Einstein Bros. unit on campus of University of Nevada–Las Vegas

Dunkin’ Donuts has been very agressive securing college campus locations.

Mark Brandau of the Nation’s Restaurant News reports that Denny’s, Bojangles’, Einstein Bros., Moe’s Southwest Grill share lessons learned from non-traditional growth.

Einstein Bros. unit on campus of University of Nevada–Las Vegas. Restaurant brands are learning to love on-campus locations as growth vehicles and testing grounds for new operations or service techniques.

Nation’s Restaurant News recently spoke with movers in the segment, including Bojangles’ Famous Chicken ’n Biscuits, Denny’s, Einstein Bros., Moe’s Southwest Grill and Beef O Brady’s to share lessons learned.

Bojangles’ Famous Chicken ’n Biscuits opened its first on-campus restaurant Monday at the University of North Carolina–Greensboro. First-week sales surpassed $50,000 for a unit of about 600 square feet, said Eric Newman, executive vice president of Charlotte, N.C.-based Bojangles’. That kind of performance makes higher-education locations “a valuable tool” for accelerating the brand’s already rapid growth, he said.

“[Non-traditional growth] can bolster what you already have and increase market share in penetrated markets, or be a spearhead to introduce more people to the brand,” Newman said. “It’s a great addition to reach people you’re not reaching normally at certain dayparts.”

For instance, he said, Bojangles’ can drive strong sales at lunch from students at the on-campus unit without cannibalizing sales from its three locations in Greensboro near the university.

Read More at: Nation’s Restaurant News

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“We do not believe Long John Silver’s and A&W-All American Food restaurants fit into our long-term growth strategy,’’ chief executive David C. Novak said yesterday in a statement.

The two brands account for more than 1,600 outlets, all of which are owned and operated by franchisees, Yum said. Yum, based in Louisville, Ky., has a network of more than 37,000 restaurants worldwide. The company also plans to sharpen its focus on the Taco Bell, KFC, and Pizza Hut chains.

“They just had a little trouble restoring the glory days of A&W,’’ said Jack Russo, an analyst at Edward Jones & Co. in St. Louis.

Yum bought Long John Silver’s and A&W for $320 million in 2002, giving the company five brands to use in various two-in-one and three-in-one combinations.

Read more at: Bloomberg

The transaction, which includes 41 U.S. plants, lets Sara Lee keep the right to sell Sara Lee brand frozen desserts and meat products such as sliced deli meats.

Grupo Bimbo will have rights to the Sara Lee brand in fresh baked goods globally, excluding Western Europe, Australia and New Zealand. About 13,000 employees will be transfered.

Grupo Bimbo, based in Mexico City, is the largest food company in Mexico and a major baker in the U.S. and Central Amerca. Its 2009 revenue was $8.6 billion. Its brands include Bimbo bread and Lara cookies and crackers.

Read more at: USA Today

As more restaurant chains strive to position their brands on grocery store shelves, sales of P.F. Chang’s China Bistro Inc. frozen retail items climbed 117 percent to $14.5 million in September, according to an analyst.

That jump was seen in the four-week period ended Oct. 3 compared with the prior four weeks, said John Glass, a securities analyst with Morgan Stanley, citing figures from Information Resources Inc. IRI tracks scanner data on consumer retail packaged goods.

“This brings total scanner sales for [the third quarter at P.F. Chang's] to $28.5 million versus $13 million in [the second quarter] and suggests annualized retail sales of more than $110 million, depending on how much initial trial converts into repeat purchase,” Glass said.

Read more: Nation’s Restaurant News

Three years after initially delivering what is technically known as “orders to file special report” to 44 marketers, the FTC last week began sending subpoenas to 48 companies in order to prepare a follow-up to its 120-page report issued in 2008, “Marketing Food to Children and Adolescents: A Review of Industry Expenditures, Activities and Self-Regulation.”

“This is a follow-up to measure the effects that self-regulation has had over the last three years,” said Carol Jennings, spokeswoman for the FTC’s Division of Advertising Practices/Bureau of Consumer Protection. “We are supportive of industry voluntary efforts to limit their marketing to kids and this will see whether more is needed.”

Ms. Jennings said the findings will be made available to the public.

A handful of marketers that received subpoenas in 2007 were left off the 2010 list, (Dunkin’ Brands  was not on the 2010 list) presumably because they have limited their marketing to children. Twelve companies on this year’s list are new, but 36 companies are once again receiving subpoenas — including Yum Brands, which was called out by FTC Chairman Jon Leibowitz in a December 2009 speech in which he said, “Many companies that market heavily to children and teens have yet to join or make a commitment. Why, for instance, hasn’t Yum Brands, with its KFC, Taco Bell, and Pizza Hut chains, stepped up? Or Chuck E. Cheese and IHOP? Or the marketers of Air Heads and Baby Bottle Pops?”

Calls to Yum Brands were not returned. A spokeswoman for CEC Entertainment, parent company of Chuck E. Cheese, said she could not comment without having seen the subpoena.

Some have speculated that the new round of subpoenas was a prelude to Congressional hearings and possible legislation, but Ms. Jennings refuted that.

“We are not proposing any regulation,” she said.

Anthony DiResta, an attorney specializing in advertising, marketing and media at Washington firm Manatt Phelps & Phillip, agreed with Ms. Jennings and said he did not see legislation in the future.

Dunkin Brands is Not on the 2010 List

It might as well be the Holy Grail. Neither Joey Cups and his team of 12, nor anyone else in the industry, has been able to find it.

So now they have decided to join forces. For the first time, Dunkin’, Starbucks, and Tim Hortons are working together to conquer the sustainable container. On Earth Day this April, the competitors convened with cup manufacturers, waste haulers, and municipal officials at a cup summit held at MIT. Since then, they have been sharing prototypes of innovative designs, researching ways to make it financially worthwhile for communities to recycle used coffee cups, and designing a pilot program for a waste-free zone at Faneuil Hall Marketplace where everything would be recycled or composted.

“We are fiercely competitive but we really want to differentiate ourselves on the quality of our product and level of service in stores,’’ said Jim Hanna, director of environmental impact at Starbucks, which hosted the cup summit. “Sustainability is a problem we all have to solve together.’’

Many consumers (and even some coffee executives new to the struggle) think there is an easy answer: switch to paper. But it’s not that simple. It takes roughly 20 million trees and 12 billion gallons of water to manufacture the 58 billion paper cups that end up in the trash every year. Most communities do not have the means or equipment needed to recycle these cups, which involves separating the paper container from the wax-like inner lining that prevents your java from leaking out.

Even the compostable cups of Green Mountain Coffee, known as ecotainers, fall short of perfection because they can only be composted at a few commercial facilities, not in backyard composters.

There are also limitations on materials used to create environmentally friendly cups. The US Food and Drug Administration restricts how much post-consumer recycled fiber can be used in products that come in contact with food. Other cutting-edge containers can’t be readily manufactured in the amounts needed by coffee chains, or they fail to meet performance standards.

One time, Hellyar brought some new cups made of eco-friendly materials to Dunkin’s quality assurance lab to test them out. He poured a fresh hot brew in them and returned to his desk. A few minutes later, a research and development worker came running after him, cursing that two dozen coffee cups were leaking all over the lab.

Read more at: Boston Globe

Subway Breakfast Sandwich. Source NRN

Elissa Elan reports in Nation’s Restaurant News that after serving breakfast for four months, Subway said the daypart has increased sales systemwide and exceeded expectations, leading the sandwich chain to expand the early-morning menu with limited-time offers and explore the service of more coffee or espresso-based beverages.

In an interview with Nation’s Restaurant News, Larry Varvella, Subway’s research and development project leader, said the chain’s foray into breakfast — a daypart filled with heavyweights McDonald’s and Dunkin’ Donuts — was a success for the brand and its franchisees.

“We’re very excited that our initial results show it is outperforming even our original expectations,” Varvella said. “Those original expectations were based on our franchise owners breaking even at the least. Of course we fully realized that to be a major player [at breakfast] we needed a long-term commitment. We figured that would be a three-to-six-month period. The last thing we wanted was for our owners not to be profitable.”

The Milford, Conn.-based quick-serve sandwich chain introduced its breakfast program April 5 to more than 25,000 Subway restaurants across North America. The menu features egg and cheese sandwiches served on whole-wheat English muffins, flatbreads or Subway’s traditional 6-inch and foot-long hoagie breads at a prices ranging between $1.75 and $2.25 for the English muffin melts, $2 to $3.50 for the 6-inch hoagies or flatbread sandwiches, and $4 to $6 for the foot-long variety.

