Captain D’s diversifies with new grilled product line

For some franchise brands a new product or product line can be the way to spur traffic and sales, and most importantly, profitability. With big brands like Taco Bell recently introducing a new menu, the questions soon arise. How can a new menu idea come to fruition? What are the steps to spur traffic from these items and have customers come back for more? And furthermore, how can this menu be profitable? Nashville, Tenn.-based Captain D’s has done just that. A brand known for its fried fish items took an idea for a grilled product line from a concept to a reality in March of this year. But before the line was released system-wide, there were a total of 18 months spent narrowing the items list from more than 40 down to 15. The products were tested at locations, and based on popularity, the list was narrowed down to the final seven that are now on the menu. “Our main goal for the grilled menu was to introduce meals that ranged from six to ten dollars,” said Jonathan Muhtar, chief marketing officer at Captain D’s. “By offering a grilled fish meal between these price points, we wanted to compete more broadly with a lot of the casual dining players by offering a great meal for a great value.” This was a similar case for Taco Bell who launched their breakfast menu in March of this year. In a recent YUM! Brands earnings call, chairman and CEO David Novak went over the profitability behind the menu. “Taking our awareness and taking our usage of breakfast up over time is the biggest new product we could ever introduce to grow the base business,” said Novak. Captain D’s isn’t going to be rolling out a breakfast menu, but they have seen their current customer base visiting their restaurants more frequently. Furthermore, they have found that it is also bringing in many new guests who are trying out their food for the first time, which is a trend that Taco Bell is reporting too. Captain D’s is already starting to test out another new menu lineup that Taco Bell has rolled out. “We are currently testing out a less than 500 calorie menu at one of our locations and look to roll this out in a similar way to the grilled menu we released this year,” said Muhtar. The brand confidently looks to continue to build on the success they have seen with their grilled menu with their less than 500 calorie menu. Over the years there have been big chains that have implemented low calorie menu items. McDonalds has implemented its under 400 calorie favorites, Chick-fil-A with its grilled chicken sandwich and nuggets, Wendy’s with its baked potato and chili items and Taco Bell with its Fresco menu. The main difference Captain D’s looks to achieve is to offer full meals that are less than 500 calories, not just single menu items. It will take some time, but it will be exciting to see what Captain D’s will offer to reel in an even larger base of customers.