activities before one lucky
winner is chosen. (Source: PR Newswire, 2/10/14)
 Pizza Hut unveiled a new interactive pizza-ordering table it is testing. The
top of the table is basically like a giant tablet computer. Customers can
build their own pizza by tapping and swiping options on an interactive
menu, then play games on the table screen while waiting for their pizza
to be prepared. The table would also allow customers to pay through the
table itself rather than checking out at the cashier. (Source: Nation’s Restaurant
News, 3/3/14)
 Little Caesars joined in the basketball craziness with its offer to give away one free HOT-N-Ready Lunch
Combo meal to every customer between 11:30am and 1:30pm, April 7th if any 16th seeded team upsets
a number 1 seeded team during the first rounds of the men’s NCAA basketball tournament. (Source: PR
Newswire, 3/12/14)
 Domino’s offered a 50% discount on all “menu-priced” pizzas ordered
online from March 17th through March 23rd. The discount was
intended to help customers enjoy pizza while cheering on their favorite
teams in NCAA Basketball’s tournament. (Source: PR Newswire, 3/17/14)
 Papa John’s launched a new Double Layered Premium Pepperoni and Bacon pizza, available for a
limited-time. To celebrate the new premium pizza, customers could use the code STATS on any online
order of $15 or more from March 24th through April 7th and receive a coupon good for one free pizza
on their next order. (Source: Business Wire, 3/24/14)
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Page 9  April 2014
 Pizza Hut added a new Garlic Parmesan Pizza option to its menu. The pizza has a creamy garlic,
Parmesan, and Romano cheese sauce and a special Parmesan-sprinkled crust. Guests can order it as a
Chicken Bacon Tomato Pizza, a Roasted Veggie Pizza, or as a “Five Cheese Please” pizza. (Source: PR Newswire,
3/31/14)
 Domino’s announced it had renewed its “Domino’s DomiNoNo”
promotion for the 2014 and 2015 Major League Baseball seasons. After
each of the first two no-hitters in the 2014 or 2015 MLB season, the first
20,000 registered members of MLB.com to respond will be given a code
good for one free, two-topping medium size pan pizza (carry-out only).
(Source: PR Newswire, 4/1/14)
 Pizza Hut commemorated Tax Day with a special online offer. Customers could order a large pizza and
one side (choice of breadsticks, Chocolate Dunkers, or Cinnamon Sticks) for just $10.99 using the code
TAXDAY on the online order. (Source: PR Newswire, 4/14/14)
 Domino’s Pizza rolled out the newest addition to its menu: Specialty Chicken. The chicken menu item
features 12 pieces of lightly breaded chicken breast meat, covered with various sauces and cheeses.
The Specialty Chicken comes in Crispy Bacon & Tomato, Spicy Jalapeno-Pineapple, Classic Hot Buffalo,
and Sweet BBQ Bacon varieties. (Source: PR Newswire, 4/14/14)
Seafood Chains
 Long John Silver’s was proud to announce that all of its restaurants have made the switch to 100%
soybean cooking oil which is free of trans fats and now all items on its menu have zero grams of trans
fats. (Source: Business Wire, 1/22/14)
 Long John Silver’s launched a new advertising campaign with the slogan
“Think Fish.” The television ads promote the sustainable aspects of
choosing fish over beef and compares fenced in cows to fish swimming
freely in the ocean and states that Long John Silver’s sources its fish
responsibly from suppliers who have “certified, sustainable fisheries.”
The campaign will also include FSIs in Sunday newspapers, online ads,
social media, and in-store ads. (Source: Advertising Age, 2/11/14)
 Captain D’s announced its Fire Grilled Menu received a positive response from customers in test
markets, so it will be rolled out nationwide during the first quarter of 2014. The Fire Grilled Menu
includes Grilled White Fish, Shrimp Skewers, a “Surf and Turf” option, and a Grilled Fish Tenders Kids
meal which meets the nutritional standards set by the NRA’s Kids LiveWell program. (Source: Business Wire,
2/13/14)
 Long John Silver’s brought back its popular Norway Lobster Bites for a limited time through April. The
snack sized bites of breaded & fried lobster tail meat are available in “Shooter” portions for $1.99 or a
Snack Box at $3.99. (Source: QSR Magazine, 2/24/14)
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Page 10  April 2014
Mexican Chains
 Taco Bell announced an expansion of its beverage menu with the addition of two new Mountain Dew
flavors (Diet Mountain Dew Baja Blast and Mountain Dew Sangrita Blast), the apple-flavored
Manzanita Sol soft drink brand that is popular in Mexico, Brisk Mango Fiesta, Brisk Iced Tea &
Lemonade combination flavor, and SoBe Lifewater Yumberry Pomegranate. (Source: Business Wire, 1/17/14)
 Taco Bell added two new varieties of its Loaded Grillers to its menu: Chipotle Ranch Chicken and Chili
Cheese Fries. The Loaded Grillers are normally available for $1 each during Taco Bell’s “Happier Hour”
from 2pm to 5pm, but for a limited time they will be available at the value price all day long. (Source: QSR
Magazine, 1/23/14)
 Taco Bell said it plans to roll out a mobile ordering app nationwide sometime later this year. A beta
version of the app shows different opening greetings depending on the time of day, and then launches
the menu. Users can find their closest Taco Bell location and the menu
will display the prices specific to that store. Orders can be saved as
favorites for easy re-ordering in the future. The app user can load their
credit or debit card into the app, or a Taco Bell gift card, to use for
payment. After paying, the order is sent directly to that store’s POS
system and displays on the kitchen monitor as a mobile order. A GPS
locator is notified when the customer is close to the store and alerts the
kitchen staff to start making the order at that point. Guests can choose whether or not to pick up the
order in the store or go through the drive-through when they arrive and tap the appropriate icon on
the app. If going through the drive-through, all they need to do is say they are picking up a mobile
order for their name. (Source: Nation’s Restaurant News, 2/10/14)
 Taco Bell launched its biggest taco ever: the XXL Crispy Taco with steak, shredded chicken, and ground
beef options. (Source: QSR Magazine, 2/21/14)
 Taco Bell unveiled its first ever breakfast menu, including the Waffle
Taco (a warm waffle folded around bacon or a sausage patty, scrambled
eggs, and cheese), the AM Crunchwrap (scrambled eggs, hash browns,
melted cheese, and a choice of sausage, bacon, or steak, all wrapped in
a flour tortilla and grilled), Cinnabon Delights, Breakfast Burritos in
bacon, sausage, or steak varieties; AM Grilled Tacos with bacon or
sausage; a Sausage Flatbread Melt; hash browns; coffee and orange juice. (Source: Business Wire, 2/24/14)
 A Taco Bell spokesperson confirmed the chain is testing a “Quesarito” in Oklahoma City. The hybrid
menu item is a burrito wrapped in a quesadilla.
