During the third quarter, Applebee’s executives acknowledged missing the mark amid tough conditions, including and especially a “noisy” value environment. The chain reported a same-store sales decline of -5.9% in Q3. But, as John Peyton, chief executive officer of parent company Dine Brands, explained, Applebee’s is working to refine its strategy and is doing so largely through adjustments to its own value offerings.
“Our learning is that we've got to meet guests where they are and the guest definition and expectation of value shifted over the last couple of quarters. They started to focus on the total cost of the meal and … It became clear that guests want to know the total cost of dining in a restaurant for argument's sake – the cost of your sandwich plus fries and a drink,” he said during Dine’s earnings call last week.
In response to this shift, Applebee’s launched a Pick 6 promotion in October and is now introducing a Really Big Meal Deal – the choice of the chain’s new Big Cluckin’ hand-breaded chicken sandwich or Big Classic Bacon Cheeseburger with fries and a fountain beverage for dine-in, to-go, or delivery for $9.99.
“Big in size, flavor, and value, our new Really Big Meal Deal can’t be beat,” chief marketing officer Joel Yashinsky said in a statement. “From Classic to Cluckin’, our Really Big Meal Deal offers guests variety, with both a savory hand-crafted burger and new hand-breaded chicken sandwich, served with classic fries, and a fountain drink for only $9.99. We know our guests are going to love this unbeatable value meal.”
We can likely expect more such meal deals from Applebee’s in the near term.
“I believe significant upside exists when paired with the consistency, simplicity, and all-encompassing value we know our guests want and our brands are capable of delivering,” Peyton said. “We're applying our learnings to this with a shift to more full meal value offers and we'll continue to evolve our value propositions to keep our guests engaged.”
In the meantime, the new Big Cluckin’ is one of hundreds of menu items Applebee’s has tested since chef Shannon Johnson was named vice president of culinary in the fall of 2023, and it includes a hand-breaded chicken breast topped with shredded lettuce, pickles, tomato, and mayo. It is an extension of the chain’s new hand-breaded chicken sandwich line, initially introduced in June.
Applebee’s is offering a “big guarantee” from Nov. 12-19 to illustrate its confidence in the Big Cluckin’, giving guests the chance to participate in a chicken sandwich showdown. To do so, customers need to bring a national competitor's chicken sandwich to a participating Applebee's location, order the Big Cluckin’, and alert their servers to judge the size of each. If the competitor’s chicken sandwich is bigger, Applebee’s will add an extra chicken breast to the Big Cluckin’ at no additional cost.
Contact Alicia Kelso at [email protected]
