A big part of that for chains and other growth-oriented restaurant brands is the regular novelty churn of limited-time offers (LTOs).
In fact, more than half of operators (54%) say “LTOs are a central part of their business.” (Datassential’s Limited-Time Offer Keynote Report, 2022.)
The problem, as these chain executives know, is that LTO success demands flawless consistency from kitchen to kitchen, which is a tall order when both ingredient and labor supply are as unreliable as they are right now.
So, how does one press ahead with LTO innovation at a complicated time like this?
Keep it simple. Here are 4 ways to do just that.
Same ‘ol spud. New exciting shape.
Other case studies in menu genius involve the unconventional merger of very common items—say, a classic burger dressed in peanut butter or topped with a fried egg (…or both?).
Point is, scoring a big LTO victory doesn’t have to hinge on the introduction of exotic, specialized or, heck, even ‘unique’ ingredients that likely come from tenuous sources.
Outside of that, keep unusual flavor infusions tied to seasonality that can still promise more reliable supply, even if within a short window (hence the term, “limited time”).
It’s an interesting parallel. While the National Restaurant Association reports that market demand for new flavors is as vigorous as ever, humans are still hardwired to prefer their tried-and-true favorites when making purchase decisions.
After all, that’s how top-sellers come into existence.
Herein lies an LTO opportunity in the current labor-and-supply turmoil.
Simply analyzing menu-sales data to identify a customer favorite that could spin off something a little different can be an extremely effective recipe for LTO success.
If a particular menu item is selling well, it stands to reason that supply is sufficiently stable. Better yet, if the new concept is as down and dirty as, say, introducing a sauce or topping, the LTO doesn’t demand much in the way of training when kitchen-staff rosters are so volatile.
According to one Datassential report, more than a third (34%) of operators say the biggest challenge in their pursuit of LTO innovation is “training staff to make a temporary item.”
It’s a hard reality compounded by this current economy that has “one in three operators reporting a drop in the total level of kitchen staff culinary skill” this past year. (Datassential, 2022 One Table Report.)
By these numbers, simplicity is a great strategy for kitchen efficiency across the entire menu and not just in its promotional LTO corners.
That said, LTO development as a key driver of a restaurant brand’s marketing growth can especially justify the investment in foodservice equipment designed to dictate consistency from one pair of hands to the next.
Can anyone say McDonald’s McRib—which, in its endlessly recurring retirement comeback story, is like foodservice’s equivalent to the NFL’s Brett Favre?
There’s a reason it keeps coming back as an LTO.
Actually, underneath the obvious fact that it sells, there are several reasons.
LTO success just doesn’t get any simpler than resurrecting past winners. First, depending on how the market itself has evolved since the last launch, there virtually isn’t any “LTO development” and, second, the long held familiarity in the kitchen diminishes the issue of training.
The most important trick of LTO blast-from-the-past concepts is to be mindful about timing, having a sense of when revival becomes a case of returning to the well too often. Let the heart grow fonder, as they say.