Denny’s Corp. is pulling a value play out of its marketing quiver, with the family-dining brand on Monday launching Endless Breakfast aimed at inflation-battered consumers.
The Spartanburg, S.C.-based Denny’s, through June 21, is offering guests endless buttermilk pancakes, cheesy scrambled eggs and crispy hash browns starting at $6.99 to $8.99, depending on the market.
With rent, gasoline and the cost of supermarket staples on the rise, a company spokesperson said the Endless Breakfast is aimed at delivering value to the guests.
“We are very deliberate in making sure we understand what our guests are facing every day,” said John Dillon, Denny’s chief brand officer, in a phone interview Monday.
“With inflation as high as it is and gas prices skyrocketing,” Dillon said, “clearly consumers everywhere — inclusive of our guests — are facing a pinch on wallets.”
Dillon said the Endless Breakfast promotion, in the plans before the COVID pandemic was declared in March 2020, offers consumers more options.
“We've been holding it until the right time,” he said, “and we just we all looked at each other and we said you know what this is the right time to launch this promotion.” It is priced at $6.99 in lower-wage markets and $8.99 in higher wage areas, such as California, executives noted.
Customers can upgrade and add two slices of bacon or sausage to the meal for an extra 99 cents.
Dillon said the value promotion fits into Denny’s barbell menu strategy.
“That’s the beauty of our menus,” he said, adding that prices range from $4-plus to the mid-teens. “We’re fully executing the barbell strategy.” Denny’s has premium-priced items like Jala-Bac Burger for the less price-sensitive guests, he noted.
Dillon added that the Endless Breakfast is priced in such a way, with add-ons extra, to allow restaurant operators “to maintain strong profit levels considering all the headwinds that our franchisees are facing.”
Denny’s marketing has also worked this year to “age down” the brand, appealing to a younger consumers in its “Open for Anything” campaign. The aim is to appeal to multiple generations.
In February, Denny’s collaborated with TikTok creators to create a dozen menu items
As of Dec. 29, Denny’s had 1,640 restaurants systemwide, with 153 of those in international markets.
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