Anyone who put their money into companies that own fast food chains is now doing their own back-of-the envelope calculations on how much upside they can expect from novelty menus.
You’ve seen them before. McDonald’s brings back the McRib. Disney rolls out a limited time only specialty menu. Starbucks uses social media codes to “unlock” new drinks and combinations. And of course, there was Burger King’s Whopperito.
Now, Taco Bell is once again getting back into the game, saying Friday that it will bring back a special “Y2K” menu with nostalgia-based items from the ’60s to the ’90s. That includes the Cool Ranch Doritos locos tacos, the 7-layer burrito, tostada, meximelt, and caramel apple empanada.
But as the social media around the “new” items went wild, the investors who put their money into companies that own fast food chains, like Yum Brands, are doing their own back-of-the envelop calculations on how much upside they can expect from novelty menus.
Executives generally hope that this throwback approach will boost traffic and sales, creating buzz in a competitive fast-food landscape where brands increasingly leverage nostalgia to differentiate themselves.
They also bet on FOMO: The limited-time menu will be available at participating stores nationwide, with some fans already predicting a viral resurgence of these classic items.But does it make money?
The answer to what kind of boost investors can expect from a limited time offer depends on the brand. But consultants who follow the industry say that while some companies may see a 15% increase in their bottom line, it is ultimately the extra traffic that comes to a restaurant that pays off.
Take Burger King’s novelty item, the Mac n’ Cheetos, Jo Allison, a consumer behavioral analyst at Canvas8, a market research firm in London, told Forbes.
“It was only meant to stay on the menu for eight weeks but was an instant hit, selling out in restaurants across the U.S. and earning the brand over 3.2 billion online impressions, making it one of the most covered product launches in the company’s history,” Allison says.
