Fast-Food Restaurants Go Upscale

Taco Bell is one example of how QSRs are trying to reinvent themselves to snare more fast-casual diners.

January 23, 2013

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - QSRs are taking a page from the success of fast-casual restaurants and offering more exotic fare these days, Entrepreneur reports. In the QSR world, salads have morphed into greens topped with vinaigrette dressing, berries, grilled chicken and nuts. Coffee has become espressos, cappuccinos, and mochas.

"They're chasing the fast-casual segment," said Bonnie Riggs, restaurant industry analyst at the NPD Group. "That's exactly what's going on. We've been tracking fast food for well over 30 years, and during every period of recession and economic downturn, fast food has never experienced this kind of poor performance for this long a period of time. In 2009 the sector experienced negative growth, then leveled off. It's not growing, nor is it forecasted to grow."

Fast-casual restaurants, such as Chipotle, Five Guys, Noodles & Company and Panera Bread, are now accounting for 4% of total restaurant industry traffic. "Quick serves are looking at what fast casual delivers that consumers find so appealing," said Riggs. "The cost of fast casual is not that low compared to fast food, but consumers are willing to pay more because they feel it delivers on the value proposition. It's fresh food, reasonably fast and good tasting. Fast food sees this happening, and they want to jump on the bandwagon."

As a way to make its menu more appealing to fast-casual consumers, Taco Bell has hired top chef Lorena Garcia to spice up its menu with Cantina Bell line. "The Cantina Bell menu came from a few places," said Brian Niccol, Taco Bell's chief marketing and innovations officer. "Many of our great West Coast franchisees were picking up on the fresh-Mex and fast-casual Mexican trend and brought it to our attention. At the same time, we were on a mission to evolve the brand and to make Taco Bell more relevant. Consumers were pushing us from the idea of 'food as fuel' to 'food as experience.??"

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement