In this installment of QSR magazine's Best Practices e-letter, we take a look at how a venerable quick-service brand began making itself into a serious food destination with a little help from a well-known pepper sauce.
The restaurant: Dairy Queen, an American icon brand, owned by Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway, Inc., with approximately 5,000 restaurants in the U.S.
The opportunity: DQ has, of course, traditionally been known first and foremost as a treat destination but wanted to improve its "real food" profile. How to do so? According to Aric Nissen, vice president of brand marketing for International Dairy Queen, the chain conducted research with its consumers, who said they were looking for something different from the usual experience. Interestingly enough, "Something Different" was the tagline of the DQ advertising campaign that broke that year, and so they set about creating a burger with a twist. More specifically, they wanted a burger with a cool name and cool product build.
The solution: The Flamethrower. No doubt it’s a great name, but Nissen thinks it also has one of the coolest product builds in the industry. It starts with TABASCO® mayo, but there’s also jalapeno bacon and pepper jack cheese. "Each of those products burns at a different rate," says Nissen. "So if you think about a three-stage rocket with different fuel components, that's kind of what this burger does. When you bite into a Flamethrower, it's not going to knock you out right away; it slowly builds while you’re eating the sandwich and just stays with you."
It's also a great complement to ice cream. If you've got something cool, refreshing, and sweet, a nice match is something that's hot, spicy, and substantial.
An important point is that DQ actively employs the TABASCO name in promoting the burger. Why? According to Nissen, it provided instant recognition as a hot, high-powered, high-flavor item. It also helped DQ establish credibility for the Flamethrower at a time when the chain wasn't known so much for anything other than treats.
The final verdict: Nissen wouldn't give specific numbers, but he would say that the Flamethrower has been the single most successful flavor and burger DQ has launched. "It's been a great shot in the arm," he says. "Beyond the promotional impact, it has stayed around to land a spot on the full-time menu."
On the web: Visit Dairy Queen at www.dairyqueen.com/ and TABASCO at www.TABASCOfoodservice.com/.
QSR is also conducting a recipe contest in conjunction with TABASCO --- with a grand prize of $5,000. For info, please visit www.qsrmagazine.com/TABASCO/.
