News

Fast-casual chains cook up consumer loyalty

A consumer research study on fast-food restaurants shows that the American public continues to be most satisfied with specialized regional chains, including many in the rapidly growing fast-casual segment.

September 29, 2003

September 30, 2003VILLA PARK, CA-- A consumer research study on fast-food restaurants shows that the American public continues to be most satisfied with specialized regional chains, including many in the rapidly growing fast-casual segment. These findings are based on the quarterly syndicated Quick-Track research program conducted by Sandelman & Associates, which surveyed 71,600 fast-food users across 61 U.S. markets during 2002. Based on ratings provided by the study's respondents on fast-food chains they visited in the past three months, Sandelman & Associates announced the fourth-annual Quick-Track "Awards of Excellence" for the top-rated chains. "Every year, more chains that we characterize as fast casual have received awards based on strong consumer satisfaction," said Bob Sandelman, president of the market research firm.The chains with the highest overall ratings tend to be those that specialize in a limited menu of items, while providing fast, friendly service and a comfortable atmosphere. "Fast-Casual chains have redefined excellence in the fast-food industry based on providing high-quality, good-tasting food that is perceived to be fresher and healthier than traditional fast-food items," Sandelman added. Sandelman said he thinks there will be a continuation of this trend as more consumers are showing a preference for prepared foods that have fresher ingredients, higher flavor profiles and are perceived as being more healthy and nutritious.Bakery concepts' popularity risingTwo bakery-cafe chains owned by Panera Bread Company ranked high with diners. St. Louis Bread Co. was the top-rated chain with fully 60 percent of its past-three-month patrons rating their last occasion as "excellent." It bested 118 other chains for the top honor. Sister concept, Panera Bread, was rated "excellent" by slightly fewer of its customers (58 percent), ranking it third overall. Panera Bread was the highest-rated chain on quality of ingredients and order accuracy.The second highest-rated chain was Pat & Oscar's, rated "excellent" by slightly more than 58 percent of its recent customers. In addition, it was the highest-rated chain on the basis of cleanliness of the restaurant.Fast casuals dominate the top 10In addition to these top-three ranked chains, all of which can be characterized as fast casual, three other fast casuals made the top-10 list. Atlanta Bread, another bakery-cafe concept, was ranked sixth overall, followed closely by Mexican chain Baja Fresh at number seven. Chipotle, another growing fresh Mexican chain, was the 10th ranked chain overall. Each of these chains was rated "excellent" by at least 49 percent of recent users compared with an average rating of 34 percent across all 119 chains for which data were available. In-N-Out Burger ranked fourth. This chain had been the highest-rated chain for each of the past three years. Remaining chains in the top 10 included: Rush's, Chick-fil-A and Jersey Mike's Subs.Many national chains improve overall ratings Although no major national chains made the top 10 again this year, some were rated highly on an overall basis as well as on specific attributes.Subway was the highest-rated major national chain, with 41 percent of its customers rating their last occasion as "excellent," ranking it 24th. Boston Market was the highest-ranking national chicken chain at 32, while Papa John's headed the national pizza category, ranking 48th overall. Sonic was the highest-ranking major burger chain at 51. Out of 75 chains for which ratings were available in both 2001 and 2002, nine chains significantly improved their overall rating since last year. Most of these chains enjoying statistically significant year-to-year increases are key national players, including McDonald's, Wendy's, Hardee's, Taco Bell, and Arby's. McDonald's outscored all other chains on convenience of locations and was the second-highest-rated chain on overall appeal to kids. Subway was the highest-rated chain based on availability of healthy/nutritious food. Cleanliness, taste, order accuracy most important to consumers The three most important factors to fast-food users in their selection of a quickservice chain are the cleanliness of the restaurant (79 percent of consumers rated this "extremely important"), taste or flavor of the food (77 percent), and order accuracy (71 percent). Survey respondents gave top marks to fast-casual chains in these areas. The highest-rated chains for cleanliness were Pat & Oscar's, Chipotle and Panera Bread. Taste/flavor of food was rated best at In-N-Out, Panera Bread and Pat & Oscar's. For order accuracy, the top-three-rated chains were Panera Bread, Biscuitville and Papa Murphy's. Quality of ingredients is also highly important to consumers (62 percent) and was rated best at Panera Bread, In-N-Out Burger and Pat & Oscar's. Traditional fast-food chains still dominate some of the other key attributes, including convenience of locations, overall appeal to kids, menu variety and value for the money.