The Food Scout

One of the great things I love about being a freelance columnist for QSR Magazine is that it gives me an excuse to talk to a lot of very interesting and experienced marketers at America's leading quickservice chains. The downside is that column space and topic matter rarely give me room for more than a couple of quick soundbites. So I'm planning to start sharing all that other great interview information that doesn't make the cut, but can be very insightful and revealing about what's going on in the marketing minds at big burger chains. For example, last week I spoke with Brad Haley, EVP of marketing for Hardee's and Carl's Jr. restaurants. Here are some of the more interesting Q&A part ...

Flip, sip, enjoy, says IHOP Cafe.  I love surprises when it comes to new restaurant concepts. Last week I was buzzing around suburban San Antonio looking for what's new in supermarket delis when BAM! I caught a bright royal blue awning hanging over a brightly lit strip mall-based store with a strange sign called "IHOP Cafe."  While IHOP has been making news of late with funny-faces and free pancakes across the country to compete with Denny's Grand Slam it hit two days after the SuperBowl, IHOP has also apparently been quietly taking the brand in potentially another direction.  Judging by the fact that there are just a few ...

Given that prime-grade beef, usually only found at steakhouses, is piling up in Sam's Clubs, it shouldn't be surprising that burger innovations are taking center stage these days. Hardee's shrank its Thickburger several months ago but Burger King recently introduced miniaturized Burger "shots," more in line with the mini burgers now common at casual dine restaurants like Ruby Tuesday's, TGIFriday's, and Chili's. Then, just this week, BK opened its first of many Whopper Bars at Universal Studios Theme Park in Orlando, where burger lovers can custom-build their burgers with a choice of 22 toppings. Recent months have also seen the opening of chef-run burger joints. TV personality (oh yes, and chef) Bobby Flay opened ...

In many ways, 2008 was the coming out party for tea - both iced and hot - and now the question is how much hotter the tea trend can get.  Tea has long been the "alternative" beverage: It was just the right compromise when you didn't want just water or a sweet beverage with your restaurant meal. And if you weren't a coffee lover, but wanted to partake in the coffee culture, tea was there to provide a cup of status that was more drinkable than a stout cup of java.  But thanks to the time-honored tradition of pre-sweetened iced tea in the South, which was institutionalized and spread by McAlister's Deli chain ...

I was food scouting in Chicago recently and ran into a facing of nutrition bars in the refrigerated section of the grocery store. Now for me, one of the appeals of nutrition bars is that they can sit in your desk, car, gym bag, pocket or wherever you happen to be that a meal or snack is not readily available. So the idea of a bar you have to keep in the refrigerator seems to kill the convenience of bars a little. At first, I thought this was a Marie's salad dressing or Kraft Velveeta merchandising gimmick, wherein shelf-stable products are sold in the produce section or dairy case to enhance their fresh perception. But after a look at the website I ...