News

Independent restaurants less likely to charge for 'premium' burgers

March 13, 2014

While chain restaurants increasingly promote their barbell menus and charge more for "premium burgers," independents are less likely to do so for additional ingredients.

According to a new Food Genius report, "Flipping the Burger," independent operators have an opportunity to get into the premium burger space with some tweaks.

"Many chain competitors are increasing their offerings, improving the quality, and charging more for premium accouterments. With burgers occurring on more than three-fourths of menus in some segments, differentiation is a key factor for operators that want to get more out of their burger offering," Food Genius Founder/CEO Justin Massa said in a news release.

Insights from Food Genius' Flipping the Burger report include:

• Peppers are mentioned on burgers more often than pickles.
• More than 50 percent of burger menus mention bacon as a topping option.
• Chain restaurants are 1.5-times more likely to include the term "beef" than independent restaurants and twice as likely to include the term "ground beef" as a burger menu descriptor.