Krispy Kreme’s Post

As a food entrepreneur and closet marketeer, I see challenges with this partnership: 1. Krispy Kreme donuts are best served warm. Their red neon light created a cult like following. But when they over expanded years ago into gas stations and c stores the light wasn’t shining anymore. At that point they became just another donut and cheapend their brand. 2. It will be a gargantuan, if not impossible task to service all 13,000 McDonald's restaurants with a “fresh” donut. I watch it everyday here in the Northeast as they try to supply local supermarkets with fresh donuts. Nobody is thinking about donuts in the afternoon or at dinner time - the window is 7am to 9am. This means a “thaw and sell” donut will have to be developed for this partnership to even have a chance of survival. But again, it goes against what KK is known for. 3. McDonald's is arguably one of the most recognized brands in the world. However, they’ve come under fire recently for their pricing and customer service. I’d double down my resources right there. Focus on making the customers feel special when they walk in the door and give them a meal that provides value - as they created the “value meal” concept. The introduction of donuts might grow their TikTok followers, but it won’t add to the bottom line. Save that dough. PIE THAT BRINGS PEOPLE TOGETHER®️ #qsr #cpg #fastfood #dessert #marketing #mrtods #entrepreneurship

There are about 350 Krispy Kreme locations in the US and over 14k McDonalds. What an absolute monster of an opportunity for both of these chains. Some takeaways from my perspective: 1. Increasing reach Only those without tastebuds have ever had a Krispy Kreme donut and didn’t enjoy it. The kicker is that not everyone has had that opportunity given the limited availability of the chain. This move simply offers the brand more exposure at one of the leading breakfast locations. 2. Breakfast’s limited competition McDonald’s making this move is smart simply because breakfast doesn’t have as much competing. The chain has tried to innovate in the space for years, adding McCafe options, including muffins and pastries. I expect those didn’t perform quite as well, so the donuts will be a nice addition to that space. (Personally, I’ve always been a cinnamon role fan with a 3:1 frosting to roll ratio.) 3. Donut think Ozempic will be an issue Someone will make it a point this isn’t smart for McDonald’s because of the trend in GLP-1’s. That’s an easy comment against it, but there’s so much more upside. What do you think? #retail #consumerbehavior

Where to even start on these numbers for Chick Filet from the latest FDD…. Thank you Jonathan Maze for the info and comparisons to some of these other chains. What’s the secret sauce? Is it that tasty chicken, just crunchy enough on the outside and juicy inside? The waffle fries? How about the consistency and cleanliness of the stores? Is it this culture of commitment to customers? All of the above? How do we and other brands duplicate this success? Give me your take in the comments. ✅ Stand-alone restaurants achieved $9.4 million in average unit sales. ✅ U.S. system sales increased nearly 15% to $21.6 billion last year. ✅ Average unit volume more than double that of McDonald’s (~$4 million) and remember they are closed on Sundays ✅ Double-digit sales growth for 10 consecutive years. ✅ Highest-volume restaurant generating nearly $19 million in sales. ‼️What? Even mall locations unit volumes grew 22% to $4.5 million per location. ✅ Now the third-largest chain in the U.S., behind McDonald’s and Starbucks. #ChickfilA #BusinessInsights #FastFoodSuccess #WeSellRestaurants Robert Morrison Eric Gagnon, CFE, CBI https://lnkd.in/ep4dGXrG?

Fresh. Krispy Kreme. Doughnuts. ...at McDonald's? The two chains announced yesterday that the two iconic brands would be expanding their partnership, with Krispy Kreme doughnuts available in participating McDonald’s restaurants nationwide by 2026. Both McDonald’s and Krispy Kreme used the same press release to make their announcement, leading with this first line: Krispy Kreme to provide fresh doughnuts daily at McDonald’s restaurants nationwide. Let's focus on just three words: Fresh doughnuts daily. The reason why these words are remarkable has to do with Krispy Kreme’s history. In 2006, Krispy Kreme was dying. The company was cash flow negative, while facing billions of dollars in lawsuits with hundreds of millions of dollars in debt. Employee turnover was over 20 percent. It was under investigation by the Department of Justice due to shady accounting practices, and worst of all, same-store sales were declining dramatically. During this time you might have noticed that Krispy Kreme doughnuts were ubiquitous: You could find them in several different types of grocery stores, even in gas stations. But these doughnuts were sold wholesale. In terms of quality, freshness, and taste, those packaged products were much different from the doughnuts you'd get when buying directly at a Krispy Kreme store. Over the next years, though, the company would embark on a major turnaround, starting with its distribution model. Let's see what you can learn from the change, along with the company's new partnership. #krispykreme #mcdonald's #sales #distribution #howtosell

Krispy Kreme is probably my favorite glazed doughnut as long as the hot light is on! How will it work within the McDonald's system, though? My favorite part about Krispy Kreme is the challenge of getting them. Living in the northeast, there are very few Krispy Kreme shops. The anticipation of eating the doughnut is more satisfying than actually eating the doughnut. I think the collaboration with McDonald's will be great for business, but it may ruin my relationship with Krispy Kreme. The good news is that my opinion is not everyone's opinion. What are your thoughts on this announcement?

