| Chains shout message of quality over the din of discount battles
By MARK
BRANDAU
The prices for the gourmet LTOs aren’t included on billboards or radio spots, Harvey said. But when customers come in to try the items, Burgerville makes the effort to eliminate sticker shock. “Everything we designed has been done with clear boundaries for pricing,” he said. “They have to fit in with the whole menu mix. They can’t be way outside our normal menu prices.” Burgerville says some of the LTOs averaged sales of 3,000 units per day across the 39-unit system. “With the introduction of the monthly, gourmet LTOs, we have definitely seen increased guest counts and revenues in our restaurants,” Harvey added. Having a cohesive team among the research and development, purchasing, and operations departments has helped Burgerville maintain workable margins on the offerings, Harvey added. The chain will give customers pricing options on the LTOs going forward by developing different sizes at tiered prices. Burgerville’s average check runs about $8.50, due to its local sourcing and sustainable-business efforts—meaning the chain would have to sell out to compete with other quick-service burger chains on price, he said. “If we entered those burger wars, we’d have to sacrifice our brand positioning,” he said. “It’s cyclical, and there will be a time when they’re not all battling on price. Then when the market shifts, our strategy is to always be differentiated on quality and experience.” The Pump Energy Food, a six-unit fast-casual brand in New York City, is in a similar position, said chief executive Adam Eskin. Because the health-focused chain’s food costs are relatively higher than those of quick-service brands competing for breakfast and lunch sales, The Pump needs to show customers that it approaches quality and value differently. For instance, Eskin said, the chain’s best-selling protein, the 12-Hour Turkey Breast, is marinated in citrus juices and ginger for three hours, braised overnight and shredded by hand. “There are no ways to cut that corner,” Eskin said. “What we’d rather do is explain that this is what we do with our turkey every night, and the care and the effort that goes into it. Could you get a turkey breast at Subway that’s been shipped in with preservatives? Of course you could. But please understand that what we’re doing is different in terms of freshness and nutrition.” Marketing that message of quality involves everything from printing slogans on crew members’ T-shirts to training staff to educate customers about the menu to investing in upgrades to the brand’s website. Whether the medium is an in-store poster or a knowledgeable cashier, Eskin said, the message from The Pump is that value means getting high-quality food for the price. “It’s important for us to get our message across that we do something slightly different,” he said, “and we want customers to understand what we do and how much we care. We don’t want to beat people over the head with it, and we don’t want to get into this pricing war. If we did that, our business model would no longer work.”—mbrandau@nrn.com | 
