IHOP is bringing back its all-you-can-eat pancake promotion, available starting today through Sept. 15. The chain typically features this deal at the beginning of the year, when consumers are tightening their wallets following the holidays, but IHOP has adjusted its marketing calendar in response to industry-wide traffic erosion.
The company said positioning the promotion to coincide with back to school will help families when schedules are tight, and wallets are pinched from shopping.
The all-you-can-eat pancake promotion comes on the heels of the chain’s 2 x 2 x 2 Combo which includes two eggs, two pieces of meat, and two pancakes for $6 in most markets. IHOP also moved this promotion from Q1 to Q2 in response to consumers seeking out more value offerings.
“Going out to eat has gotten really expensive. We always talk to franchisees about their four-wall profit, but our guest is looking at their own four-wall profit and they’re asking if they should cook at home. Generally, people have started putting on the brakes because they realized their dollar wasn’t going as far as they wanted it to,” chief marketing officer Kieran Donahue said during a recent interview. “We started to see that maybe we needed to do something different, so we pivoted.”
Notably, two-thirds of IHOP’s guests make less than $75,000 in household income, so the company’s base is “hypersensitive on price.”
“It’s not easy to pivot in a 100% franchised organization, but our franchisees and our brand are trying to meet this moment as best as we can in the environment we’re in,” Donahue said. “We’re going to grit our way through this.”
The company said its all-you-can-eat offer was its best-selling deal in 2023.
IHOP syrups added to retail shelves
Also, IHOP has partnered with Kraft Heinz to create two syrup flavors – original and butter pecan – available on grocery shelves nationwide.
As with the syrups in its restaurants, IHOP retail syrups also do not contain high fructose corn syrup and feature the same flavors, which should be familiar to many people; IHOP says it sells more than 400 million pancakes per year.
“Pancakes and syrup are what we do best, and expanding our partnership with Kraft Heinz to develop IHOP syrups for retail was simply a no brainer,” IHOP’s executive director of brand communications Candice Jacobson said in a statement. “Our purpose at IHOP is to serve more joy to more guests every day, and offering syrup at retail allows even more guests to experience that joy at home in addition to in our restaurants.”
IHOP syrups are the first breakfast innovation within Kraft Heinz’s “Taste Elevation” platform, which focuses on flavor enhancement and represents 41% of the company’s global portfolio. The IHOP original and butter pecan syrups are available at select retailers nationwide starting at $3.98.
IHOP has long had a retail presence but has been particularly busy in the past year and a half. Last year, the company teamed up with Kraft Heinz to introduce pancake-inspired IHOP coffee to homes for the first time. In late 2022, IHOP partnered with General Mills to launch IHOP Mini Pancake Cereal – Blueberry & Syrup. And, in February, IHOP teamed up with Lay’s to launch the casual dining chain’s signature Rooty Tooty Fresh ‘N Fruity chips, which were available at Walmart stores and quickly sold out.
Contact Alicia Kelso at [email protected]
