Article
Fast Casual launches State of the Industry survey
The editor of fastcasual.com talks about this year's State of the Industry survey.
July 14, 2009 by Valerie Killifer — senior editor, NetWorld Alliance
For the third consecutive year, Fastcasual.com is conducting its survey tracking fast casual operations. The survey is open to C-level (CEO, COO, CMO, etc.) executives, owners/partners and franchisees of fast casual operations.
Survey questions this year differ greatly from years past. The questions were developed in partnership with the Fast Casual Alliance and its Industry Report Committee, comprised of committee chairman Alan Hixon, president of Mooyah Burgers & Fries, Eric Ersher, founder of Zoup!, Mike Busley, founder of Grand Traverse Pie Co. and Valerie Killifer, senior editor of Fastcasual.com.
"I think that this year's survey will provide some very valuable information in many of the key areas that are of interest to the operating community in today's world," Hixon said. "I think that some of the primary differences in this year's survey are that we reached out to the operating community to determine what questions were most desired and ultimately included in the survey. We identified a short list of key areas and drilled down further in each one than in years past. The focus was on the overall 'quality' of information vs. 'quantity.'"
Sections in this year's report include Cost of Goods Sold, Labor, Metrics, Communication, Finance, Marketing and Training. The report takes between 45 and 60 minutes to complete and will be analyzed and presented based on both overall and segment results. The report will analyze results based on nine industry segments:
- Asian: Including Panda Express, Pei Wei Asian Diner and Noodles & Company
- Bakery café: Including Panera Bread, Au Bon Pain and Corner Bakery Cafe
- Burger/Steak/BBQ: Including Smashburger, Mooyah, Five Guys and Shane's Rib Shack
- Chicken: Including Raising Cane's, Zaxby's and El Pollo Loco
- Coffee/Specialty beverage: Including Starbucks, Planet Smoothie and Jamba Juice
- Other Ethnic: Including Genghis Grill, Rumbi Island and Daphne's Greek Cafe
- Fresh Mex: Including Moe's Southwest Grill, Chipotle and Qdoba
- Italian/pizza: Including Pizza Fusion, Vapiano and Pat & Oscar's
- Soup/salad/sandwich: Including Spicy Pickle, Firehouse Subs and Penn Station
A glimpse of the results also will be provided at this year's Fast Casual Executive Summit, Sept. 14-15 at The Hotel Palomar in Dallas.
Click here to take the survey. The first 100 respondents will receive a $5 gift card to Starbucks. Additionally, all survey respondents will receive a coupon for 25 percent off the survey price after its publication in September.
Results from the 2009 Fast Casual State of the Industry Report included:
- 75% of respondents said their operation provided curbside/takeout service while 25% provided drive-thru
- 34.9% of operators reported an average unit volume (AUV) of less than $500k while 27.4% reported an AUV of between $500K and $1 million
- Slightly more than 12% of operators reported year-over-year same store sales increase of more than 10%
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