Next-Generation Platform Strategies for Restaurant Development

Editor's Notes

• #5: TriMark is the country’s largest provider of foodservice equipment, supplies and design services. Many top restaurant chains rely on TriMark’s expertise to realize their vision for success; from rolling out a new concept to international expansion, TriMark is there every step of the way. We are TriMark, and we bring it! TriMark is the country’s largest provider of foodservice equipment, supplies and design services. Many top restaurant chains rely on TriMark’s expertise to realize their vision for success; from rolling out a new concept to international expansion, TriMark is there every step of the way. Visit trimarkusa.com to learn more.
• #8: Tanyeri: Dennis, as chains seek to develop new platforms and new prototypes for their brands, what are some of the key opportunities and considerations that they should address?  Opportunities How can you evolve the brand to improve its performance in new dayparts and shoulder dayparts where it may not be particularly strong? Easier than to try to create a whole new daypart where you have no credibility and is something the consumer may not even understand. If you can find ways to enhance areas where you have traffic, but not strong traffic, you have a better chance of building sales than trying to start a whole new venture that may not be consistent with your brand.   Where can you create the next-generation models and, perhaps at the same time, enhance the concept by having new sales layers – i.e. a grab-and-go section, catering, a bakery section, an elevated beverage section, or other things that could help generate a higher ticket average?   Are their new platforms or extensions that allow to take your brand where it’s not typically now? i.e., express or grab-and-go kiosks that might work in noncommercial settings, or in c-stores or travel plazas. It’s a way of extending the brand.
• #9: Considerations Need good, predictive ROI on the projects; discipline around what’s needed not just in terms of guest satisfaction, but in unit economics to make developing new platforms and new prototypes viable and have them embraced by franchisees and/or the finance department.   Have to figure out where not to spend and how to spend wisely – i.e., with new prototypes. If it’s not going to create greater customer satisfaction or sales, then why do it? In many cases, new prototypes can cost less than existing ones just through smart value engineering and better unit economics.   The larger the chain the more important is to consider how you roll back this next-generation design or platform against existing stores vs. just building new stores going forward. The roll-back has to be a very integral portion of the planning.    
• #10: Tanyeri: Johnny Rockets is a large, legacy chain that has made next-gen platforms a key part of its go-to-market strategy. James, you’ve noted that when it comes to developing prototypes and platforms the “one-trick pony is dead.” Describe for us where Johnny Rockets is headed in this regard.
• #21: Tanyeri: Dennis, with next-generation platforms come next-generation risks. What are some of the most common that chains encounter when trying to take their brands into new and nontraditional platforms?
• #22: Dennis: -Confusing the consumer about what the brand stands for or what the brand is. -Not executing well against the new platform. i.e., If you’re not used to a lower volume environment, you better figure out pretty quickly how you can provide the same quality and freshness in a low-volume environment as you’ve been doing in your traditional high-volume environment. -In some cases, not having the same control over the brand as in a full unit/full store. You’re just not going to be able to allocate the same resources to inspect and coach when it’s a $250,000-a-year kiosk as you would a $1 million-a-year franchise. So you have to make sure the controls are in place so nothing damages the brand. -Failing to ensure the new platform follows very consistently what the brand proper offers. A good example is chains developing branded products for sale in supermarkets. If not done right and with the right controls, will the consumer think less of that product and then start to think less of the brand in general? If finding and/or training employees for a c-store or travel center location to meet brand standards is difficult, the brand suffers. One platform impacts all.
• #23: Tanyeri: James, with some of these risks in mind, what are some tips you’d offer from your experience at Johnny Rockets for protecting your brand while developing new platforms? James: The single biggest and most important thing is to ask your customers for permission. For example with JR Rout 66, we’d done some pretty exhaustive research with our current consumers to make sure that they thought the new concept/prototype/venue made sense for the brand and that it hung together or how they view the brand. So it’s critical to do that with external customers as well as with internal customers, in our case our franchisees. We polled our franchisees, we polled our customers and they’re the ones that essentially gave us permission to do that.
• #25: Tanyeri: Before we close, I’m going to throw it back to Dennis for some parting shots of wisdom for those considering next-gen platforms. Dennis: -Ignore the back of the house at your peril. If you’re creating a new prototype or platform, that’s the time to spend energy around what is your menu today, how is your menu likely to evolve tomorrow, and how will that impact your kitchen of tomorrow? -Keep unit opening costs in line or even lower so franchisees can adopt the changes and new franchisees can come into the system with stronger unit economics. -While we’re spending all this time talking about new prototype designs, new platforms and all the different ways of enhancing the brand, it’s critical to ensure that employees who are going into that new prototype or platform can execute against the concept in a way that makes all of the other efforts worthwhile. Success ultimately depends on three intersecting circles: Concept, Execution, Location. No matter the platform, if any one of the three is off-kilter, the economics will suffer.
• #27: TriMark is the country’s largest provider of foodservice equipment, supplies and design services. Many top restaurant chains rely on TriMark’s expertise to realize their vision for success; from rolling out a new concept to international expansion, TriMark is there every step of the way. We are TriMark, and we bring it! TriMark is the country’s largest provider of foodservice equipment, supplies and design services. Many top restaurant chains rely on TriMark’s expertise to realize their vision for success; from rolling out a new concept to international expansion, TriMark is there every step of the way. Visit trimarkusa.com to learn more.
• #28: That’s a wrap for this one, but we hope you’ll join us again next year for additional rd+d webcasts. Also, a reminder that if you’d like a copy of this side presentation, you can download one by using the green tool bar below.
• #29: If you’re not already a subscriber, take a minute to visit rddmag.com to sign up for restaurant design digest, our bi-monthly electronic newsletter. Thanks again.