CHICAGO -- With the burger business still booming, research consultancy Technomic recently ranked the fastest-growing limited-served chains in the segment. It turns out more than half of the top 75 now consists of fast-casual brands. The No. 1 slot went to Shake Shack, followed by Smashburger, Mooyah Burgers & Fries and Five Guys Burgers and Fries.
But while fast-casual concepts now represent the majority of the leading burger chains, they are still only 2.6% of total top 75 burger sales. "Even a brand growing 150% per year is going to be dwarfed in pure dollars by McDonald's, Wendy's and Burger King, which own 75% of limited-service burger sales in the U.S.," said Darren Tristano, executive vice president of Technomic.
It also appears each channel has its own strategy for success. Legacy QSR brands such as McDonald's are expanding into breakfast, beverages, snacks and other menu categories in an attempt to hold their ground. Just this week, Burger King joined many of its competitors by rolling out oatmeal. The move came a week after it retired its King mascot and announced it would be focusing more on female and health-conscious customers. According to the company, about 10% to 15% of its customers visit during breakfast.
On the flipside, the so-called "better-burger" concepts are going to market with highly specialized menus, offering little more than burgers and fries. Perhaps the best example of that is Five Guys. The chain offers burgers, hot dogs, grilled cheese and french fries. Simplicity is manifest in the daily announcements of what state each store's potatoes came from.
But the burger buzz is a bit deceptive, because the segment's rate of expansion actually continues to slow. Unit counts increased 0.2%, but the growth from the past three years was 0.5% percent, 0.7% percent and 0.9% percent respectively, according to Technomic.
Nonetheless, the burger segment's expansion has consistently outpaced the limited-service restaurant industry as a whole, as well as the entire restaurant industry. And McDonald's certainly did its part to buoy the segment, offsetting sales-growth declines from the other large chains.
Meanwhile, operators are increasingly creative about what's topping their burgers. Following is a roundup of recent burger rollouts and LTOs:
- San Antonio-based Whataburger introduced its Green Chile Double burger systemwide for a limited time. The burger is topped with a slice of Monterey Jack cheese, a slice of American cheese and roasted green chiles for a slight kick.
- Speaking of chiles, A&W Restaurants, Louisville, Ky., rolled out the Chipotle Crunch Burger (pictured above) with pepperjack cheese, crunchy onions and a spicy chipotle sauce.
- Burger King, Miami, started its courting of female consumers with its California Whopper. The burger, available at its Whopper Bars for some time now, comes with bacon, Swiss cheese and guacamole.
- The Checkers and Rally's QSR chain, based in Tampa, Fla., launched three new burger options this month: Chipotle BBQ Bacon Cheeseburger, Bacon Cheddar Crisp and a Mushroom Swissburger.
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