Milling & Baking News Corporate Profiles - 2019 - 48

INDUSTRY REVIEW: FOOD SERVICE

suggests plant-based menu offerings have real staying power. The Beyond Taco
helped reverse a steep slide in traffic at Del Taco, for example. Carl's Jr.'s Beyond Famous Star burger, now a permanent menu item, was the chain's most
successful launch since 2016. White Castle similarly expanded the Impossible
Burger to all its stores after sales consistently beat expectations.
"This isn't just a fad," Mr. Noone said. "It's a trend that's staying on, and it
isn't just with the Beyond Meat and Impossible Foods types of offerings. We're
also seeing it, for example, with Noodles and Company with their zucchini
noodles. It's about something different, something customers can try."
The rise of plant-based alternatives doesn't mean consumers are abandoning traditional proteins. Beef burgers are still the top sandwich ordered at

TOP
10
most valuable brands
Starbucks
2019 value
2018 value

+21.1%
$39,268 million
$32,421 million

McDonald's
2019 value
2018 value

+26.6%
$31,487 million
$24,872 million

KFC
2019 value
2018 value

+67.4%
$13,472 million
$8,049 million

Subway
©LEONID - STOCK.ADOBE.COM

2019 value
2018 value

-3.9%
$7,767 million
$8,083 million

Domino's
2019 value
2018 value

+32.9%
$6,439 million
$4,846 million

Tim Hortons

U.S. restaurants, though growth was flat compared to last year, according to
The NPD Group. Strong year-over-year growth in plant-based orders primarily was driven by trial on the part of beef burger buyers, who made an average
of 18 beef burger purchases and 2 plant-based burger purchases this year.
"Plant-based burgers allow consumers to substitute without sacrifice,"
said Darren Seifer, food and beverage analyst at The NPD Group. "They
have not given up on beef burgers but are willing to mix things up every
now and then."
Chicken remains the most popular protein in food service. Led by Chick-filA, quick-service chicken chains grew at 8%. Fast-casual chicken players, like
Raising Cane's and Wingstop, also are benefiting from higher sales and traffic.
Growth in fast casual outpaced all other segments, largely due to strength
in chicken-centric chains. Other categories, including Mexican, Asian and coffee, also are growing above the industry average, though there are signs the
segment is slowing down.
"Fast casual has been the darling of the industry for the past 15 to 20
years, where we've seen tremendous growth," Mr. Pawlak said. "Despite still
leading all segments of the industry, there seems to be a maturation happening. Previously we've seen double-digit growth. Now we're starting to see
high single-digit growth numbers." CP

48 \ November 2019

2019 value
2018 value

Pizza Hut
2019 value
2018 value

+72.8%
$5,359 million
$3,101 million

Dunkin'
2019 value
2018 value

+73.0%
$4,631 million
$2,677 million

Burger King
2019 value
2018 value

+12.5%

$3,544 million
$3,150 million

Wendy's
2019 value
2018 value

+9.6%

$5,514 million
$5,033 million

+47.3%
$3,365 million
$2,285 million

Source: Brand Finance
Brand Finance, an independent brand valuation consultancy, determines the strength of brands
through metrics evaluating marketing investment, stakeholder equity and business performance.

Milling & Baking News * Food Business News * Baking & Snack * Meat+Poultry * Pet Food Processing

Corporate Profiles

Milling & Baking News Corporate Profiles - 2019

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Milling & Baking News Corporate Profiles - 2019