Very interesting. I hadn't paid much attention to either of these. I dont eat out much and understood cracker barrel perspective they need to grow the audience in order to grow sales, but now they may reduce that. The chili's counter point is very valid and somehow as you said went unnoticed. Consumption is subjective we should never forget that in economics.
Cracker Barrel had a delicate problem -- their customers are dying off -- and in trying to attract a new generation they made their existing base angry. Their marketing department screwed up big time. It's a big problem for companies -- Oldsmobile had this problem, and it killed the brand. Cadillac has this problem, but is reviving sales with it's EV -- how this will navigate Trump ending subsidies is hard to say. A brand that is oriented toward young buyers can navigate a change of generations, but Forever 21 went bankrupt; Rue21 is no more -- riding that Protean teen market is hard. So congratulations Chili's!
Google AI points out: "According to Cracker Barrel company data from 2023, approximately 43% of its guests are 55 years or older. While this is the most specific recent data available, it suggests that the percentage of customers over 50 is likely to be over 50%." (https://www.wsj.com/business/hospitality/cracker-barrel-is-stuck-in-a-generation-gap-f2a3e01) The mainstream media loves to dwell on political considerations, and the politicians love the attention, so this is often the dominant narrative, but I don't doubt that Cracker Barrel was forced to make the decision to revert to the old logo not by politicians, but by the negative perception among customers. Nevertheless, they are still stuck with the problem of adapting to the inevitability of generational change. This badly managed logo rollout will make it harder. Fundamentally, Cracker Barrel is about nostalgia for the South of a generation or two ago. In 2025, that is a problematic focus, especially among younger people. Including the actual people who live in the South in 2025, which includes a lot of Black and Hispanic people, is likely to be seen as "DEI" -- which IS politicized, so it will be hard for them to do that. So I asked the same tool what Kelley's Country Cooking (a country-style restaurant chain) might do to attract younger customers. It listed a number of sensible ideas -- significantly focused on the menu -- including "build-your-own" meals, some Asian and/or Mexican fusion dishes, crisp (not limp overcooked) vegetables, but also improving convenience via online ordering, greater use of social media such as the inevitable TikTok for marketing, emphasizing the family tradition in the chain, etc.
Very interesting. I hadn't paid much attention to either of these. I dont eat out much and understood cracker barrel perspective they need to grow the audience in order to grow sales, but now they may reduce that. The chili's counter point is very valid and somehow as you said went unnoticed. Consumption is subjective we should never forget that in economics.
Cracker Barrel had a delicate problem -- their customers are dying off -- and in trying to attract a new generation they made their existing base angry. Their marketing department screwed up big time. It's a big problem for companies -- Oldsmobile had this problem, and it killed the brand. Cadillac has this problem, but is reviving sales with it's EV -- how this will navigate Trump ending subsidies is hard to say. A brand that is oriented toward young buyers can navigate a change of generations, but Forever 21 went bankrupt; Rue21 is no more -- riding that Protean teen market is hard. So congratulations Chili's!
Antowan and Phillip - cool to see how Cracker Barrel responded to the backlash! Do you think they should have stood their ground and leaned in or did they make the right decision? https://www.nbcnews.com/business/business-news/cracker-barrel-logo-rcna227389
I am a huge believer in firms needing to respond to the market. Not so much having to listen to and react to political pressure.
Google AI points out: "According to Cracker Barrel company data from 2023, approximately 43% of its guests are 55 years or older. While this is the most specific recent data available, it suggests that the percentage of customers over 50 is likely to be over 50%." (https://www.wsj.com/business/hospitality/cracker-barrel-is-stuck-in-a-generation-gap-f2a3e01) The mainstream media loves to dwell on political considerations, and the politicians love the attention, so this is often the dominant narrative, but I don't doubt that Cracker Barrel was forced to make the decision to revert to the old logo not by politicians, but by the negative perception among customers. Nevertheless, they are still stuck with the problem of adapting to the inevitability of generational change. This badly managed logo rollout will make it harder. Fundamentally, Cracker Barrel is about nostalgia for the South of a generation or two ago. In 2025, that is a problematic focus, especially among younger people. Including the actual people who live in the South in 2025, which includes a lot of Black and Hispanic people, is likely to be seen as "DEI" -- which IS politicized, so it will be hard for them to do that. So I asked the same tool what Kelley's Country Cooking (a country-style restaurant chain) might do to attract younger customers. It listed a number of sensible ideas -- significantly focused on the menu -- including "build-your-own" meals, some Asian and/or Mexican fusion dishes, crisp (not limp overcooked) vegetables, but also improving convenience via online ordering, greater use of social media such as the inevitable TikTok for marketing, emphasizing the family tradition in the chain, etc.