While the fast-casual burger space is one of the best sectors to be in right now, it’s also one of the most competitive, and not every burger concept is winning. Denver-based chain Smashburger has a plan in place to reverse course on its 5.1% sales decline and 3.2% unit closures (as per the latest Technomic data), and get back on the fast track with the likes of super-successful competitors Shake Shack and Freddy’s.
Smashburger’s plan involves bullet points like refreshing the brand look, simplifying the menu back down to its smashed burger roots, and honing its digital identity. New CMO Thomas Prather joined the company in May with the hopes of better refining the Smashburger brand and priming it for future growth.
“We've been a little bit all over the place and were trying to be all things to all people,” Prather said. “We want to get to a place where we know who we are and can be really consistent. Part of that is our visual identity, part of that is knowing what our core menu should look like, and the third part is knowing who we are when we go to market.”
According to Prather, Smashburger really wants to be the type of brand that’s known for its consistent guest experience and dependable food, and not necessarily as a brand that tries out every LTO trend in the industry.
“If we’re doing an LTO four times a year, but our brand awareness and our identity is unclear, then I'm not bringing anyone new to the brand,” he said. “We need to do the work of gaining visibility and talking about who we are…. All of our offers now are trying to hit a day and an occasion, like shake happy hour on Fridays… it’s a repeatable occasion, as opposed to showing off a new item that you either like or you don’t like, and then it’s irrelevant to you.”
Smashburger is currently working on honing and refocusing its menu to be centered on burgers, burger-centric sides, and shakes.
“When you walk into the restaurant, you should feel like it’s a burger restaurant,” Prather said. “If we can simplify who we are, that gives our employees pride and focus, and then they are serving the customer better.”
For example, the brand currently has wings on the menu, which, he said, have the longest cooking time of any item on the menu, and don’t necessarily belong as a burger-adjacent menu item. Instead, new menu items will likely look like the new spicy burger, which Smashburger is adding as part of a menu revamp test to appeal to heat seekers more than the brand’s Colorado burger with grilled jalapenos, which delivers more smoke than spice.
Smashburger’s menu isn’t the only part of the brand identity that needs trimming. Prather said that previously, they had “about 30 different visuals out there,” including different logos and typefaces and color schemes. Part of his job is to “narrow all of that down, pick a lane, and move forward.” This will result in the creation of a new logo, color scheme fonts, and a typeface that will be consistently part of the Smashburger brand identity for years to come.
That identity will also show up digitally, as Smashburger looks to sharpen its social media voice.
“I think we need to get more intentional about how we show up in all of our channels,” Prather said. “When we land the new visual identity, we'll be even more proactive on social media…. We’re not going to do anything dramatic, but we're just going to have the confidence to go louder because we're in this for the long game.”
Another big tech change on the horizon is Smashburger’s updated app, which will be released in August. Smashburger is working with the tech arm of its parent company, Jollibee Foods Corporation, to create the custom app, which is designed to be more user-friendly and attract more customers to the digital loyalty program.
“From a new person’s perspective, it feels like the brand was coasting instead of being on our toes,” Prather said. “We should be much higher on the ranking list [of fast-casual burger brands] next year.”
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