Commentary

Festivals have become a real-world stress test for how well venues can handle hungry, fast-moving crowds.

Creator-led content drove 10,000 loyalty sign-ups for one Australian QSR brand.

The first three orders are crucial to gaining a customer’s loyalty.

Most loyalty programmes count actions. The best ones shape them.

Independent owners face hidden gaps and costly surprises.

Data helps operators scale human connection, personalise service, and run smarter venues.

As the Quick Service Restaurant (QSR) industry expands exponentially and new competitors enter the market, customer experience expectations continue to transform. Customer loyalty is critical to business success, and with the right tools, data and strategies, QSRs now have the opportunity to transform a quick visit into a lasting relationship. It’s time to take a data-led, predictive approach to personalised customer experiences.

One of the backdrops that littered my walk to school in Brisbane’s West was the sight of over-stuffed letterboxes. Even as a child, I could sense that there was no point in adding to the kindling growing at the front of many houses. And yet, advertisers persisted.

Running a restaurant is hard.

The end of June featured the much-hyped debut of Guzman y Gomez on the ASX. I wanted to look at how the Mexican fast-food franchise can thrive in the coming months and years, with ambitious expansion targets having already been set. 

The 2016 film, The Founder depicted the story of the McDonald's franchise, when struggling Prince Castle salesman Ray Kroc, who is played by Michael Keaton, travels to San Bernardino in California to meet Dick and Mac McDonald at their eponymous restaurant.   In one memorable scene, Kroc discovers that a McDonald's franchisee has taken it upon himself to add fried chicken to the menu, clashing with the standardised offerings he sought to enforce. This moment highlights the challenges of maintaining uniformity across a restaurant network, something critical for the success of any restaurant brand—the brand promise must be the same in every outlet.   As many know, in the story of McDonald’s, Kroc’s vision extended beyond merely selling burgers and fries—he aspired to deliver the same high-quality experience at every McDonald’s location across the United States. This uniformity is essential for restaurant chain dominance and is the foundation for success—franchise or not.   It’s critical to set customer expectations through your brand promise and to ensure they are met throughout the restaurant chain. These principles can be embedded into your operations in various ways.   Clear expectations that are consistently communicated ensure franchisees and restaurant managers have a thorough understanding of their responsibilities and the standards they must uphold. This can be achieved through regular communication, such as town hall meetings, newsletters, and updates to the franchise operations manual.   A ‘playbook’ is a document that outlines an organisation’s strategies, processes, and practices. It serves as a dynamic roadmap for business operations, ensuring consistency and efficiency while aligning with the brand’s goals and values. The playbook encompasses vision statements, core values, roles, responsibilities, and – most crucially – operational processes. It provides a detailed guide to daily operations and routine activities critical to the business.

In this final article of the three-part series ‘Tackling Food Waste as a Sector’, we turn our attention to technology. The previous articles explored sustainability and cost-saving measures. Here we cover how technology can support key solutions to reduce food waste, helping QSRs operate more efficiently and sustainably.

This is the second article of the three-part series ‘Tackling Food Waste as a Sector’. The previous article explored sustainability and navigating upcoming regulations. Here, our focus is on cost savings. It looks at some of the cost benefits of food waste reduction and how they can have additional benefits for your business.

Food waste costs Australia $36.6b annually and action in the QSR sector will be crucial to reduction efforts

Open Banking is seen as a way for a fast-growing business to access alternative credit streams.

In 1966, a young woman, with her four children in tow, embarked on a 30-day sea journey to Australia, marking her youngest child's second birthday amidst the waves. This trip was driven by the hope of a better future for her family, all based on the promise of a letter.