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Kruse Control

October 17, 2008

I believe that we can all agree that we are fairly current on how tough things are in the restaurant industry. Even if you never read an industry publication, and don’t follow the news on TV, newspapers, or the internet, you still are confronted with the realities of how bad things are when you show up for work every day. It is hard to miss the complaining about soft sales, rising costs, and little or no credit availability. Since there is little new to add to the “doom and gloom” stories, let’s spend some time on what all restaurants have in common—menus.

I have just returned from the annual Multi-Unit Foodservice Operators conference (MUFSO) in D.C. Two and a half days of speakers and panels devoted to improving the skill sets and knowledge base of industry operators and suppliers. Everyone always has their own choice of a favorite session, but one of the most popular, and most immediately usable presentations, was by Nancy Kruse of The Kruse Co.. Nancy is the industry’s foremost authority on what is happening in the world of food, and how our industry translates that into what is on the menu, or menu boards, around the country.

Usually when I am at a loss of what to write, I will go back to my notes from Nancy’s past presentations and pilfer an idea or three. I try to wait a respectable period of time, but today is different. The information contained in Nancy’s presentation on culinary survival skills for a tough economy is too important to not pass on more quickly.

Those of you who have studied marketing sometime since the invention of the automobile are familiar with the Four P’s of Marketing: product, price, place, and promotion. Nancy’s presentation focuses on the Four P’s of Menu Value Proposition: protein, portion, premium and push-back. This is just a taste of what Nancy shared at the conference, but it should give you an idea of what is going on in menus.

Menu Value Proposition: The Four P’s

            Protein

·         Protein as a condiment--adds value

-Thinly sliced prime rib on a burger (Hardee’s)

-Shrimp on salmon (Salmon Oscar)

 

·         Mac and comfort--familiar and low cost

-Premium Bacon Mac n’ Cheese (Pizza Hut)

-Cheesy Macaroni Bites (Jack in the Box)

 

·         Slow cooking--low cost way for taste and tenderness
-Braised beef cannelloni (Maggiano’s) 

            Portion

·         Mini-mania--peaking, but still wildly popular

-Bite sized sandwiches (sliders)

-Beyond burgers, includes many other proteins

 

·         Options--choice of sizes on menus is growing

-Right Portion/Right Price menu (Friday’s)

-Little Thickburger (Hardee’s)

 

·         Snacks and Sides--more interesting choices

-Portions Menu (Au Bon Pain)

-Lobster Bites (Long John Silver’s)

            Premium

·         Better burgers--has not peaked yet

-New age burger boosters (Five Guys, The Counter, Habit)

-More innovation by the majors, Triple Prime burger (Ruby Tuesday)

-42% of all sandwich orders are burgers

 

·         Upgrade your signature products

-Known for salads? Take them up another notch.

 

·         Better beverages

-Better teas and coffees, non-alcoholic beverages

-New flavors and combinations

-Fresh squeezed juices

            Push-Back

·         Grocery RMR (Restaurant Meal Replacement) stealing share

-Restaurant share of supper visits peaked in 1999, grocery winning the battle

-Reason that customers are eating more at home: cheaper, driving less, cutting expenses, and financial situation. Health and nutrition is a distant second.

 

·         Promote quality and freshness

-Seasonal LTOs

 

·         Tout cooking technique

-Iron Grilled sandwiches (Dairy Queen)

 

·         Let customers see you sweat

-Menu descriptions should let them in on the details of ingredients and technique

-This is a point of difference between restaurant and grocery

 

·         Don’t let them duplicate

-Grocery not comfortable with seafood

-Higher skilled menu items

 

·         Pamper them

-Service is an edge, tableside activities push the envelope

 

·         Sample, Sample, Sample

-Sample, giveaways, small bites

-Especially on a wait, or with a new item

 

Hopefully, this will give you an idea of what was covered and working. It was a lot more impactful seeing the photos of food with every idea, but this is a low budget operation. The takeaway was that we are an incredibly fortunate industry to have so many tools at our disposal to respond to the needs and moods of our customers. Don’t fall into the trap of running your business on cruise control.

 

 

Posted by Lane Cardwell on October 17, 2008 | Comments (2)