Entrepreneur magazine regularly creates a list that honors the top-performers in their respective food franchise categories. These include such categories as Asian food purveyors, full-service restaurants and sandwich shops. The competition is intense with the magazine utilizing 150 data points to finalize their ultimate selections.

Juice it up! recently had the thrill of getting to the top of the magazine’s list in the category of smoothie, raw juice and super fruit bowl franchise hitting the coveted number three spot. The win follows the Juice It Up! acquisition by SJB Brands Inc. last winter. Post-acquisition, the juice franchise experienced a total menu-redo, focusing on creating truly delectable, yet nutritious offerings, with a high degree of ingredient transparency. So, the recognition has proven to be a timely pat on the back, proving that all of the work was indeed worth it.

Key Takeaways:

• Juice it Up finished third in Entrepreneur magazine 2018 list of the best food franchises.
• Juice it Up has had a busy year, getting new owners and redoing their menu.
• The company based in Orange County, California provides healthy drink options for its patrons.

“This list recognizes the top 200 food-based companies, ranked within their respective categories, (such as Asian Food, Full-Service Restaurants and Sandwiches) based on data submitted for Entrepreneur’s Franchise 500® ranking.”

Read more: http://www.restaurantnews.com/juice-it-up-ranked-third-smoothie-juice-franchise-by-entrepreneur-magazine-061918/

Customer loyalty is the life’s blood of any quick service restaurant, especially smaller, local businesses. You need Top-of-Mind recognition of your brand that makes you the first place customers think of when they are hungry. Send new customers emails introducing your restaurant and your people, and thanking them for their patronage, and then continue to ply them with lots of specials and promotions for different days. Try to make your restaurant a center of the community to help draw in regular gatherings of people.

Key Takeaways:

• Consistent communication with customers can strategically impact spending habits and increase revenue. It is easy, quick and the least expensive loyalty boosting strategy.
• Consistent communication involves sending purposeful emails and evoking the emotional and functional benefits of a brand through email, social media or face-to-face.
• Let your emails and activities show appreciation for your customers because happy, satisfied and informed customers are the best tool for marketing.

“The saying “You only have one chance to make a first impression” holds true. And, once that impression is made, it’s very hard to change it. It’s extremely important to send an email to new customers saying hello and thank you.”

Read more: https://www.qsrmagazine.com/outside-insights/5-tips-design-loyalty-boosting-communications-strategy

Wendy’s has continued its long tradition of poking fun of competitors on Twitter, with a social media presence that is much snarkier and more pointed than the bland pronouncements of many rewstaurant twitter feeds. Wendy’s Twitter team of Wendy’s PR employees and ad agency staffers especially enjoy mocking competitors’ use of frozen beef with the shamelessly silly use of ice puns. The company has managed its Twitter feed with a unique voice that many corporations only hope to mimic, although it is more “traditional” on other platforms.

Key Takeaways:

• Wendy’s has become well known for the snarky, irreverent tone of its Twitter account, which is very different from the somewhat staid accounts of its competitors.
• The Wendy’s account often posts tweets poking fun of its competitors, often with ice-related quips to mock their use of frozen beef.
• Wendy’s Twitter account is run by a mix of ad agency and Wendy’s employees, and its tone is distinct from the company’s other social media.

“At the heart of the burger chain’s branding strategy is one central tenet: the people at Wendy’s are serious about the food, but not themselves. Loredo says the roots of that approach are traced back to the portrayal of Wendy herself, a lighthearted, pigtailed kid.”

Read more: https://www.qsrmagazine.com/exclusives/wendys-roasts-its-way-social-media-stardom

The growing and trendy juice-smoothie-bowl category encompasses a variety of new ways to incorporate fresh fruit into your diet while on a busy schedule. Juice and smoothie bars were a $2 billion industry last year, and offer a growing variety of treats that mix sweet and tart flavors from a variety of common produce as well as more exotic offerings like cactus fruit and açaí. Another growing category is bowls, which feature a mix of common and rare fruits with elements such as coconut milk, almond butter, green tea, Maca root and granola to make a quick but healthy treat.

Key Takeaways:

• The juice and smoothie bar industry alone was worth over $2 billion last year, and the wider juice-smoothie-bowl sector is expected to continue to grow.
• Ingredients used in juices and smoothies include common produce like apples and bananas as well as rare ingredients like pitaya, Maca root and açaí.
• Preservation of leftover ingredients in a safe way that preserves nutrition is one of the major challenges facing juice and smoothie bar owners.

“Juice brands started to spring up 20 years ago as the health craze took off and Americans sought more convenient ways to consume beneficial nutrients. The movement thrived on the cold-pressing technique to juicing, which eliminates the juice’s exposure to heat and air, allowing it to retain nutrients.”

Read more: https://www.qsrmagazine.com/menu-innovations/how-leverage-fruit-your-menu

A new collaboration between Placed, Kantar and Inscape is using data collected from 8 million Visio internet-connected TVs and over 350 million location enabled mobile devices to analyze the relationships between TV ads for over 100 brands on over 100 channels and real-life store visits. Simply put, the goal is to determine what types of TV ads are most likely to result in someone actually going into a store. Different products and services can track how the utility of their ads changes on different days of the week, different time slots and different networks.

