Denny's is a brand is more known for it's challenges, rather than innovation.
However, It appears it has done some homework.
The brand has something of a problem competing with fast food joints for those valuable breakfast dollars.
It can be safely assumed that the sit-down chain offers a superior breakfast when compared to its fast food cousins, but in a time pressed world- who has time to sit down in a restaurant?
This is where packaging innovation comes in and here's the brief.
"Create packaging that protects the integrity and quality of our breakfasts, while delivering the foremost in portability"
The solution for Denny's is a dome.
I will say no more and leave it to the company press release to tell the rest of this incredible story.
"We know that Americans love breakfast....all day long.... but it has not been an easy meal to carry out. Who wants cold eggs, a soggy biscuit in a wrapper or wilted pancakes from fast-food restaurants? We know that the demand for our signature real fresh breakfast is there. The challenge has been perfecting the portability factor that our competitors haven't been able to do. Our proprietary Dome positions us for a homerun."
The innovative "Denny's Dome" packaging is custom-designed to allow made-to-order meals to travel well and stay hot and fresh. Denny's is known for generous portions at great values and classic breakfast combinations like the Grand Slam(R) or Country Fried Steak & Eggs. The dome is designed to carry a full breakfast....pancakes, sunny-side up eggs, hash browns, or any other Denny's meal, in one container while maintaining overall quality. The base of the Dome is divided into a ventilated area to keep crispy foods like hash browns, french fries and bacon crisp, and a closed area to keep moist foods like eggs and sausage, moist. On top of the base, an insert plate holds French toast or pancakes in an ideal environment, while sealing in the foods below it. Topping it off, a clear lid allows customers to see their order at a glance."
Posted by Ed Cotton
(1) Yum believe that we are not using them enough. Specifically, we're not going to Taco Bell or KFC for breakfast and there are no dessert options at either store and then there's Pizza Hut which is doing minimal business at lunch time.
This is a big problem for these brands, but they've brought it upon themselves; Taco Bell is so linked to late, late night that it would be impossible to think of the brand as a breakfast destination, unless it happens to be at 3am. In addition, consumers tend to get locked into ritual, the morning trip to KFC for a chicken and egg sandwich, after the trip to Starbucks, doesn't quite work.
Anyway, the company thought it was important enough to raise at a Deutsche Bank conference in Paris this June and this is clearly going to be a stategic focus for the company moving forward.
If anyone has any smart ideas about Mexican or Southern inspired breakfast or dessert options, please let Yum know.
Posted by Ed Cotton