Have Super Food Chains Run Out of New Ideas?

by erica ~ May 22, 2008

Why is a super food chain imitating a small chicken restaurant chain item? Have they run out of their own ideas?

This is the issue that Chick-fil-A is having with chain giants like McDonald’s, Arby’s and Hardee’s, according to today’s New York Times article: they’re all imitating the Southern Chicken Sandwich, which claims to be originated at Chick-fil-A.

Why would they do such a thing? McDonald’s claims that they needed something new to add to their menu and the idea for the Southern Chicken Sandwich came from an Atlanta based McDonald’s, where Chick-fil-A is headquartered. McDonald’s vouches that their sandwich is not a replica of Chick-fil-A; it may contain some of the main ingredients but its main focus is the chicken. “The fastest-growing food over the last 10 years in the restaurant business has been fried chicken sandwiches,” says Harry Balzer of the NPD food industry research group. Overall, McDonald’s has been receiving positive feedback for the taste of these sandwiches and continues to produce these sandwiches in our chicken sandwich loving nation.

Chick-fil-A aren’t the only ones facing imitators. About a month ago, Carl’s Jr. discovered that their classic Western Bacon Cheeseburger is showing up on other chain’s menus. Burger King, Jack in the Box, Red Robin, and even Applebee’s has made the list of copycats. According to this article, Jack in the Box has made more than one attempt to copy Carl’s Jr. In addition to the Western Bacon Cheeseburger, they’ve tried to replicate the Six Dollar Burger line. Carl’s Jr. is definitely not too pleased with their new ‘innovations.’

It’s hard to think that with all of the money that’s put into Innovation Groups, companies wind up producing someone else’s idea. It is, however, fascinating to see the higher demand for the same menu item at larger chain restaurant rather than at a smaller restaurant. It comes to show that brand names play a significant role in not only clothing but food as well.

Erica Berkovich is an associate account executive at Mediashop PR.