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Video: Smashburger founder discusses why old brands are struggling

Fast casual is pervasive, persistent and is starting to cover all categories, said Smashburger Founder Tom Ryan.

January 29, 2016

When it comes to innovation, growth and prosperity, Smashburger's Tom Ryan knows a thing or two. The restaurant executive, who worked at Pizza Hut, Quizno's and Long John Silvers, before opening Smashburger, believes that fast casuals are winning with consumers for a variety of reasons.

"Fast casual is pervasive, persistent and is starting to cover all categories,” Ryan said during a 15-minute talk he gave at October's Fast Casual Executive Summit in Miami. "But it's really clear that the unique combination of value and food quality and experience is resonating with consumers, so much so, it is the way Americans are going to be eating going forward at the expense, we believe, of older concepts."

Those struggling brands include some huge names, such as McDonald's, KFC and Pizza Hut.

"It's really a question about, 'Are they ready? Do they have the right balance and attributes for the next generation'," he asked.

Unless they make big changes, Ryan doesn't think those older brands meet the needs of today's consumers, which equal two things:

1. Food with a story
2. Feeling happy about the food they eat.

"Happiness is the new currency," Ryan said. "Food with a story isn't one thing. It's a lot of things."

Watch the rest of the video to hear the rest of Ryan's discussion.

Editor's note:Ryan gave one of four 15-minute discussions that will be featured on FastCasual.com over the next two Fridays. Watch the first installment here.