News

Top 100: Restaurants - Zoës Kitchen

Zoës Kitchen ranks number 8 on our Top 100: Restaurants - Movers & Shakers.

March 7, 2015

Zoës Kitchen ranks number 8 on our Top 100: Restaurants - Movers & Shakers.

When it comes to embracing new menu trends, Zoës Kitchen isn’t afraid to be the industry’s guinea pig. Last year, for example, it was one of the first restaurants to test quinoa when it launched its Quinoa Salad, made with tomatoes, cucumbers, broccoli, fresh greens, celery, feta, green onions and light lemon vinaigrette. “We are always looking for ways to provide our guests with balanced Mediterranean meals that they can feel great about eating,” said Lauren Hopkins, director of brand.

Menus aren’t the only place where innovation is key at Zoës; the chain also takes a fresh approach when it comes to marketing. The chain ended 2013 with the creation of Fresh Takes, a recipe book with easy-tomake, healthful recipes that feature take-home sides from the chain to help families create easy and healthy dishes at home. To increase awareness for the book, the chain invited customers to create and pin their favorite Fresh Takes recipes on Pinterest for an opportunity to win a variety of prizes.

One of Zoës most notable campaigns of the year, however, was its “Zoë Goes Running” partnership with ultra-distance runner Zoe Romano, who set out in June to become the first person to run the Tour de France. She hoped her 2,000-mile run would encourage others to donate funds to the World Pediatric Project, an organization that aims to save the lives of critically ill children. Inspired by her lofty goal, Zoës Kitchen launched a two-week campaign giving guests who donated $5 to WPP a mobile app goodie for $5 off any menu item. After finishing the Tour by running 30 miles a day for nine weeks, Romano ended up raising more than $160,000, of which more than half came from Zoës guests.