Our client, TXB, was highlighted by the Wall Street Journal this past weekend in an article that discussed food being an appetizing opportunity for convenience stores. Industry wide, food-service sales account for about a quarter of in-store sales for convenience stores but well over a third of in-store gross profits (both figures are industry averages). The food strategy for most convenience store chains is hands-off; prepared foods are brought in and heated up in the store. Chains that prepare and sell freshly made food – like TXB and Casey’s – have the potential for better loyalty and margins. This strategy of having an on-site kitchen can be complicated and requires additional investment. 1912 Ventures knows firsthand, as we have represented multiple restaurant chains with their commercial real estate, including two dedicated commercial kitchen projects (with no retail service) over the past 18 months. A shift to electric vehicles should increase the food business for convenience stores if it means customers spend more time charging their vehicles. TXB has deliberately placed EV charging stations near their outdoor dining facilities. My favorite quote in the article came from Darren Rebelez (Casey’s CEO), who said: “You might fill up a tank once a week, but you eat three times a day.” As an aside, 1912 Ventures originally helped Bucky’s Convenience Stores expand into Texas and open five locations prior to the entire chain being sold as a portfolio to Casey’s. That sale included 94 retail stores, 79 dealer locations, and several real estate parcels for building new stores in the future. https://lnkd.in/gY9ehKwC #commercialrealestate #cre #retailrealestate #retailtechnology #realestatedevelopment #fuel #restaurants #foodservice

What do McDonald’s Starbucks, BurgerFi, TGI Friday’s, Red Lobster, Denny’s and Hooters have in common? ( I am going to refrain from making any snarky disparaging comments about the quality of their Food) For one: They are all in some form of distress, with closing stores, negative comp sales, and/or some version of bankruptcy. Inflation gets all the headlines here, and when a Big Mac costs 200% more today than in 2014, that makes sense. But not EVERY chain is struggling, and the chains that are doing well have been hit with just as much inflation as the sinking ships. I actually put inflation #3 on the real root cause list. Here are the top 2: 1. 👉More people in these key target markets are shopping at grocery stores, and cooking/eating at home. They don’t see these restaurants as a necessity, it is a luxury that doesn’t feel as luxurious as it used to. 2. 👉Millennials and especially GenZ are so connected to social media that when they DO go to a restaurant they are doing it in a VERY Public way. In 2004 it was easy to sneak over to the McDonalds drive through as a “guilty pleasure” that you didn’t go out of your way to mention to anyone. Now, just about everything has to either be aspirationally fancy or aspirationally meaningful. People are increasingly eating at an aspirational destination like Erewhon or CAVA or they are chillin’ at home with #undercomsumptioncore on TikTok. If you are in retail grocery, this is a HUGE opportunity if you play your cards right. Pod Foods #innovation #mcdonalds Flowspace WARP

🔥 🍗 🐔 Retailer of the Week - Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen 🐔 🍗 🔥 In 2019, Popeyes launched the Chicken Sandwich heard round the world. A brand that was deemed mid tier at best and known for not great service was on the road to reinvention over the last decade or so and man did it land. Pre-chicken sandwich (an era, of sorts) the average unit volume for a Popeyes was around $1.4MM. Post chicken sandwich, we’re talking closer to $1.8 - $1.9MM. Pretty cool, right? But you can’t just attribute all of the rapid success to one product, right? Social Media - Popeyes and its main competitor of today, Chick-fil-A Restaurants, had a sparring match over the chicken sandwich on social that substantially raised the awareness of Popeyes - drawing people to products outside of just the chicken sandwich   Exclusivity - Popeyes ran out of chicken sandwiches allocated for 6 weeks in about two weeks… making people want them more Reinvention - if you haven’t stepped into a new Popeyes it’s pretty amazing the difference. Much cleaner, much friendlier, much faster with better customer service. Now they’ve started offering out new products like Wings and Nuggets. Their recent launch of the wings became their most popular offering since the sandwich. The store format continues to get smaller and more efficient (at ICSC Atlanta they said they could fit on about .7 of an acre depending on site) and is in ultra growth mode having recently overtaken KFC as the #2 chicken chain in the US. I wonder if they’ll ever overtake CFA… My favorite item is the Spicy Chicken Sandwich, red beans and rice, and some sweet heat sauce on the side… what say you?

👉🏻 This phenomenon can be observed in Germany - and other Eurooean countries - on a rapidely growing scale. It is another clear sign for me that the private purchasing power is steadily decreasing. "A mix of underperformance issues, financial pressures from inflation, strategic realignments, changing consumer trends and overall cost-cutting objectives have all contributed to the recent wave of location closures across several restaurant chains in 2024. Major chains including TGI Fridays, MOD Pizza, Outback Steakhouse and Applebee's cited “underperformance” as the main reason for closing certain restaurant locations. They are strategically shuttering stores that are not meeting sales and profit expectations." #leadership #economy #culture #recession https://lnkd.in/eMAKBdy4

How can locally owned convenience stores compete with national grocery chains in 2024? One company, Hunt Brothers Pizza, offers a simple, innovative strategy that adapts with regional market conditions. Check out the story from CStore Decisions below for some pizza prosperity. 🍕🤑🍕