Organic and natural food is not just for hippies – or even yuppies – anymore. Consider Good Times Burgers of Golden, Colo. This fast-food burger chain, which has about 50 units, has been selling beef from a natural and organic meats company since 2004.
“From a branding standpoint, every brand yearns for those meaningful points of difference,” Good Times vice president of marketing Bob Turrill noted on the company’s decision to go “au naturel.”
By all accounts, going granola is in. Whether it's a fast-food burger chain or a fast-casual brand like Panera Bread, more and more restaurants are finding it makes good business sense to offer specially grown or specially raised products in their stores.
The National Restaurant Association pointed that idea out in its 2007 Economic Forecast, which was published at the end of 2006. The NRA reported that 52 percent of fine-dining, 42 percent of casual-dining and 27 percent of family-dining restaurant operators had expected higher sales of organic items this year.
Companies are finding that consumers increasingly want to know where their food comes from, experts say. Most importantly, they like the flavor profile that accompanies organic and natural foods.
Such concerns have caught the attention of some major food industry players. Denver-based Chipotle Mexican Grill, which has more than 600 restaurants, serves naturally raised pork and a large portion of its chicken and beef. Last year Chipotle launched a campaign based on its philosophy of “Food with Integrity.”
Another chain that has seen the results of selling natural ingredients is Panera Bread, which is based in St. Louis. Panera serves kids meals with organic cheese, yogurt and beverages. It also is one of the largest providers of all-natural chicken, said Andrew Carlson, spokesman for the chain, which currently has 1,027 bakery-cafes in 38 states.
“From Panera’s perspective, organic ingredients really fit in with our larger initiative to provide high-quality foods and good combinations,” Carlson said.
While organics tend to cost more than conventional products, Carlson said consumers are willing to bear the additional expense.
“A lot of these offerings are unique to the marketplace, and people are seeking it,” Carlson said.
While companies today proudly boast their use of natural ingredients, it’s easy to forget that just a few years ago the word carried a taboo.
“Even five to 10 years ago, it was something restaurants didn’t want to advertise, because the mainstream hadn’t switched over to understanding organics,” said Craig Minowa, an environmental scientist for the Organic Consumers Association.
One small company early on understood the relevance, however. O’Naturals, of Portland, Maine, calls itself the country’s only natural and organic quick-service restaurant chain. It currently boasts three company-owned locations and two franchise locations. Two more are scheduled to open this summer. Ironically, the company opened its first franchise in Kansas — in the heart of the Midwest.
Gary Hirshberg, chairman, president and “CE-Yo” of organic yogurt-maker Stonyfield Farms as well as founder and chairman of the board of O'Naturals, foresaw a need for a fast-food organic chain back in 2001.
“As quality [of organics] has surpassed conventional food in taste, more and more people are wanting it,” said Jay Friedlander, chief operating “o’naturalist” with O’Naturals. “For us, this is really about good food, as much as it is about natural and organic.”
The menu includes salads, Asian-style noodle dishes, soups and flatbread sandwiches, such as free-range chicken, bison meatloaf, goat cheese and wild Alaskan salmon, which is caught in a certified, sustainable fishery. The price points at O'Naturals are competitive with other quick casual chains.
Hirshberg’s hunch about a growing demand for fast-food organics proved to be correct, and last month the company disclosed that Compass Group, a worldwide foodservice company, is partnering with O’Naturals. Franchised O’Naturals kiosks soon will be available in Compass Group-managed corporations, hospitals, colleges, universities and other contracted locations.
“Really, at this point, the deal with Compass shows the sky’s the limit,” said Friedlander, regarding the growth of O’Naturals.
He has no doubts that a major fast-food leader like McDonald’s eventually will embrace organics and natural foods. The growth of organics in the supermarket industry is one good indicator, he said.
For now, those companies that have ventured into the organic sphere are finding that marketing and advertising possibilities are endless. Turrill of Good Times acknowledges that the company can’t spread the message far and fast enough. While the burger chain initially chose to partner with Coleman Natural Meats to distinguish itself from other fast-food burger chains, it soon found that it could draw on important attributes of Coleman — such as its size, legacy, environmental beliefs and control over its source and product. Its beef also is certified by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Good Times’ initial advertising campaign consisted of bold public relations and broadcast advertising. One involved inviting the best chefs in Denver to come to a certain location to taste a burger. Another featured the heads of Coleman and Good Times — Mel Coleman and Boyd Hoback, respectively — riding on horseback through a drive-thru.
“We really touted the merits of Coleman and the synergies of two Colorado-based companies,” Turrill said. “It seemed to make sense both at the cash register and [from] the level of interest we got from the media.”
