On this episode of Restaurants Reinvented, Scott Hudler of Torchy's Tacos dives into how he's growing the brand—embracing the “damn good” promise across the product, customer experience, and marketing—and by creating a new category called “Craft Casual” for the unique concept.
Torchy's just announced new investors and plans to double growth by 2024. No doubt that Scott will get them there.
Top Takeaways:
1 - Executing on the Brand Promise: Be Damn Good at Everything, from the food to the customer experience, marketing, and community involvement. Rather than focusing on fast food, Torchy's focuses on "Craft Casual."
2 - Smart Pandemic Strategies: They created popular “Margarita Packs” to-go, rolled out curbside and formed a coalition of restaurants in Austin dubbed “Come and Take Out,” helping many local restaurants stay open during the difficult time.
3 - Continually Improving the Experience: To provide a “damn good experience” Scott is looking into Order-at-Table technology, using text messaging to pay for orders, and other more efficient ways to constantly improve the order experience. His first priority is to make online ordering better.
4 - Getting to 360 View of the Guest: When it comes to data and personalization he admits that “we can do better.” His goal is to get to the full 360 view of the guest.
5 - Non-Traditional Marketing Approaches: Torchy's Tacos does not spend money on advertising or engage in traditional “loyalty” programs. In fact, he does not believe in discounting at Torchy’s.
6 - Memorable & Successful Campaigns: The "Tacos/Queso" 2020 political spin-off was a huge hit and garnered tons of engagement; as well as the Valentines “Salty Singles Day” where people could torch their ex’s stuff!
Resources:
- Torchy's Tacos website
- Scott on LinkedIn
- Press release on doubling growth
Featured Taco Series Brands & Speakers:
Check out Qu's Annual State of Digital for Enterprise QSR & Fast Casual Brands