The chain entered breakfast as more research highlighted the daypart’s growth potential and popularity with consumers. According to a study conducted by market research firm Mintel Research earlier this year, the breakfast foodservice market is expected to grow 13 percent through 2014. In addition, two of the fastest-growing menu items at quick-serve restaurant chains are specialty coffees and breakfast sandwiches, according to NPD Group, a marketing research firm based in Chicago.

More sandwiches are on the way, Varvella said, although he would not disclose what was in test or when new items would debut.

“We are definitely looking at introducing new items through limited time offers,” he said. “We fully believe that new products are one of the life-bloods of a restaurant chain. We want to keep [the program] new and exciting, and have a lot of items in the pipeline.”

He added that Subway also is exploring the possibility of expanding its beverage line to include espresso-based and flavored coffee drinks.

“Coffee has been a very strong part of our program,” Varvella said. “We’re looking at expanding with Seattle’s Best above and beyond standard drip coffee.”

Though Varvella would not disclose sales for the breakfast program, he indicated there are several barometers that have determined its success, including the acceptance by Subway franchisees.

“The franchisees are happy and the customers are buying the product,” he said. “In the past the menu mix was higher in non-breakfast items, but now we’re seeing equal amounts [in sales] of about 50 percent breakfast and non-breakfast, which, again, is ahead of projections.”

Varvella noted that the two best-selling breakfast items include the egg white western melt and the double bacon and cheese omelet. Latest promotions have highlighted the steak, egg and cheese sandwiches.

Read more at: Nation’s Restaurant News

P.F. Chang's and Unilever are offering meals for two in the frozen-food section.

Bruce Horovitz reports in USA TODAY that some of the most familiar names in the restaurant world are moving into the grocer’s freezer.

P.F. Chang’s, Burger King and Jamba Juice all have recently licensed their names for new products to be sold in supermarkets. They join other high-profile restaurant chains including Marie Callender’s, Starbucks, T.G.I. Friday’s and California Pizza Kitchen, which already have substantial presence at the grocery store.

The most recent moves come at a time when many former frequent diners — scared off by the recession — are not returning to restaurants. “It’s a search for new revenue streams,” says Robin Lee Allen, executive editor at Nation’s Restaurant News. “It’s also a way to keep the brand top of mind.”

It’s also a way for a chain to familiarize consumers with the brand before entering a new market with restaurants, consultant Linda Lipsky says.

New freezing technologies that are better at keeping items tasty have made the grocery’s frozen-food aisle almost a “no lose” proposition, says Bob Garrison, editor of Refrigerated & Frozen Foods, a trade magazine.

Among the newer name brands at markets:

•P.F. Chang’s. Even with new methods, frozen food isn’t going to taste exactly like fresh — which makes Chang’s deal with Unilever to make eight frozen meals-for-two ($7.50 to $10) compelling. Chang’s, with 172 restaurants in 42 states, has built its reputation on offering great taste in its food. The question is, can Unilever’s new freezing technique do the trick?

“There were enormous discussions,” says Michael Welborn, head of global brand development. “We can never do anything to tarnish the brand.”

Based on its success with the Bertolli Italian frozen-food line, executives at Unilever convinced Chang’s that they could work the same magic on its Asian entrees. But, says Gaston Vaneri, frozen-foods marketing chief at Unilever, the company also needed Chang’s name recognition and its know-how to make a frozen Asian food line a hit.

To help convince workers that the frozen food tastes good, Chang’s CEO Rick Federico sent freebie coupons to employees to try the new items.

•Burger King. The chain recently teamed with the ConAgra Foods Lamb Weston division and rolled out King Krinkz seasoned crinkle-cut fries — cooked in the microwave — for $1.10. The focus is “to reach consumers through new channels” and give them “new ways to connect with the brand,” marketing chief John Schaufelberger says.

•Jamba Juice. The chain, with 750 units in 22 states, has a line of Frozen Fruit Sorbet & Yogurt bars made by Oregon Ice Cream. A box of four, 2.5-ounce bars costs $3.99. “The driver is to extend the Jamba brand and to let the consumer enjoy Jamba in more ways,” CEO James White says.

USA TODAY