Recipe for Reinvention

At a time in our food history when consumers can enjoy a made-to-order burrito and follow it up with a no-fat, no-whip, triple-shot vanilla latte, a burger and fries from the local fast-food chain seems so, well, ordinary.

But menu blandness aside, fast food has a bigger problem: brand perception. “We’re clearly not the cool place to go today,” Steve Farrar, Wendy’s chief operating officer, said in January during a fourth-quarter earnings call, reports QSR magazine. He pointed out facilities that looked dated and old, and rundown “in comparison to emerging new brands.”

Those emerging brands comprise the highly successful and growing sub-category of fast casual. It includes such popular burger-based chains as Five Guys and Smashburger, as well as Chipotle Mexican Grill and Panera Bread Co. Major fast-casual chain units have increased by a double-digit rate over the last three years, according to market research firm NPD’s Recount, a biannual census of restaurant unit counts. NPD goes on to say that consumer demand for these types of restaurants outpaced the rate of unit expansion.

“Fast-casual concepts are in an excellent position for growth relative to the overall industry,” says Bonnie Riggs, a restaurant industry analyst at NPD. “However, the same growth opportunities are available to any restaurant operator able to innovate, provide value for money and not just keep up but surpass competitors.”

Arguably, the fast-food industry has made strides to stay competitive by responding to consumers’ growing demand for healthier food options. They’ve lightened their menus, adding more salad options, apple slices and yogurt parfaits, while (thankfully) retiring the idea of “supersized.”

And now they’re turning to design to reinvent their brands further. Wendy’s transformation includes a new prototype being tested in Columbus, Ohio, with plans to build 20 and remodel 50 company-operated stores in 2012.

Food giant McDonald’s, the founder of the fast-food concept, is also investing heavily in a rebranding program that starts with its restaurant environments. (See page 22 for the full story.) Inside a host of new concept designs, customers will find primary colors replaced with graphic wallcoverings and stylish chairs and bar seats instead of a sea of fiberglass booths.

The new McDonald’s interiors are refreshing, exciting and, dare I say, so not fast food.

For companies like McDonald’s and Wendy’s, it’s the first step on a long journey toward convincing customers that they’re more than fast food. That they, too, care about quality and service – and giving us something we want to come back to time and time again.