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May is NationalBurgerMonth, but let’s be real, hamburgers are in demand during any season.
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America is all about itsbeef.
It’s estimated we eatover50 billion burgers per year!
To keep pace in today’s competitive, dynamic quick-service food sector, burger brands must constantly evolve.
Courtesy of Wendy’s
While this has always been true to a certain extent it’s especially so nowadays.
The name of the restaurant game these days is efficiency, and many brands are prioritizing function over fun.
Let’s take a look at five of the biggest changes you’ll see at burger chains this year.
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Numerous burger chains have begun implementing and testing AI at drive-thrusto varying results.
“Julia just went on the night shift.”
“Let’s call it what it is,” Mr. Guinan added.
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“We are struggling to get enough labor on the floor.
Julia is not taking a job away from anyone.”
This month Wendy’sannouncedan ambitious partnership with Google Cloud aimed at “revolutionizing the drive-thru experience with artificial intelligence.”
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Smaller, digital-centric interiors
The pandemic saw consumers shift overwhelminglytoward deliveryand pick-up.
For instance, in 2022 an astounding85%of fast food orders were placed to-go.
Wendy’s recently announced " GlobalNextGen" restaurant design perhaps best exemplifies this industry-wide shift.
Courtesy of Wingstop
McDonald’s is alsoembracingdigital and minimalist design as well.
as the earlier model.
To be clear, Flippy 2 is far more than a stove on autopilot.
West Coast burger chainsJack in the BoxandCaliBurgerhave also begun testing Flippy 2 models in select locations.
Take McDonald’s for example.
Even the most successful burger brand ever isn’t resting on its laurels.
White Castle recently brought back the1921 Sliderfeaturing Ghost Pepper Cheese.
In the mood for something more gourmet?
Ghosting ghost kitchens
Not every trend from the pandemic is showing staying power.
Ghost kitchens feature no actual store-front and serve delivery orders only.
Back around 2020-2021, ghost kitchens appeared poised to make up a major part of the food delivery future.
In response, numerous major fast-food chains announced partnerships with emerging ghost kitchen startups.
Fast forward to last year, however, and that projected number fell considerably to100-150ghost kitchens instead.
