Qsr news and trends

Fast-Food Chains Promote Value as Restaurant Prices Climb
Retail // August 11, 2024

Value has become the watchword for fast-food brands these days. As CNBC reported Sunday (Aug. 11), restaurant CEOs keep pointing to value when explaining to investors why sales have cooled, while also offering up their plans to boost traffic. “Value” came up nearly 80 times...

Fast Food Brands Struggle as Consumer Sentiment Sours
Retail // July 21, 2024

Restaurant stocks have been struggling this summer, though it’s not quite clear why. As Seeking Alpha reported Sunday (July 21), weakening consumer confidence and consumer spending are likely the key reasons, though there could be another reason diners might be shunning quick-service restaurants, or QSRs....

F&B Brands Enter Virtual Worlds to Reach New Consumers
Retail // July 10, 2024

As food and beverage brands look for new ways to drive acquisition and loyalty, key players are turning to virtual worlds to reach consumers in more parts of their day-to-day digital routines. Take, for instance, video game worlds. Quick-service restaurant (QSR) chain Whataburger announced Monday...

Domino’s CFO Says Momentum Shifting to Pickup Over Delivery
Earnings // February 26, 2024

Years into consumers’ ongoing financial challenges, restaurant customers are still trading down from delivery to pickup, Domino’s observed. The pizza giant, which has more than 20,000 locations around the world, shared on a call with analysts Monday (Feb. 26) discussing its fourth-quarter and full-year 2023 financial...

Interviews & Exclusives
Subway’s Digital Comeback Features Retooled App and Loyalty Program

October 09, 2024
The quick-service restaurant sector is experiencing a wave of global expansion, with Subway making bold moves to amplify its presence and enhance digital engagement. In just three years, the brand has secured more than 20 master franchise agreements, paving the way for more than 10,000 future restaurant commitments and driving over 40% of its new […]

Quick Service Restaurants Double-Down on Technology to Gain Customers

November 01, 2023
The food service sector is transforming rapidly, and surviving in such a changing environment requires agile retail strategies.  In the last two years, due to high inflation, restaurants have been...

Dunkin’ Taps HubKonnect’s AI as QSRs Get Hyper-Specific With Marketing

June 06, 2023
As restaurants compete to take advantage of new digital capabilities as quickly and effectively as possible, Dunkin’ is leveraging artificial intelligence (AI) to optimize stores’ performance on a unit-to-unit basis....

Presto CEO Says ChatGPT Pact Shows Where Restaurant Drive-Thru Is Headed

April 11, 2023
The planets are aligning around voice artificial intelligence (AI) as everyday business use cases begin to build, perhaps nowhere more so than at the restaurant drive-thru. The synergies are clear,...

Quick Reads
Fast-Food Chains Promote Value as Restaurant Prices Climb

August 11, 2024
Value has become the watchword for fast-food brands these days. As CNBC reported Sunday (Aug. 11), restaurant CEOs keep pointing to value when explaining to investors why sales have cooled, while also offering up their plans to boost traffic. “Value” came up nearly 80 times when McDonald’s held its earnings call in July, the report […]

Fast Food Brands Struggle as Consumer Sentiment Sours

July 21, 2024
Restaurant stocks have been struggling this summer, though it’s not quite clear why. As Seeking Alpha reported Sunday (July 21), weakening consumer confidence and consumer spending are likely the key...

Krispy Kreme and McDonald’s in Advanced Discussions on Expanded Partnership

November 09, 2023
Krispy Kreme is looking to expand its partnership with McDonald’s. “While nothing has been finalized, we are in advanced discussions about expanding the partnership and are making investments in the U.S. that...

Panera Bread Cuts Corporate Staff Ahead of Parent Company’s Planned IPO

November 01, 2023
Panera Bread is reportedly making significant changes to its corporate structure as its parent company Panera Brands prepares for an initial public offering (IPO). The company will be laying off...