The Hula Burger: 3 Rules of "Innotastrophy"

The Hula Burger was a meatless burger introduced in the 1960's by Ray Kroc.

It was a substitute for American Catholics who could not eat meat on Friday.

 The burger was a slice of grilled pineapple with American cheese on a bun.

At first this may seem like an innovative idea - but we come to our first question:

>Does the target market have any prior exposure to this product?< 

A grilled pineapple and American cheese on a bun?

They all go good with many things: but with each other? 

RULE 1:

Innotastrophies happen when the innovative process is not based on adapting a process you are familiar with.

The idea that Catholics may be looking for an alternative to a hamburger on Friday is sound...but going from a hamburger to a slice of pineapple may not be the best way to adaptively address this segment of the market.

My ethnicity (Hawaiian) has a lot of exposure to pineapple served in different and innovative ways, but I suspect that the only exposure most of the people in the Hula Burger test market had with pineapple served with a 'main dish' would have been Easter ham and (perhaps) sweet-and-sour pork.

By the way, pineapple was introduced to Hawaii from South America -

I have many friends who will pick out the pineapple in sweet-and-sour pork, many of them liking the flavor that pineapple gives to the pork, but not wanting to eat the pineapple itself (or the green bell pepper for that matter).

So when I go out to eat with them and we order sweet-and-sour pork I feel no guilt when I put more than my share on my plate over rice - because I am the only one who wants it in my particular group of (non-Hawaiian) friends.

>Is there a better idea that you have not considered?<

The Filet-O-Fish was invented by Cincinnati McDonald’s franchisee Lou Groen.

Lou Groen's McDonald's was the first in the Cincinnati area.

He noticed that his clientele was heavily Catholic.

At that time most Catholics abstained from meat every Friday, not just during Lent - a 40-day period of repentance that begins with Ash Wednesday.

Lou Groen noticed all of his customers were going to Frisch's on Fridays.

Frisch's served a fish sandwich.

Ray Kroc had McDonald’s sell the two sandwiches side by side on Fridays, and whichever sold the most would be added to the permanent menu. This is one of the traits that makes a great leader; the willingness to consider innovative ideas even after you think you know the answer.

The Filet-O-Fish won by a landslide, and it has become a permanent fixture of the McDonald’s menu (and adapted to many other fast food menus). The Hula Burger has faded into obscurity - although I am sure there is at least one person out there somewhere who wishes it still was on the menu.

(just like I still miss Taco Bell's Bell Beefer)  

(sorry for digressing...)

RULE 2:

Always build a 'back door' to help you get out of innotastrophies. 

The Hula Burger did not have a culinary history with Catholics; but eating fish on Friday was very common. When you factor into the equation the need to address this every Friday then it becomes obvious that a quick and easy solution would find support in this demographic.  

Gorton's introduced fish sticks in 1953 - it was rewarded with the Seal of Approval from Parents Magazine. Fish sticks also had a culinary antecedent in fish and chips.

By the way, pescado frito may have been the inspiration for English fish and chips.

Pescado frito was brought to England by Spanish Jews who began to settle in England; first in small numbers in the 16th century, and then in larger numbers after the 1650s.

I would argue that the Filet-O-Fish had (at least) a "culinary foundation" with the target audience. This is important because it allows time for the product to find the 'adaptive niche' that will allow further market penetration.   

I can remember eating fish sticks sandwiches that my mom would make and I know there were other families that did the same because I had lunch at their house. It really was the way most of us kids wanted to eat fish of any kind. 

We would put BBQ potato chips or corn chips on top of the fish sticks covered with a slice of American cheese to make our own version of a 'fish and chips' sandwich.

(yes, you can make this - only if you promise to call it a 'Jonny Fishwich') 

>Culinary Foundation Laid<  

(when I was little I thought he was Captain Ahab from Mobey Dick)

(fighting giant whales just to bring us all fish sticks)

(!)

Lou Groen's idea more adaptively innovated what was already in place (I suspect many Catholic families were already choosing fish sticks as an option on Fridays) and came up with a sandwich that built upon the concept of a fast and easy alternative to cooking fish.  

   Lou Groen had the better idea - and Ray Kroc was smart enough to realize that he was wrong...

(anybody remember Phil A. O'Fish?)

By the way, I just found this out...

"At age 80, Mr. Groen, along with two other individuals entered into a new business venture called Stop Stick, Ltd., which is in the business of producing and selling devices, used usually by law enforcement agencies and military police, which immobilize motor vehicles by causing their tires to become deflated." (Find A Grave)

(Hmm...kind of casting a net of a different kind to catch 'bad fish') 

>Will the innovation mesh well with your business plans?<

One of the problems that every corporation struggles with is how to incorporate innovation into their existing business model. If that model is doing well how much innovation do you really want to introduce?

Product compatibility (the extent to which a new product requires consumers to adjust to unfamiliar methods of use) is a major determinant of new product adoption. This is of critical importance due to the fact that many products fail not because of innovation, but because the innovation is not compatible with the existing business model.  

EXAMPLE

(McPizza seemed like a good idea)

BUT 

With an 11 minute waiting time your friend had finished his hamburger before you got your pizza (dinning compatibility).

The price point was close enough to what mainstream pizza parlors charged...but they were faster because that was their main menu item and they had more space to make pizza (preparation adjustment).

(McDonald's did not innovate enough to distinguish their pizza)

How about

(a Filet-O-Fish pizza with pineapple, bell pepper and sweet-and-sour sauce)

Kind of like

RULE 3:

 The product compatibility timeline is monetized.

What corporations often fail to understand is that the product adoption timeline is monetized to the extent that compatibility may take time.

The amount of time it takes for product adoption can have a dramatic effect on not only the product that is being integrated into the market, but also on the ability of the company to 'unclog the innovation pipeline' and allow other products time to 'weir' into the 'consumer stream'.  

We can see that Lou Groen understood this key concept -

and that Ray Kroc could see he was wrong ...

>INNOTASTROPHY AVERTED!<

  Time for lunch!

I think I will go get a Filet-O-Fish sandwich -

Or sweet-and-sour pork...sandwich..?

Or sweet-and-sour fish filet..?

Let me think about it -

but not those "fish sticks"