Double Dipping

Friends of Branded!

Happy Saturday and I hope you had a great week!

Schatz and I are well into our 4th decade of friendship and 3rd decade in partnership and I’m going to let you all in a little secret right here and right now. Without the show Seinfeld, I don’t think we could have ever made it this far.

When it comes to 1990s sitcoms, while Schatz’s boys (not his buddies, literally, his 3 sons) have a big love of the show Friends and a far lesser one for Seinfeld (I personally think this is an indication of Schatzy’s failure as a father, but whenever I mention that, he points out my daughter’s love of the Philadelphia 76ers, so we agree to call it even).

For those that might be less familiar with the show Seinfeld, it’s a show about nothing (that’s not my being mean b/c that’s something the creators are very proud of) and has brought a great deal of joy and laughter to so many people. For Schatz and me, it’s provided us with countless quotes to use regularly and contributed to our own sort of language and a way to communicate with one another.

When I was reading this week about McDonald’s continuation of the it’s $5 Meal Deal, the overall mixed results of this promotion and specifically how some franchisees weren’t thrilled with the campaign b/c of the “double-dipping” that took place, I wanted to lean in and learn more. The “double-dipping” in this case is defined as the pairing of these $5 Meal Deals with digital coupons that hit operators’ margins hard. The whole idea that “double-dipping” caused McDonald’s franchisees issues with this $5 Meal Deal promotion of course made think about Seinfeld and the issues made famous by its definition of “double-dipping.” Most importantly (of course), this all led to the theme for my Top of the Fold this week!

In a 1993 episode of Seinfeld, Jerry’s best friend George was confronted at a funeral reception by Timmy, his girlfriend’s brother, after dipping the same chip twice. “Did you just double-dip that chip?” Timmy asks in disgust, “that’s like putting your whole mouth right in the dip!” George responds, “you dip the way you want to dip; I’ll dip the way I want to dip,” as he attempts to put another chip in the dip. Timmy tries to take the chip away from George, and the scene ends as they wrestle to the floor.

This scene didn’t just make audiences laugh, b/c in 2008, a rerun of the “double-dipping” episode inspired a study in the Journal of Food Safety that was conducted by Clemson University and designed by Professor Paul L. Dawson, a food microbiologist. Professor Dawson proposed the study AFTER watching the “double-dipping” episode as he thought it would help get undergraduate students involved in the scientific research.

If you’d like to read the article and learn about the results of the study, I’ve placed it here: Dip Once or Dip Twice? (spoiler alert, Timmy was essentially correct).

While I enjoyed the “double-dipping” reference, it was McDonald’s continuation of this value-proposition for its guests DESPITE the mixed results that caught my attention.

Restaurants of all shapes and sizes are feeling pressure or a heightened demand from value-oriented customers. In its latest consumer trends data release, Branded’s friends at Yelp revealed an uptick in restaurant searches for “cheap eats” along with Caesar Salads, limoncello and soccer bars (by the way and for whatever its worth, a nicely priced Caesar Salad, with a glass of limoncello at bar showing a soccer match on the TV sounds like a pretty awesome afternoon to me, just saying). ??

But back to the trends, McDonald’s, along with Taco Bell, Burger King, and other quick-service restaurants (“QSR”) are competing (as they always do) for the guests’ wallet. Now that consumers are cutting back and spending less, value-meals are in high demand and QSRs are discounting, couponing and offering whatever specials can drive guest traffic.

CONTINUE READING HERE

While I think the following is well known, Schatz and I like to play a pretend drinking game when we attend conferences and other live events.

We pick a word and every time it’s spoken at the event, we pretend to raise our glass a take a fake sip of an adult libation.

(Now remove the word “pretend” and “fake” from the above and you’ve got the game correct). ??

The hospitality word of the summer is “catering” and the realization that while delivering single meals is most challenging, taxing, and expensive proposition for operators, delivering catering orders is far more orderly, structured, planned and valuable.

Yes, catering is the hospitality industry’s word of the summer and that makes our friends and partners at Lunchbox deserving of the first shoutout this week and in sticking with this week’s Shoutout theme, "The Oxford English Dictionary" (widely regarded as the accepted authority on the English language).

This summer, Lunchbox launched a catering hub for the industry called, Cater, a dedicated community hub and council for catering executives across the restaurant industry.

