It is not yet officially 2010, but restaurant chains already have kicked off the New Year this week with fresh deals, promotions and menu items. Among the brands looking to start strong in January are Taco Bell, Chick-fil-A, Pizza Hut, Papa John’s and Ruby Tuesday.
Taco Bell, hoping to attract consumers beginning annual resolutions to eat more healthfully come Jan. 1, introduced its long-awaited Drive-Thru Diet campaign, which features the seven Fresco-style menu items with nine grams of fat or less that the chain introduced this summer. Chick-fil-A followed a similar angle and introduced a low-fat yogurt parfait with fresh fruit that will be available beginning Jan. 4.
Pizza Hut and Papa John’s are each gearing up for January, a month typically filled with reasons for customers to order pizzas — from New Year’s Eve celebrations and college football bowl games to NFL division title matchups. Pizza Hut introduced a $10 campaign, and Papa John’s debuted the inaugural “National Football Month,” including special deals and a sweepstakes for customers through the first month of the year.
Ruby Tuesday has decided to start 2010 with a giveaway and plans to offer bar guests a free Ruby Mini, or miniature burger, with fries, when a customer orders his or her first drink priced at $3 or more. The giveaway will take place all day Jan. 1 and will continue for the rest of the year for customers visiting the bar after 9 p.m.
If 2009 was the year of innovative value-driven menu and marketing moves, it looks as though 2010 may not be any different.
“Consumers continue to reward innovations that align with their rapidly changing lifestyles and add experience value to restaurant occasions, so we’re sure to see industry innovation continue next year,” said Ron Paul, president of Technomic Inc., a Chicago-based foodservice consulting firm.
In a prediction for 2010, Paul said discounts and deals will continue as far as the eye can see.
“Just as consumers are learning never to pay full price at the shopping center, they’ve come to expect deals in restaurants,” Paul said. “Restaurants at all price points will offer eye-popping deals and combos, increasingly relying on limited-time offers, seasonal specials, flavor enhancers and rotating combos to keep menus fresh.”
At Irvine, Calif.-based Taco Bell, the Drive-Thru Diet campaign will include national advertising, in-store promotions, online media activity and integration with the chain’s existing marketing partnership with the NBA. Taco Bell has partnered with registered dietitian Ruth Carey, who also is a nutritionist for the NBA’s Portland Trail Blazers, to promote the menu items.
In addition, a Taco Bell customer, Christine Dougherty, will be featured heavily in the ads. Dougherty, whose story can be found at http://drivethrudiet.com/, lost 54 pounds over two years by replacing her typical fast-food diet with Taco Bell’s Fresco items. Her involvement has been likened to that of Jared Fogle and Subway’s successful Eat Fresh campaign.
The Taco Bell Drive-Thru Diet Menu includes:
- Fresco Crunchy Taco – 7 grams of fat; 150 calories
- Fresco Burrito Supreme with Chicken – 8 grams of fat; 340 calories
- Fresco Burrito Supreme with Steak – 8 grams of fat; 330 calories
- Fresco Bean Burrito – 8 grams of fat; 340 calories
- Fresco Soft Taco – 7 grams of fat; 180 calories
- Fresco Grilled Steak Soft Taco – 4.5 grams of fat; 160 calories
- Fresco Ranchero Chicken Soft Taco – 4 grams of fat; 170 calories
Taco Bell parent Yum! Brands Inc. has been developing this plan for some time. In August, the Louisville, Ky.-based company said Taco Bell would focus on price, abundance and quality. See previous coverage here.
Yum Brands’ domestic business has stalled for the past few years, and the company expects U.S. same-store sales to fall 8 percent between its three major chains, Taco Bell, Pizza Hut and KFC. In the September-ended third quarter, same-store sales fell 2 percent each at Taco Bell and KFC, and dropped 13 percent at Pizza Hut.
To help reverse that trend, Pizza Hut announced this week a value-centric $10 pizza deal for a limited time.
Competitor Papa John’s, owned by Papa John’s International Inc. of Louisville, Ky., debuted a January sweepstakes that will give one winner a chance to receive a trip for two to Super Bowl XLIV, including airfare, accommodations and game tickets, along with free Papa John’s pizza for a year. Weekly online offers and a partnership with former NFL coach Tony Dungy and his charity All Pro Dad are part of Papa John’s National Football Month celebration.
At Maryville, Tenn.-based Ruby Tuesday, the mini burger giveaway at the bar will be used to promote the chain’s recent bar and beverage menu upgrades. The chain of more than 800 locations has installed high-definition televisions and trivia centers. It also reduced the price of many cocktails with the introduction of an “All day, every day, $5 premium cocktail” program.
“And that’s not even the best part,” said vice president of culinary and beverage, Andy Scoggins. “Recent upgrades to quality were made without reducing portions or raising prices.”
Visit www.nrn.com on Wednesday to see 2009's best product launches.
Contact Sarah Lockyer at [email protected].