1851 Franchise Weekly Rewind

White Castle Celebrates 25 Years of Valentine’s Day Dinner

This year marks White Castle’s 25th anniversary of the brand’s iconic Valentine’s Day dinner. The fast-food brand has been taking reservations and offering tableside service to couples since 1991. This year, guests will have the choice of four different shared Valentine’s Day meals with choices including Sriracha or classic sliders, and strawberry and cream waffles. Reservations are now open.

(From TIME)

Papa John’s Eliminating Artificial Flavors, Synthetic Colors

Papa John’s has announced that the company will be removing all artificial flavors and synthetic colors from its entire food menu. The franchise brand is the first national pizza chain to announce this change. The items affected will include all pizza ingredients, pizza toppings, dessert items and sauces. This comes in addition to Papa John’s removing trans-fats, MSG, fillers in core meat toppings, BHA, BHT and partially hydrogenated oils.

(From Pizza Marketplace)

Tropical Smoothie Café Reports Strongest Growth in History

Recently, Tropical Smoothie Café has announced the strongest year of growth in the company’s 19-year-history. The brand reported same-store sales of 11.25 percent. This is the sixth consecutive quarter of double-digit positive comp sales. As part of this growth the brand has signed an agreement to develop around 200 locations across the U.S.

(From Fast Casual)

Red Robin Introduces The Wedgie Burger

With the New Year come healthy eating offerings from brands. This year, Red Robin has introduced the new The Wedgie Burger. The burger provides guests with a low-carb option for 450 calories and features bacon, guacamole, tomato and red onions on a 6-ounce beef patty inside a lettuce wedge bun.

(From FSR Magazine)

Taco Bell Promotes New CMO

Marisa Thalberg has been promoted to chief marketing officer with Taco Bell Corp. Thalberg has been with the brand since June 2015, and previously served as chief brand engagement officer. This move comes after Chris Brandt resigned from the CMO position to pursue other opportunities.

(From Nation’s Restaurant News)

Nick Powills, CFE, founded No Limit Agency in 2008 and serves as Chief Brand Strategist for the Chicago-based firm. No Limit is a full-service communications agency that establishes and elevates brands by bridging Public Relations, Social Media, Marketing, Advertising, Digital, and a lot of creativity, to best strategize well-rounded and successful campaigns for 50+ global franchise brands. By presenting visionary ideas and building real relationships, No Limit is able to create effective media branding strategies to help companies grow. Nick currently leads a staff of writers, media strategists, designers, social media experts and digital producers in an office think-tank where brands are humanized for strong, compelling media stories. Prior to starting No Limit at the age of 27, Nick spent four years working at a franchise PR agency where he mastered the art of building rapport with media outlets and creating newsworthy pitches for earned media placements. He holds a Bachelor of Journalism from Drake University in Iowa.

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