Speaking of catering (this is your cue to lift up that imaginary drink), our second shoutout goes to Branded’s very own Rev Ciancio and our good friend and catering maven, Kelly Grogan. This dynamic duo will be hosting a webinar this upcoming Thursday to discover game-changing tips and tactics to increase revenue from catering. You can read more about the webinar in the Marketing section below!?

CONTINUE READING HERE

Branded invites readers of the H^2 that are interested in learning more about our portfolio companies, and investment strategies to become part of our Access Hospitality Network.

Over the past few weeks, I've received several questions about the Access Hospitality section of the H^2 and I’d like to do my best to clear that up here.

This section is dedicated to the companies Branded is working with and supporting with respect to its investment activities. The content shared in this section is for informational purposes only, but you can be sure these are companies where Branded has invested and / or is exploring an investment.

If anything in this section proves to be interesting to you, accredited and qualified investors are invited to join the network and / contact me directly. Nothing in this section should be viewed as a solicitation or an offer to sell anything, but the companies written about here are ones that Branded is working with on the ventures side of our business.

Now that the above has been disclosed, Branded welcomed a new member of our B Works community this week and we’re proud to be the East coast HQ of Mr. Gregg Majewski and Craveworthy Brands.

The Branded Team prides itself on working hard (and playing hard) and being an operator-centric platform. We cover a great deal of ground thanks to our integrated and agile ventures, solutions, and media businesses. And yet, Craveworthy makes me feel lazy!

What triggered Craveworthy to set-up an office at B Works?

• Craveworthy Brands acquires Taim and Hot Chicken Takeover parent company Untamed Brands

What did Craveworthy do the week before it acquired Untamed Brands?

• Craveworthy Brands acquires an Indian BBQ restaurant

After completing these acquisitions in May, what has Craveworthy done lately?

• Craveworthy launching hot dog concept

Do you wish Craveworthy would enter the cookie wars?

• Craveworthy Brands to Acquire Growing Cookie Chain Dirty Dough

I could go on (and you probably think I’ve more than done that), but my point, Gregg is an industry executive that not only has deep understanding and expertise as an operator, but also has a deep desire to make this industry better for everyone in his ecosystem and the industry at large.

Gregg is part of the Franchise Master and Netsertive series and you can watch the trailer of his upcoming episode here: Franchise Masters + Gregg Majewski

The Branded Team is proud to call Gregg our partner and more importantly, our friend.

In today's summer rewind episode of the Hospitality Hangout, Michael Schatzberg “The Restaurant Guy” and Jimmy Frischling “The Finance Guy” are joined by?James Vitrano, Chief Executive Officer of?Sucré. The guys recorded LIVE at the ICR Conference this past January, and it was such a fantastic lively episode, we're bringing it back today!

They discussed James' background, from his early ambitions to getting into the restaurant industry and working for major chains like Ruby Tuesday's. They talk about his current role as CEO of Sucré, a high-end New Orleans-inspired dessert chain that he and his partners acquired and are now focused on growing. The three discuss topics such as franchising models, use of technology in restaurants, what's right and wrong with the hospitality industry, along with James' vision for bringing Sucré to new markets.

You can tune in on?Spotify,?Apple,?Amazon,?iHeart, or your favorite listening platform!

Who made the B List?

FIND OUT HERE

TECHNOLOGY

Moving Upmarket: Why Great Products Alone Won't Cut It for Enterprise Clients

By: Seth Temko, Solutions Services Partner at Branded Hospitality Ventures

Expanding from small businesses to larger enterprises requires not just innovative products, but also exceptional service, support, and client involvement in product development.

CONTINUE READING HERE

MARKETING

10 Easy Ways to Get More Catering Orders

By: Rev Ciancio, Head of Revenue Marketing at Branded Hospitality Ventures

Join catering expert Kelly Grogan from CRUMBS and hospitality marketing consultant Rev Ciancio from Branded Hospitality Ventures and Handcraft Burgers and Brew on a webinar to discover game-changing tips and tactics to increase revenue from catering that you can start to use today!

CONTINUE READING HERE

That’s it for today!

See you next week, (about the) same bat-time, same bat-channel.

It takes a village!

Branded Hospitality Ventures ("Branded") is an investment and advisory platform at the intersection of food service, technology, innovation and capital. As experienced hospitality owners and operators, Branded brings value to its portfolio companies through investment, strategic counsel, and its deep industry expertise and connections.

Learn more about Branded here: Branded At-A-Glance