ORLANDO Fla. Attendees at the annual Chain Operators Exchange conference this week said limited-time offers and tighter cost controls have helped them weather a turbulent economy for the past two years.
COEX 2010, sponsored by the International Foodservice Manufacturers Association at the J.W. Marriott Grande Lakes here, drew hundreds of restaurant operators and suppliers who said they were starting to see some signs of improvement. But they were taking nothing for granted and were continuing to quickly bring new products and value propositions to market.
According to recent data from research firm Technomic, 35 percent of consumers say the economy has had a “major impact” on their lives, 55 percent said it had “some impact,” and only 10 percent said it had “no impact.
“Job insecurity is a major overhang on the industry," said Ron Paul, Technomic's president and chief executive. "Employment definitely is troubling consumers.”
New-product development and LTO programs have been ramped up to provide value and interest among consumers, COEX panelists said.
Glenn Douglas, vice president of supply chain for Einstein Noah Restaurant Group, said his company used to have four LTOs a year, but it now expects to have 10 annually.
That fast-paced development schedule produced overflow attendance at COEX's "Warp Speed to Market" panel, which featured Kevin Ryan, executive director of the International Corporate Chefs Association; Donald Moore, senior vice president of kitchen operations at The Cheesecake Factory; Michael LaDuke, director of culinary development at Red Lobster; and Beverly Lynch, director of product development at Golden Corral Corp.
The panelists said products are now brought to market within months -- rather than the years-long timetables of past.
Anumber of operators said they had begun to see improvements in same-store sales since late 2009, including Larry Behm, senior vice president of Panda Restaurant Group.
“We’ve been seeing same-store sales growth since Christmas,” he said.
Beth Solomon of the National Restaurant Association said the group's “Today’s Special” image campaign, intended to boost business across the industry, will begin in May with social media like Twitter and Facebook. More widespread advertising for the campaign will start in October.
During COEX, IFMA gave its annual Regional Chain Excellent awards to three recipients: Culver’s, Panera Bread Co. and Zaxby’s.
Contact Ron Ruggless at [email protected].