Premium Burger Restaurants Satisfying the All-American Burger Craving

The Premium Patty Phenomenon Of the more than 49,000 US burger restaurants, that generated $70.9 billion in 2013 revenues, the premium (or gourmet or better) burger sector’s share was $19.4 billion. It is predicted to increase to $29.8 billion by 2019. The fast-causal segment of the restaurant industry, which includes premium burger restaurants, has a much larger share of independent operators, at 45.14%, than the 13.89% of independents for the entire US burger restaurant market. The three significant drivers of the premium burger phenomenon have been the failure of the big three fast-food burger chains to innovate their menus, Americans’ demand for higher quality menu ingredients, and younger adults’ preference for customizing their burgers. MEDIACENTER

The Best of the Better Burger Makers Of the many success stories in the premium burger market sector, none may epitomize them better than Five Guy’s Burgers, which has grown from a six-restaurant chain in Virginia during the early 2000s to 1,120 locations in 47 states and 6 Canadian provinces. Smashburger, the Denver-based chain, is currently the hottest and fastest-growing chain in the sector, with more than 300 locations. It was first on FastCasual.com’s 2014 Top 100 Movers & Shakers and 6th on Forbes’ America’s Most Promising Companies. Red Robin is second to Five Guy’s with 477 locations, followed by Culver’s, 400+; Smashburger, 300+; Johnny Rockets, 300+; In-N-Out Burger, 248; Fuddruckers, 170; and Habit Burger, 100+. MEDIACENTER

From Local Start to Rapid Growth Among the many premium burger chains, In-N-Out Burger’s reputation has reached legendary proportion, especially among consumers east of the Rockies where there are no locations. Its 248 restaurants are mostly in Southern California, and now Arizona, Nevada and New Mexico. Most of Burgerville’s 39 locations are in Oregon and a few in Washington State. It is known for the 70% of its menu ingredients that are sourced from local farmers and ranchers. Other regional premium burger restaurants of note are Fatburger, 75 US locations, mostly in California; Good Times Burger & Frozen Custard, 45 locations in Colorado; Burger 21, 15 locations mostly in Florida; and Blazin’ Onion Burger Company, with 6 locations in the Pacific Northwest. MEDIACENTER

Burger Lovers’ Top Choices The American love affair with hamburgers (as well as populations around the globe) is best represented by one finding from the 2013 Technomic Consumer Trend Report: 95% of all consumers state that they eat burgers at least once a month. The percent of consumers who want their burgers made from never-frozen beef increased from 43% in the 2011 report to 51% in the 2013 report. The top 10 burger restaurants in the Consumer Reports’ 2014 Readers Burger Survey were Habit Burger, In-N-Out Burger, Five Guy’s Burgers, Smashburger, Fuddruckers, Culver’s, Whataburger, Burgerville, Freddy’s Steakburgers and Steak ‘n Shake. MEDIACENTER

Belly-Busting Burgers Despite serving never-frozen, 100-percent USDA- certified, organic, grass-fed, free-range beef or any other beef quality statements, the burgers at many premium burger restaurants are actually packing more calories than a Big Mac or a Quarter Pounder. A Five Guy’s single-patty hamburger with no toppings is 700 calories and its bacon cheeseburger is 920 calories and 30 grams of saturated fat. By comparison, a Big Mac is 540 calories and a Quarter Pounder has 410 calories. According to the Center for Science in the Public Interest’s 2014 Xtreme Eating Awards, a Red Robin burger with an extra patty, all-you-can-eat fries and Monster Salted Caramel Milkshake totals as much as 3,540 calories, twice the recommend daily amount. MEDIACENTER

Advertising Strategies Since almost every American eats a hamburger every month, television is the best medium to reach this broad audience, especially for independents and regional chains who can compete on the quality of their locally sourced ingredients. Premium burger restaurants can use the visual nature of television to highlight their many build- your-own burger variations, especially to reach young adults during late-night programming who prefer this consumer option. Television is also an excellent medium for local, independent premium burger restaurants to promote the importance of community involvement as part of the restaurant’s culture and to generate support among consumers who are then likely to patronize the restaurant. MEDIACENTER

Social Media Strategies Everyone has a burger story to tell and premium burger restaurants should be using social media to invite customers to share theirs, especially with photos and videos. Premium burger restaurants can generate significant social media activity by creating a contest asking customers and users to submit names for a new burger item on the menu. With environmental sustainability an important issue, especially among young adults, premium burger restaurants should upload regular content (blogs, podcasts and videos) about their advocacy and commitment to sustainability. MEDIACENTER

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