(Source: Los Angeles Times, 2/27/14)
 Taco Bell expanded its grocery product line with its partner Kraft Foods Group. The new line includes
28 products ranging from taco sauce to “dessert kits.” The first new items to be launched were two
dinner kits which include packets of Velveeta cheese sauce (Taco Bell Ultimate Taco Night Kit – Cheesy
Taco Grande and Steak & Cheese Soft Tacos) and two new varieties of Taco Bell Taco Seasoning (mild
and reduced-sodium). (Source: Advertising Age, 3/6/14)
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Page 11  April 2014
 Del Taco added a new limited-time menu item: the Epic Surf & Turf Burrito. The new burrito has
shrimp, grilled carne asada steak, lime rice, and cabbage, topped with a creamy ancho pepper sauce,
pico de gallo, and Del Taco’s “secret sauce.” (Source: QSRWeb.com, 3/7/14)
 Taco Bell promoted its new breakfast menu by sending approximately 1,000 Samsung T404G “feature
phones” to its superfans on social media and influencers. The phones will lead the fans on quests with
rewards such as a set of sheets printed with images of A.M. Crunchwraps, pajamas with images of
hashbrowns, and free Taco Bell breakfasts for a year. (Source: Mashable.com, 3/19/14)
 Taco Bell launched a major advertising campaign for its new breakfast menu. The first television ad
features several men talking about how much they love the new breakfast tacos, then stating they are
all named Ronald McDonald. Taco Bell also used Instagram and Vine videos, and also plans to use
Snapchat somehow. (Sources: Advertising Age, 3/27/14; Adweek.com, 3/27/14)
 Del Taco added tacos to its breakfast menu lineup. The new tacos are made fresh-to-order and are
available in “plain” (egg & cheese), bacon (eggs, cheese, and bacon), sausage (eggs, cheese, and
sausage), and steak (eggs, cheese, and carne asada steak). (Source: QSRWeb.com, 4/3/14)
 Taco Bell announced the latest variety of its Doritos Locos Tacos via Snapchat. The Spicy Chicken Cool
Ranch Doritos Locos Tacos will be available starting May 1st.
©2014 by M/A/R/C® Research
Page 12  April 2014
(Source: Advertising Age, 4/13/14)
Kids’ Meals
 A survey of 500 children ages 8 to 13 found that over 60% “love” eating at fast food restaurants, up
from 48% in the same survey from 2010. The child respondents also said they want to be able to
customize their meals and to them, “high-quality” fast food is “fresh” and tastes like it was
“homemade.” (Source: QSR Magazine, 1/23/14)
 Subway joined the Partnership for a Healthier America program for a
special three year effort aimed at making kids’ food choices
healthier. As part of the program, Subway will redesign its kids meals
so they meet federal nutritional standards for the national school
lunch program, with apples offered as a side dish instead of chips,
and the default kids meal beverage being a choice of water or lowfat/non-fat milk. It will also spend over $40 million on media
activities over the next three years, with campaigns focusing on
increasing kids’ consumption of fruits and vegetables. One probable campaign slogan will be “Playtime,
Powered by Veggies.” (Sources: PR Newswire, 1/23/14; Advertising Age, 1/23/14)
 A group of health organizations including the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, the American Cancer
Society, the American Diabetes Association, and the Center for Science in the Public Interest sent
letters to over twenty restaurant chains including Wendy’s and Burger King, asking that they remove
soft drinks and other sugary beverages like chocolate milk from their kids’ meal menus. Chains like
McDonald’s, Arby’s, and Subway already changed their kids’ meals to only offer water or low-fat/nonfat white milk. (Source: UPI.com, 2/3/14)
 Burger King announced all Kids Meals would automatically come with their Satisfries lower-fat, lowercalorie French fries instead of the regular French fries. (Source: Advertising Age, 3/3/14)
©2014 by M/A/R/C® Research
Page 13  April 2014
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