Foodservice Industry Newsletter

The following articles and more can be found in our PDF version of Tracks... Just click on any of the issues below to view the articles.

Spring 2010	Winter 2010
While Hispanics continue to be a large and growing segment of the population, their fast-food consumption has slumped. Nearly half of 18-to-34-year-old men were visiting fast-food restaurants less often in late 2009. Remarkably 39 percent of fast-food chain users rated their last occasion “excellent” overall in 2009. Heavy casual dining users are young, male, affluent.	Excellence is the economic engine. Maybe we can learn a lesson from those who truly celebrate winter – Winter Olympians. Fewer heavy users is weighing on chains. What’s hurting casual dining is the drop in number of occasions that heavy CDR users provide to the category. Find your customers on social media. Nearly 30 percent of heavy QSR users interact with social media four or more hours a week. Who’s winning the share battle? Burger, pizza, chicken, Mexican or sandwich?
Summer 2009	Spring 2009
Applebee’s, Chili’s, Denny’s, Golden Corral, IHOP, Olive Garden, Outback Steakhouse, Red Lobster, Ruby Tuesday and TGI Friday’s advertising was rated by casual dining users. Who are the big winners? Fast-casual faces a big challenge: Most customers are only moderate or light users of fast-casual, whether they’re heavy users of fast-food or not. QSR advertising rates better than casual dining advertising on being unique and distinctive, easy to understand, providing new information, offering good deals, improving the chain’s image and on an overall basis. QSR users who earn less than $30,000 a year are most likely to spend more than $6.50 on their last occasion. New report on spending.	There’s an Hispanic gender gap: Hispanic men represent 52 percent of fast-food users, but contribute 62 percent of all fast-food occasions. Dinner business sluggish? Fast-food users are most likely to take advantage of a promotion at dinner. In 2008, nearly 25 percent of consumers did not patronize fast-food restaurants in the month they were surveyed. How did the industry fare overall? Local pizzerias have struggled to attract value-conscious consumers. Learn more.
Winter 2009	Summer 2008
Fast-food restaurants outdid themselves in 2008. This past year fast-food industry “excellent” ratings were up on every single customer satisfaction attribute tracked. In-N-Out Burger, Raising Cane’s, Giordano’s Pizza, Pei Wei, Firehouse Subs and Taco Tote all garnered Top 10 honors in the 2008 Awards of Excellence. Tracks examines who is winning the share battles in fast-food and casual dining. Some casual dining players are doing a great job of connecting with their customers.	Sandelman & Associates celebrates its 20th anniversary and thanks its loyal clients for their support. Since the start of 2007, consumer sentiment with regard to value at fast-food restaurants has changed. At casual dining restaurants, the trend is even more dramatic. Which markets boast the most frequent diners? In the Top 5 casual dining markets, users enjoy at least 5 casual dining occasions a month. How do diners perceive your advertising? Sandelman's 2008 QSR Advertising Rating Report provides answers.

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