Question

Topic: Strategy

Product Offering (menu) Of A Fast Food Restaurant

Posted by shiba on 7/30/2012 at 7:41 PM ET 500 Points
The menu of a fast food restaurant is a principal contention between myself and the potential partners.

They are proposing that we offer burgers, hot dogs and pizzas and I am for a sandwich only place that offers burgers, hot dogs and other sandwiches. The quality of the different food items is not a point of contention.

They are excited about their proposal because they argue that since these items are the most popular in the market, then if we offer them at a higher quality than others with an innovative and effective marketing campaign then we will be positioned in the market as the first brand to offer the 3 products together at a high quality.

To emphasis, being the first to offer the 3 products at a high quality is the driving point of their idea.

My main concerns with their model:

1) The brand image and our marketing strategy will be built on linking the 3 products together which does not allow for flexibility in changing our offering if an item's sales are low.

2) The perception of the consumer towards a product offering that isn't specialized.

3) The market already has several successful pizza places and more alarmingly, 2 of the most successful are in our area and a new pizza place is opening right next door to our shop! (Their counter argument to this point is that we will offer new york style pizza which isn't present in the market).

My argument with them mainly revolves around the previous 3 points and the fact that offering only sandwiches will allow us to offer items that are not available in our local market.

I'm interested in getting your point of views regarding the matter, is my argument valid or am I missing the point?

And if you agree, how can I support my argument to convince them of my model?

Thanks for reading all the way through my post and I'm urgently waiting for your feedback regarding the issue as this issue is time sensitive.
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RESPONSES

  • Posted by Jay Hamilton-Roth on 7/30/2012 at 9:28 PM Accepted
    Your partners are thinking of creating a "something for everyone" type of place. However, if someone's in the mood for pizza, it's unlikely your shop will be top-of-mind. If someone wants a burger/dog, which existing restaurant would they visit? Your sandwich shop idea may also suffer the same fate, as there's no doubt a number of other options for people to satisfy their hunger. So, whatever option you choose "better quality" may-or-may not make a difference in your market (especially if people have to pay for it, and discretionary income is tight).

    Here's an example of a woman who stumbled upon a sandwich that caught the attention of everyone in the area: https://video.msnbc.msn.com/nightly-news/46980713/%2346980713#46980713

    Rather than start by investing in a lease, can you test your offerings using a food truck and/or at your local farmer's market? That'll help you start the buzz, and find out what people are really wanting that they can't get (and are willing to pay for).
  • Posted by Gary Bloomer on 7/30/2012 at 10:05 PM Accepted
    There's only one place in which it's possible to buy New York style pizza and that's in New York City.

    No matter which range of recipes you offer, you're both wrong. Yes, that's right: both you and your partners. Wrong. It's not the food. Or the quality. Or the ingredients. Or the location.

    It's the starving crowd.

    Offer too many choices and sales will slide. Make it super simple for people to buy, and offer the largest crowd simple choices and sales will climb.

    Offer sandwiches but make them GREAT sandwiches. Offer burgers but make them SUBLIME. And offer these things to the hungriest crowd.

    Now, stop squabbling and go feed people!
  • Posted by Chris Blackman on 7/31/2012 at 8:43 AM Accepted
    Yes. Focus, focus, focus.

    There are places in Philadelphia that serve only one kind of sandwich - a Philly Cheesteak, which cannot possibly be healthy. In fact I recall one street where there were lots of shops all selling the same artery-clogging fare.

    Your menu need not be that limited but you need a signature sandwich which is what keeps people coming back. Not some 'challenge' product, like the 48oz steak sandwich, but one that any customer with a reasonable appetite could handle, and would want to come back for, time and time again.
  • Posted by Peter (henna gaijin) on 7/31/2012 at 1:37 PM Accepted
    An example supporting what the others have said is In and Out Burgers (https://www.in-n-out.com/), a chain of hamburger shops on the US west coast. Their menu has 3 burgers (hamburger, cheeseburger, and double cheeseburger), fries (1 size), shakes (2 or 3 flavors), and sodas. That is all. Yet they have lines out the door.

    Here are two articles on it:
    https://zedomax.biz/blog/marketing/generating-buzz/in-n-out-burgers-viral-m...

    https://www.smallbusinesscomputing.com/emarketing/article.php/3851091/InNOu... (watch the 10 minute video)

    You said "offering only sandwiches will allow us to offer items that are not available in our local market" - if there are no other sandwich places in your area, then this could be a product offering that would allow you to differentiate, if sandwiches are something that customers in the area would want.
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