SugarCreek: Brandworthy Food Solutions

Customers can be fickle. Not every food fad develops into a QSR trend. As cases in point, remember 2004, when fast food restaurants were scrambling to serve burgers as lettuce wraps, or the late ‘80s, when even the big chains ran themselves in circles trying to trim every possible bit of extraneous fat out of their menus? The risk of diving too far, too fast into a food fad is substantial. QSR restaurants that tailor their marketing too specifically toward the mode or don’t diversify their menu offerings can alienate their core customers and leave themselves too exposed to the winds of change.

So how can your company avoid fleeting fashions and focus its attention instead on the food trends that are likely to last? Let’s take a look at the 2 digital signs that could tell you if a food trend is here to stay.

The QSR industry can be pretty cutthroat.

Consumers are spoiled for choice, but they have a finite amount of time and money. What makes eaters choose this restaurant and not that? What makes them choose fast food over grocery grab-and-go items, sit-down casual or staying in and eating at home? Moreover, what keeps a fast food restaurant ahead of its competitors? Cost margins are too tight to allow much room for error. And consumer taste preferences are ever-shifting, so robust marketing and R&D strategies are a must.

Today, let’s take a look at 3 characteristics that can spell the difference between success and failure in the QSR industry.

Breakfast is blurring boundaries in all sorts of ways for the QSR industry. The lines between meal and snack, the time distinction between early morning and later in the day or even late night, and the frontier between old fashioned familiar tastes and new, unexpected flavors are all up for redefinition.

Fast food breakfast has become a tightly competitive market, especially now that many QSR chains are offering breakfast items outside the traditional bounds of the morning daypart. But consumer demand for quick, convenient breakfast foods has proven itself to be very strong. At McDonald’s, for example, all-day breakfast items reportedly now account for an estimated 25 percent of all sales. Results like those have made breakfast so attractive that many fast food franchises — even those that have never before tested it — are taking steps to enter the market.

Before launching their breakfast lines, though, there are 3 “Ls” QSR companies should consider:

This piece was originally published on Supply & Demand Chain Executive.

Breakfast is becoming a sandbox for QSR innovation in new food and new processes. Demands for fresh fare, locally sourced produce and specialty versions of classic ingredients are clamoring for their turn in the spotlight, and customers are enthusiastically partaking. These new eating trends come with logistics demands of their own, but when you factor in the call for longer "breakfast" times, it becomes even more challenging. With new products and new demand windows on the horizon, can your current sourcing and logistics keep pace with QSR industry challenges? The most in-demand item on your supply chain breakfast menu should be a heaping scoop of agility.

One of the hottest fast food trends this year has been the resurgence of quick-service breakfast. Many fast food companies have watched the successful launch of Taco Bell’s breakfast and McDonald’s all-day breakfast menu and wondered if they, too, might be able to get in on the bonanza.

But to capitalize on breakfast, a company must first master the basics that have made grab-and-go morning bites so attractive to the modern consumer. Today, let’s take a look at the 3 must-haves for any company that wants to succeed in the competitive AM daypart.

Despite a surge in breakfast traffic, the QSR industry is facing flat sales, and some new challenges in the coming year could spell more difficulty. From the growing demand for meal delivery services and food delivery to an overly saturated market and even the difficulties surrounding customers increased demands for sustainability, there are some potential problems looming ahead for the industry.

You’ve seen how well McDonald’s and Taco Bell are performing in the morning and noticed that breakfast is the only segment of the QSR industry that is seeing growth. How can you make the most of breakfast and stand out from competitors seeking to target the same customers? The finishing touches and little details that you offer morning customers can truly make a difference. From offering customization to ensuring that your customer leaves with the right order, here’s how finishing touches can make you stand out from the crowd.

Let’s take a moment for some honest reflection: Fast food faces a real challenge. Among Millennials, the industry suffers from an image problem. Young consumers have more than a few ugly assumptions about fast food. To put it simply, fast food isn’t really “in” with younger generations of American eaters.

A lot of Millennials, upon hearing the words “fast food,” will automatically jump to “burgers-and-fries.” They associate fast food with high-fat, high-calorie, uninspired meals. And to top things off, in many cases, fast food consumption brings with it the risk of being judged poorly by peers.

From creative ways to showcase spam to fairy bread and sriracha sauce, food trends come and go; embracing the wrong trends can cost you.  Following trends can help you capitalize on popularity and offer items that are likely to be accepted by your target demographic — provided you choose trends that have some staying power.

Choose the wrong trend to follow and you could miss out in a variety of ways.