Thursday, April 17, 2008

"This is the best hamburger I've had in a long time." -Leo Pike



There is a burger and hot dog chain restaurant in Richmond, Va that I think is an interesting brand. All of their food is apparently "famous". While "famous" might not be an added value they sure live up to their brand promise. Their hamburgers and hot dogs are made with high quality meat, which makes them taste like real meat. My friend Tristan and I were discussing what kind of restaurant we think Five Guys is classified as. Is it fast food? We knew the food was fast, but to us the connotation fast food meant something less. Also this so-called "fast food"/restaurant/chain/outstanding place adds a lot of extra value to their products for their customers. They provide an array of free toppings, which includes: grilled mushrooms, grilled onions, etc.. If this is a fast food chain joint, then why are they offering so many toppings for free? Isn't that the essence of a chain restaurant?

When the customer orders fries they put the fries in a cup in their brown paper bag. They then take the french fry scooper and dump another serving of fries into the brown paper bag. This makes the customer think that they are getting more bang for their buck. Tristan also thinks the grease that appears on the outside of the brown paper bag is added value. I agree with that disturbing pleasure. The whole point of this post is an opportunity that I think some brands are missing out on. I predict that in the future more brands will understand how small added values can add up to create a big impact in their consumers' minds.

Thursday, April 10, 2008