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Fast-casual restaurant brands that scored the highest for ‘value’Fast-casual restaurant brands that scored the highest for ‘value’

Technomic Ignite Consumer looks at how brands impact consumers, including price paid, relative price, and affordability.

Alicia Kelso, Executive Editor

June 5, 2024

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There’s been plenty of discussion about restaurant value of late, as the industry’s prices across segments continue to outpace general inflation rates long after the generationally high peak in June 2022. These stubbornly high prices have been cited as the driver of declining traffic levels in the space and have even led some chains, like McDonald’s, to adjust their strategies after turning off low-income consumers in particular.

That said, as we’ve learned from the margin-eroding discounting wars of The Great Recession of 2008 and 2009, the definition of “value” has very much evolved in the restaurant industry. It now includes things like portion sizes, prices compared to competitors, high-quality menu items, and high-quality service. We partnered with Technomic to understand which brands generated the top value scores in 2023 based on these breakdowns and here’s what we found.

The biggest improvements for price-based value measures in 2023 for fast-casual restaurants came from Dickey’s Barbecue Pit, with a 6.1% percentage change, followed by Boston Market, at 3.7%. Rounding out the list for most improvement were Charley’s Philly Steaks (3.2%), Portillo’s (2.3%), Panera Bread (2.2%), Five Guys (2.0%), Einstein Bros. Bagels (1.9%), Noodles & Co. (1.1%), Schlotzsky’s (0.8%), and Rubio’s (0.8%).

Fast-casual value through high-quality menu items winners was a relatively diverse list, ranging from healthy to indulgent, Robert Byrne, Technomic’s director of consumer and industry insights noted.

About the Author

Alicia Kelso

Executive Editor, Nation's Restaurant News

Alicia Kelso is the executive editor of Nation's Restaurant News. She began covering the restaurant industry in 2010 for QSRweb.com, FastCasual.com and PizzaMarketplace.com. When her son was born, she left the industry to pursue a role in higher education, but swiftly returned after realizing how much she missed the space. In filling that void, Alicia added a contributor role at Restaurant Dive and a senior contributor role at Forbes.
Her work has appeared in publications around the world, including Forbes Asia, NPR, Bloomberg, The Seattle Times, Crain's Chicago, Good Morning America and Franchise Asia Magazine.
Alicia holds a degree in journalism from Bowling Green State University, where she competed on the women's swim team. In addition to cheering for the BGSU Falcons, Alicia is a rabid Michigan fan and will talk about college football with anyone willing to engage. She lives in Louisville, Kentucky, with her wife and son.

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