COSTA MESA Calif. El Pollo Loco, the 411-unit, flame-grilled-chicken chain, is using “carnitas”-style dark-meat chicken, which is typically less costly than white meat, in four new limited-time menu items.
The company, based here, said Thursday that the meat is seasoned and roasted to El Pollo Loco specifications by a supplier before being delivered to the chain's restaurants. The cubed meat product is then finished off in fryers in the restaurants to add a crunchy crust before being used to create the menu specials.
The homage to carnitas — a traditional Mexican food made from slow simmered pork that is then shredded and browned in fat — runs Jan. 31 through mid May. The meat will be available in a special taco, burrito, rice-and-bean bowl and platter, priced beginning at $1.79.
The chain’s decision to showcase menu items using dark meat from legs or thighs, which costs less than white breast or wing meat, comes after EPL Intermediate Inc., the parent of El Pollo Loco, reported a 1.7-percent increase in product costs, to 32.6 percent of sales, in its most recent September-ended quarter.
“We expect continued pressure on commodity costs in the fourth quarter and beyond,” the company warned.
Company officials also warned in that quarterly filing that margin pressures may require El Pollo Loco “to initiate price increases to help protect [its] margins.”
They noted that a sales-lifting 4.4-percent increase in menu prices in the June-ended quarter was offset by a decline in guest traffic in the subsequent quarter, when same-store sales at 165 corporate restaurants were flat from the year earlier.
Guest traffic declines can be triggered, in part, by the higher checks that accompany price hikes. To protect margins while serving a price-conscious public, various chains are increasingly trying to pique consumer interest and maintain margins by offering less costly meats or by packaging menu items in different ways through limited-time offers. These so-called LTOs, if engineered with less costly ingredients or ingredients purchased at special prices, can shore up margins even when discounted in price.
McDonald’s, for example, removed its well liked Double Cheeseburger from the chain’s Dollar Menu last year as production costs for the discounted sandwich hurt many franchisees’ profit. The chain replaced it with a new McDouble sandwich that was less costly to produce because it used one slice of cheese.
“Chicken lovers are always looking for new ways to savor the mouthwatering taste of El Pollo Loco,” said Karen Eadon, chief marketing officer. “By taking the craveable taste of carnitas and giving it a tasty new twist, we’re giving El Pollo Loco fans four delicious ways to enjoy ‘Chicken Carnitas.’”
At press time, the company had yet to return an e-mail seeking comment on the benefits of using the less costly dark meat chicken.
The Chicken Carnitas taco features warm corn tortillas with chopped onion and cilantro and the burrito includes guacamole, sour cream and pico de gallo salsa in a warm flour tortilla. The bowl combines the carnitas-inspired chicken meat with Spanish rice and pinto beans, as well as chopped onion, cilantro and pico de gallo, while the platter features those items and warm tortillas so that diners can create their own tacos or burritos.
El Pollo Loco said the chain will promote the Chicken Carnitas LTO with general market and Spanish-language television spots in select West Coast markets beginning Feb. 2. A mix of point-of-purchase materials also will be used, they said, including window clings, translites and other in-restaurant and drive-thru messages.
Contact Alan Liddle at [email protected].