The Very Public Benefits of Secret Franchise Menus

When a restaurant chain debuts a new menu item, it often does so with the kind of fanfare typically reserved for the births of new monarchs.

Got a new spicy chicken sandwich on the way? Let’s hold a parade! Launching a new dessert? Let’s hire the Blue Angels to paint a picture of a sundae in the sky using contrails!

While this is all well and good, franchises could be missing out on the unique mystique that comes with not publicizing a menu item. It sounds crazy, I know (not to mention the fact that it gives publicists and PR firms cold sweats), but the allure of the “secret menu” is well-documented, an irony for the ages, to be sure.

Most secret menus develop organically over time, as was the case for Boston-based burrito chain Boloco.

“We love having [secret] things our customers and team members have made with ingredients we already offer,” Allison Doyle, director of marketing for Boloco, told QSR. “We like to say we are all about options. Our secret menu comes from constantly evolving [and] simple menu edits customers have asked for.”

More established brands have gotten in on the act, as well. Digital news outlet Quartz previously highlighted how Starbucks’ secret twists on Frappuccinos helped the brand appeal to younger consumers. The news source detailed how small children knew to ask baristas to add a little raspberry syrup to a Vanilla Bean Frappuccino to create a cotton candy-flavored brew.

“I’m stunned and amazed at the concoctions that people order with our Frappuccino,” Starbucks CEO Howard Schulz was quoted as saying by ABC News. “I never imagined it and the secret menu that has developed as a result.”

As The New Yorker has already detailed, it’s difficult to throw a rock without hitting a franchise that has a secret menu item or two. McDonald’s, Burger King, Taco Bell, Arby’s, Jamba Juice – you name it, they’ll deny it and then make you a secret item anyway. That’s part of the fun, after all. These giant companies claim they don’t have secret menus, which makes people in the know feel special for proving them wrong.

It’s also a great way to give public interest a boost. A story about a new menu item at a fast food restaurant isn’t exactly the cure for cancer. But a story about a shadowy menu filled with secret foodstuffs? Now that’s an article people want to read – just ask Thrillist, Buzzfeed, Financial Times, Business Insider and, yes, now us.

Hell, there’s even a special website dedicated to secret menus: HacktheMenu.com.

Of course, secret menus can come with their own particular downsides. Dennis Lombardi, executive vice president of foodservice strategies for WD Partners, spotlighted some of the potential complications to QSR.

“No. 1, there is an increased complexity of offering a higher number of menu items — meaning more SKUs and possible waste — and two, it will put more stress on kitchen employees,” Lombardi said. “Can you respond in terms of skill base and equipment without compromising throughput speed of service?”

The other roadblock to keep in mind is that secret menus typically must develop of their own accord. A franchise can’t really create a separate menu, keep it a secret and then expect people to know about it. Off-the-books menu items are created when cheeky customers take their ability to customize dishes to the limit. Therefore, only chains that are willing to give consumers a bit more leeway over how food is prepared will be able to benefit from the unique allure of secret menus. From there it’s a whisper campaign, one that can gain considerable steam thanks to social media.

Secret menus create a club for people in the know, men and women who are able to order a special dish with a wink and a smile for the person behind the counter. It may not be as quantifiable as traditional marketing, but there’s nothing people love more than learning a secret and promptly sharing it with someone else.