Franchisees know that a restaurant offering something unique—something new and intriguing— will perform better than its competitors. Consumers crave an exciting menu that still offers a familiar quick-service experience. They want variety and a menu that guarantees an item everyone will love.
Savvy Sliders is a growing quick-service restaurant that is seeing rapid success. It has discovered a way to offer premium quality food at a quick-service price by selling sliders, chicken fingers, and shakes. The menu features never-frozen, 100 percent Angus beef, thick-cut Icelandic cod, spicy falafel sliders, hand-breaded chicken fingers, custard milkshakes, and more.
A unique selling point is its mix-and-match bundling, which caters to various tastes and allows customers to share and try different menu items. This strategy has significantly contributed to the brand’s growing popularity. “We’re hitting 40 percent menu mix on our mix-and-match bundling,” Bryon Stephens, the company’s chief development officer, says. “It’s been game-changing for people who want variety in their meals.”
With 45 open stores already, the brand plans on opening upwards of 500 stores in the next five years. For Stephens, the possibility of this target has been reassessed and reaffirmed with greater confidence since the 90 days he has been on the job.
A franchisee out of Texas has found success with Savvy Sliders. “Our team is firing on all cylinders after opening the first two Savvy locations in Texas to eye-popping results…we are thrilled to continue our rapid expansion and have the next 2 stores in our development pipeline!” the franchisee says. He’s already opened his second store and has two more stores in development, all within a year of opening his first one.
Savvy Sliders recognizes the challenges of high initial costs and the current economic climate and has taken extraordinary steps to support its franchisees. It offers financing options at remarkably low-interest rates, forward-buying commodities to stabilize food costs, and discounted franchise fees for new franchisees who do 3 units.
“We’re going to finance initial equipment costs at 4 percent interest for qualified candidates in new markets”. So if you have 8 percent interest on construction-related expenses, you get a blended rate of 6 percent on your weighted cost of capital,” Stephens says. “We’re also offering an Area Development Package where you pay for two franchise agreements and get a third agreement for free.”
This level of support is rare in the franchise industry and demonstrates a genuine partnership between the franchisor and franchisees.
“The way this brand is stepping up in ownership to support franchisees, it’s somewhat unprecedented from what I’ve seen in my 40 years in this business,” Stephen says. “My belief in their success is stronger today than it was before I came in.”
To see if Savvy Sliders is the right fit for you, visit SavvySliders.com
