Food

Cross-country LTOs with bacon-cheesy appeal

LTO

While El Pollo Loco operates primarily in the West, and White Castle sells sliders mostly in the East, the two chains promoted LTOs this summer that were similar in makeup and in appeal to consumers. El Pollo Loco’s Chicken Bacon Cheddar Taco Platter offered two tacos with chicken, bacon, smoked cheddar, caramelized onions, cabbage and pico de gallo, with rice and beans. White Castle topped its Bacon & Smoked Cheddar Chicken Slider with cheddar sauce and bacon crumbles.

LTO comparison

Technomic’s MenuSurf found that about three out of five consumers say they would order each of these items. Gen Z consumers were into the tacos about as much as baby boomers, but their purchase intent varied greatly for the slider.
What can other operators learn from these LTOs? Many consumers are willing to try twists on the dishes that they already love, so limited-time offers don’t have to be something completely new. And bacon rarely hurts a menu item.

 

 

Members help make our journalism possible. Become a Restaurant Business member today and unlock exclusive benefits, including unlimited access to all of our content. Sign up here.

Multimedia

Exclusive Content

Financing

Despite their complaints, customers keep flocking to Chipotle

The Bottom Line: The chain continued to be a juggernaut last quarter, with strong sales and traffic growth, despite frequent social media complaints about shrinkflation or other challenges.

Operations

Hitting resistance elsewhere, ghost kitchens and virtual concepts find a happy home in family dining

Reality Check: Old-guard chains are finding the alternative operations to be persistently effective side hustles.

Financing

The Tijuana Flats bankruptcy highlights the dangers of menu miscues

The Bottom Line: The fast-casual chain’s problems following new menu debuts in 2021 and 2022 show that adding new items isn’t always the right idea.

Trending

More from our partners