The Melting Pot Restaurants, Inc. Evolves as Consumer Dining Habits Shift
Company Added
Company Removed
Apply to Request List

The Melting Pot Restaurants, Inc. Evolves as Consumer Dining Habits Shift

Fondue franchise implements strategy to communicate dining experience in new way, revamps menu.

TAMPA, Fla. - March 4, 2013 - (BUSINESS WIRE) - The Melting Pot Restaurants, Inc., the world’s premier fondue restaurant franchise, has executed a multi-tiered approach to address perceived limitations that prevent guests from visiting its restaurants more often. The strategy culminates with the launch of a revamped menu that allows guests to control and customize their fondue dining experiences.

“The Melting Pot’s guests have typically viewed the fondue dining experience as a four-course meal that lasts about two hours, often reserving it for special occasions,” said The Melting Pot President Mike Lester. “With consumers cutting back on spending and dining out less, we knew we had to change the way we present our dining experience to encourage guests to visit more often and dine with us in different ways.”

The resulting multi-tactical approach to communicating The Melting Pot’s dining experience in a new way included:

  • Extensive research on the brand and its barriers that began in 2011 and included launching a consumer-insights study, which made it apparent that a menu re-engineering project was necessary. The menu re-engineering project was designed to optimize and restructure The Melting Pot's menu offerings and update the menu to bring it more in line with the evolving brand. Key research findings indicated:
    • The majority of menu items needed to be offered à la carte to make the menu easier to navigate and to highlight ways to customize the experience with one, two or more courses.
    • Per couple pricing on the menu made the dining experience appear more expensive, so all items should be priced per person.
  • Testing of multiple versions of the updated menu in restaurant locations throughout the U.S.
  • Educating The Melting Pot’s franchisees on new ways to explain the fondue dining experience to guests.
  • Development of an experience video that explains the new way of dining at The Melting Pot.
  • Photo shoots to update the brand’s food and lifestyle photography.
  • Introducing the company’s plans to unveil a revamped menu on a national TV show, A&E original real life series “Be the Boss,”in December 2012.

“Grounding the new menu in research, we set out to better communicate the value offered by our dining experience through a menu re-engineering project that led us to update the menu’s look and flow,” said Cindy Haynes, senior vice president of marketing for Front Burner Brands, restaurant management company for The Melting Pot. “The easier-to-navigate menu emphasizes the wide variety of ways to enjoy The Melting Pot’s offerings and allows us to communicate lower starting price points by shifting the menu’s focus away from bundled, multi-course meals priced per couple.”

The revamped menu features per person pricing and more unbundled and à la carte selections, highlighting customizable options that allow guests to enjoy one, two or more courses as they select any combination of individually-priced cheese fondues, salads, entrées and chocolate fondues.

“This doesn’t mean that we’ve done away with our traditional four-course fondue experience or that we don’t want guests to continue to choose The Melting Pot for celebrations,” said Lester. “For our loyalists who love the four-course experience, we’ve increased the number of ways to enjoy four courses from three options to 10 and added more customizable options to encourage additional visits throughout the year.”

For more information about the updated menu, visit http://www.meltingpot.com/lp/new-menu.aspx.

About The Melting Pot Restaurants, Inc.

With 138 restaurants in North America, existing locations in 35 states, Canada and Mexico and more than 25 locations currently in development, The Melting Pot Restaurants, Inc. is the premier fondue restaurant franchise. Founded in 1975, The Melting Pot continues to be a memorable dining experience. Guests enjoy a choice of fondue cooking styles and a variety of unique entrées combined with dipping sauces. The menu also includes cheese fondues, salads, fine wines and chocolate fondue desserts. The Melting Pot is an affiliate of Front Burner Brands, a restaurant management company headquartered in Tampa, Fla. For more information, visit http://www.meltingpot.com.

Contact:

The Melting Pot Restaurants, Inc.
Sandy D’Elosua
813-849-2117
National Director of Marketing and Communications
sdelosua@meltingpot.com

###

Comments:

comments powered by Disqus
Share This Page

Subscribe to our Newsletters