Liz Williams was named chief executive officer of El Pollo Loco in February 2024 and so her presentation at the annual ICR Conference earlier this week felt like a recap of her first year on the job. She said she came into a situation that was “a bit of a turnaround,” and her first priority was to improve margins.
“Let’s find quick wins that really work and a business model that takes us back into those high teens [margins] that franchisee partners want to invest in,” she said.
Those efforts are starting to bear fruit and now Williams is focused on year two, which is “all about the brand.”
“How do we make this brand more modern, relevant, useful, and how do we take innovation and value and get sales and transactions humming again? To get new unit development, we need profitability, sales, transactions, and the flywheel starts to go,” Williams said. “Value and innovation have to go together if you want to drive transactions.”
Since Williams' arrival, El Pollo Loco has launched – and extended – $5 offerings, including bowls, and has introduced salad and burrito deals ranging from $9 to $12. Williams said the company is working on a calendar that includes additional products in the $7-to-$9 range.
“We have to play value in so many different ways. We can’t be a one-trick pony,” she said. “We also have to be careful that it’s not a race to the bottom.”
El Pollo Loco’s marketing calendar will also prioritize new products.
“In 2024, our marketing windows were products that had been seen before. We walked away from some of our innovations. In 2025, there are five marketing windows and every one one of those is a new product,” Williams said.
Those products will include mango habanero chicken and, potentially, a chicken sandwich that is now in test. Notably, El Pollo Loco has not been a player in the chicken sandwich wars that started in earnest in 2019 with Popeyes’ launch and social media response to Chick-fil-A. Its anticipated product news will no doubt complement its increased focus on brand positioning, and the timing seems fitting – El Pollo Loco marks its 50th anniversary this year. To celebrate, the chain will host a year-long celebration, starting with Loco Friday Drops, consisting of various deals and giveaways announced exclusively on Fridays to Loco Rewards Members.
Off the menu, El Pollo Loco is also rolling out kiosks and recently unveiled a new restaurant prototype that is more contemporary, as well as smaller, than a traditional restaurant, reducing build costs to about $1.8 million.
“In some cases, we were just over-designing, so there are some savings there. We re-did all the equipment and found ways to simplify, and we’re not done,” Williams said. “There’s a long list of things that have delivered on savings.”
Williams said employees are also operating better thanks to new training and standards put into place.
“We’ve done a lot of work around labor deployment. If you have aces in their places at the right time, speed magically happens and you get a better experience,” Williams said. “We’re starting to see that.”
Contact Alicia Kelso at [email protected]