Key Takeaways:

• Placed, Inscape and Kantsr are collaborating on a project to analyze data in order to learn what kinds of ads are most likely to result in a real world store visit.
• The project involves using Vizio internet-enabled TVs and over 350 million location-enabled devices to associate ads with people actually going into stores.
• Some channels, like Food Network and Golf Channel, are better at turning ads into visitors, while factors like time and day of the week are also important.

“Placed Attribution for TV will launch with a free preview period from June 13 to June 29. This preview period, will give the public direct access to reports on ad impressions and store visits across 100 brands, 340-plus TV campaigns, on 100-plus networks.”

Read more: https://www.qsrmagazine.com/news/placed-reveals-how-tv-can-affect-store-visits

Modern marketing techniques devote a lot of attention to so-called Influencers, people whose high profile social media accounts make them well-suited to disseminate your marketing message to people who already trust their information. However, more followers is not always better. An influencer with millions of followers all over the nation and the world may have relatively few of them who actually live in your area. Likewise, influencers who lean too hard towards conspicuous consumptions and elite brands may be ill-suited for your particular restaursnt. If you’re a “normal” restaurant, the best influencers may be locals with 10,000-20,000 followers whose audience members really do live in your area.

Key Takeaways:

• Influencers are people on social media with large numbers of followers who pay attention to and trust their opinions.
• It is important to choose influencers whose tastes, preferences and subject matter are a good fit for yours, as opposed to those who only promote very high end brands.
• Influencers can be a good way to advertise your restaurant to many people at once for free or almost free.

“There are people who have millions of followers, and they’re not really the people that we’re looking for. We want Influencers who have around 10,000 followers or 20,000 followers. The idea is that we’d rather have somebody whose followers and the people they influence are in New York.”

Read more: https://www.restaurantnewsresource.com/article100182.html

Salsarita’s is a native North Carolina Mexican grill that has made its way to Louisville, Kentucky, greatly expanding its profit margins. The Louisville location has now added a drive thru service to their facility, which has been shown to bring in a significant amount of new customers. In fact, over 22% of sales that are made through this location are now directly a result of their drive thru service. It shows just how profitable adding a drive thru window truly can be.

Key Takeaways:

• Charlotte, North Carolina-based Salsarita’s Mexian Grill recently added drive-thrus to many of their locations.
• Salsarita’s drive-thrus account for over 22 percent of the restaurant chain’s overall sales.
• According to CEO Phil Friedman, Louisville-based franchisees Steve and Pam Stallings own the highest grossing Salsarita location in the system.

“Recently Louisville, Kentucky franchisee, Steve and Pam Stallings added a drive-thru window to their existing location at 12915 Shelbyville Road in Louisville’s Middletown neighborhood.”

Read more: https://www.qsrmagazine.com/news/salsarita-s-sees-sale-lift-thanks-drive-thrus

When restaurants decide whether to produce fresh food for their customers, they have to consider the costs and the associated revenue that is expected to come with it and then make a decision. Some restaurants such as Sajj Mediterranean concentrate on their supply chain, choosing local farmers and a central location for preparing foods. Some would prefer pre-cut, pre-prepped produce to save on labor costs while considering the safety challenges that come with it. Whatever the choice, according to Chris Boyles of Steritech institute, the operation of every restaurant differs and the safety of the food to avoid the stigma of a food borne disease is a high consideration in every restaurant’s choice.

Key Takeaways:

• Monthly audits of all 6 Sajj Mediterranean restaurants, includes checking temperatures and cleanliness levels.
• A centralized commissary is utilized to make sure that handling is kept to a minimum and to be certain that employees need not handle raw meat.
• Food is bought from small, local purveyors, which can be visited and inspected to view up close how items are grown and delivered.

“With a menu built around fresh ingredients, Alhindi knows he must handle the company’s fresh meats and produce with care.”

Read more: https://www.qsrmagazine.com/finance/can-fresh-be-financially-feasible-restaurants

The Gipsee company has now released a nutrition and allergen calculator for qualifying restaurant chains so that consumers can become more aware of what they are eating and drinking. For each recipe that the restaurant needs evaluated, there is a $129 fee. This may seem costly, but when it comes to the costs saved in potential allergy lawsuits, it is a very cost-effective investment for any facility operating in the food industry. Gipsee has been recognized in the hospitality industry for years, so their reputability is exceptional.

Key Takeaways:

• For each recipe that is evaluated by Gipsee, a $129 fee will ensue due to the analytic costs.
• Gipsee has been operating in the hospitality industry for years, making it one of the most reputable food allergen companies.
• The software will provide restaurant owners with a distinct list of any potential ingredients and allergens that are present within the recipe at hand.

“Gipsee, Inc. the leading maker of food allergy and nutrition software for restaurants offers a smorgasbord of features in its latest version of consumer-facing software geared towards enhancing the customer experience.”

Read more: http://www.restaurantnews.com/gipsees-allergen-nutrition-calculator-a-feature-rich-and-powerful-offering-for-restaurant-chains-060418/