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| KFC Australia has released a range of merchandise that includes pajamas, aprons, ice buckets and backpacks. Profits from the sale will go to support mental well-being through the KFC Youth Foundation and its charity partners The Black Dog Institute, ReachOut Australia and Whitelion. |
Nation's Restaurant News included Taco Bell's Go Mobile Design in its round up of companies that debuted or expanded prototypes in 2023. It wrote: "The company opened two of those iterated models – one in El Paso, Texas, and one in Columbus, Ga. – noting that elements such as a walk-up window for both digital and third-party orders, dedicated parking for mobile and delivery orders and grab-and-go shelves could be incorporated in future restaurants.”
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Nation's Restaurant News' Alicia Kelso wrote about the opening of the first Habit Burger Grill restaurant to feature a mobile pickup lane and also highlighted the company's growth. Kelso noted that at Yum! Brands investor day last year, Habit CEO Shannon Hennessy said that the company has expanded its footprint by 10% or more for the past 15 years. Kelso also mentioned how in a recent blog post, Chief Business Development Officer John Phillips wrote the company's "long-term vision involves exploring different operating models that accommodate the evolving landscape of dining preferences."
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| How a shy paperboy became The Habit CMO |
| Early in his career, The Habit Burger Grill's Chief Marketing Officer Jack Hinchliffe faced a crossroads: take a desired promotion on the sales team or follow his passion with a lateral move into marketing. In the latest edition of "How I Got Here," find out how staying true to himself and trusting his gut at that crucial moment paid off for Hinchliffe and discover other moments that shaped his career as a marketing executive. |
| Pizza Hut motivates entrepreneurs to believe in the possibilities |
Around the world, Pizza Hut is fueling entrepreneurship programs through its Equal Slice for Everyone social purpose framework. In partnership with Yum!’s Unlocking Opportunity Initiative, they’re changing the future for young adults in Canada, underrepresented communities in the United Kingdom and farmers in Indonesia. Watch to learn more about how the brand is making a difference in the places it calls home. |  | (For Yum! Eyes Only) |
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At the recent McDonald's investor day, Jo Sempels, president of McDonald’s International Developmental Licensed Markets, discussed the growth of the chicken and coffee category for the chain. Its McNuggets category has grown to more than $10 billion in annual sales and McCrispy has swiftly become a $1 billion brand. Sempels noted the opportunity to expand into tenders and wraps. “We see potential to add another point of chicken share by 2026,” Sempels said. McDonald's sells 8 million cups of coffee a day, making it the number two coffee player globally according to the Sempels. “While we’ve had success, we still haven’t realized our full global potential.”
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QSR Magazine reported on what Domino's shared with investors on Wednesday. Executives discussed a plan focused around food, operations, value and franchisees that it believes will help it reach 50,000 stores and eight percent annual operating income growth in the next five years.
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At its annual investor day, Domino’s Pizza announced the launch of a proprietary operating system, Dom.OS, as well as an overhauled website and app. Dom.OS is “a series of smart tools” that will be able to orchestrate the flow of operations from the moment an order is placed until it goes out for delivery, “keeping one eye on the customer, and one eye on the store operations,” Kelly Garcia, chief technology officer of Domino’s said. Garcia also said that it will use generative AI to change the ordering process with the creation of a personal pizza ordering assistant.
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In an interview with "Bloomberg Markets: The Close," Chipotle CEO Brian Niccol said the chain hasn't decided if prices will go up again next year but did say that "historically, in normal environments...we usually take one to three percent pricing a year." He also discussed the new California wage law, expansion and said that it has no plans to offer breakfast.
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Popeyes is offering limited-time deals on its wings while also poking fun at some competitors. The "DISScounts" take aim with promo codes like "OPENSUNDAY" (Chick-fil-A) and "NOTTHATWILD" (Buffalo Wild Wings). The chain is offering free 6-piece wings when customers spend at least $10 and enter any of the codes on Popeyes' website or app.
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Zaxby’s is expanding its presence in the Midwest with the opening of two locations in Kentucky and one in Indiana. With this development, Zaxby’s has surpassed the milestone of 930 locations.
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The winner of White Castle’s “2023 Slider Showdown” recipe contest was a California man who created a dish called the French Sliders Brunch. He will receive free White Castle Sliders for a year.
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At the Morgan Stanley Global Consumer & Retail Conference, Cava Group CFO Tricia Tolivar said the chain’s higher wage rate is fundamentally tied to its value proposition, which in turn impacts traffic. The company raised its starting wage to $13 per hour in 2016. “So when rates got challenging over the past few years, we had less of a hill to climb to remain competitive,” she said. “And so we didn’t have to lean into price changes as much as others, and that really, I believe, is a differentiator for us and how we can continue on that value proposition.”
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Dave & Buster’s CEO Chris Morris said it is remodeling its stores and enhancing its loyalty program with personalized offerings. Dave & Buster’s will use data processing improvements to enhance its loyalty program with additional personalization opportunities. The restaurant currently has 5.4 million loyalty members, who visit more than 50% more often and spend about 15% more per visit than other customers, according to Morris.
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Square's new third-quarter restaurant industry report found that restaurant workers' wages grew 4.9% year over year in October 2023, which is a decline from peak growth of 10.5% in December 2021, when the average base wage was $12.60 and average hourly earnings totaled $15.85.
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Automated pizzeria chain PizzaForno announced an expansion into Mexico. After the opening later this month, the master licensee plans to open 20 more locations in the Mexico City area throughout 2024.
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| An Australian workers union has filed a class action against McDonald's alleging that the chain asked current and former employees to work before and after their rostered shifts for free. The suit alleged that McDonald's did not pay about 25,000 managers and supervisors across its 1,000 stores over six years, and is seeking A$100 million ($66.13 million) in backpay. |
The National Restaurant Association is campaigning to dissuade the FTC from regulating restaurant surcharges. The association said the new rules currently being considered by the FTC would outlaw such common guest-check add-ons as credit-card processing fees, the automatic gratuities for large parties, extra charges for delivery orders and surcharges known as service fees. The association cites the FTC’s own estimates that recasting menus would cost a typical restaurant $4,818.27.
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SoundHound AI will acquire SYNQ3, which will enable the company to extend the number of restaurants using its voice-driven artificial intelligence systems to 10,000 units across 25 chains. With the addition of SYNQ3’s data, the company now has a “library” of more than 50 million transactions it can analyze for ways of improving its AI services.
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Presto Automation, which offers AI-powered chatbots that take orders at drive-thrus, revealed that “off-site agents” working in locales such as the Philippines help during more than 70% of customer interactions to make sure its AI system doesn’t mess up. “Our human agents enter, review, validate and correct orders,” Presto's CEO Xavier Casanova told investors on a recent earnings call. “Human agents will always play a role in ensuring order accuracy.” The company was notified by the SEC in July that it’s under investigation over disclosures made “regarding certain aspects of its AI technology.
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