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Pollo Campero promoting bold flavors, growth plans

Through its product and program strategy around its Latin flavors, Pollo Campero has grown its millennial customer base quarter after quarter. Today, more than half of the brand’s customers are millennials.

February 26, 2016

Pollo Campero has kicked off its 45th anniversary year by announcing a solid performance for 2015, with Q4 results showing 11.7 percent comparable sales growth and marking the 16th consecutive quarter of solid same-store sales growth, according to a company press release.

The positive sales momentum began in 2012, and comes as the world's largest Latin chicken brand looks to enhance its digital presence and its already-famous Latin menu, said Tim Pulido, president and CEO of Pollo Campero International.

"We are thrilled for our continued solid performance at Pollo Campero," he said. “But to see our high comparable growth hold steady from year to year not only confirms to us that we’re on the right path, but also motivates us as we continue to grow and innovate."

Pollo Campero began its strong growth trend in 2012, with a 7.9 percent same-store sales increase. In 2013, it reached 6.9 percent same-store sales growth, followed by 7.4 percent in 2014 and finishing with 10.2 percent comparable sales growth last year, Pulido said.

Campero has activated several strategic initiatives to maintain momentum since 2014, including a global brand refresh launched with a chicken-centric Latin positioning that helped differentiate the brand. Another initiative was a remodel program that modernized existing restaurants. It has also focused on improving the overall brand experience and initiating Latin-inspired limited-time offers to drive consumer interest, Pulido said.

Engaging millennials

Through its product and program strategy around its Latin flavors, Campero has grown its millennial customer base quarter after quarter. Today, more than half of the brand's customers are millennials.  

As Pollo Campero looks to sustain its momentum and continue to engage with millennials, the brand is investing heavily in the digital space.

“We've recently revamped our website, Campero.com, to improve the online user experience, share more about our brand’s story and highlight other key brand attributes that are important to our fans,” said Federico Valiente, Pollo Campero International's brand lead.

The brand has also launched online ordering for a limited number of its Dallas, Texas, restaurants and is gearing up to test its new mobile app in the first quarter of 2016.

"We want to make our authentic Latin flavors more convenient to our customers and our online platforms will enable us to do so," Valiente said.

Innovating the menu

Campero also continues its focus on new product innovation, particularly menu items to enhance its hormone-free chicken meals. The brand is kicking off the year with its new street corn salad, a Latin American favorite offering a lighter pairing that's rich and heavy in flavor, Valiente said.

"We focus on unique menu items and the new street corn salad delivers on just that — fresh Latin ingredients that deliver a real flavor punch," he said.

Focusing on growth

Pollo Campero's development plans are as bold as its flavors, Pulido said.

"2016 will be a milestone year for our brand in the United States," he said. “We're planning on growing our system by more than 20 percent, which is something we had not done before."

The brand is concentrating its development in key U.S. markets with both corporate and franchise restaurants.

“Last year was an outstanding year for us and we're confident we're poised for another huge year in 2016," Pulido said. "Campero’s unit growth in recent years has been through corporate stores, the brand is looking to bring in new franchisees into the system as it expands its footprint in the United States."