Find out more about Hog's Breath's new braille menu and the brand's other initiatives to become more accessible to customers
Hog’s Breath CEO Ross Worth talked to QSR Media about the importance of accessibility in a brand's menu, and the unique challenges Hog's Breath is experiencing in its 27 years in the industry.
Hog's Breath offers fresh, quality produce sourced locally from Aussie growers and producers. Quality beef is selected from cattle raised on fertile, open pastures, slow-cooked for up to 18 hours to ensure maximum flavor and tenderness. The brand also has developed a diverse menu that offers a range of chicken and seafood dishes, ribs, burgers and wraps, salads, pasta, delicious desserts, lite options and kids’ meals. The menus themselves are available in braille for the visually impaired.
QSR Media: Can you tell us more about the braille menu? What inspired it?
Ross Worth: We have in fact had a braille menu for many years, but we have an all-new menu that needed to be produced in braille also. We were talking to vision-impaired guests at various restaurants within the group and we wanted to make the experience more enjoyable for them. We understand that they like feeling independent so we reached out to Vision Australia and they produced the new menu in braille for us.
QSR Media: Any future plans to make Hog's Breath even more accessible to customers? Any other big plans for the year?
Ross Worth: Hog’s is always looking for ways to support our diners and make their dining experience more enjoyable – we introduced the new menu to cater for all tastes and dietary requirements including gluten free and vegetarian, and we also offer customisation options, and both a Chinese and Japanese menu. We also have ‘Kids Eat Free’ opportunities at most restaurants. That’s just the beginning really, we introduce new initiatives regularly to enhance the customer experience.
QSR Media: How are your customers reacting?
Ross Worth: Our valued guests have expressed their enjoyment of our new menu, and we know they love the relaxed atmosphere and ambience at Hog’s. The vision-impaired community are thrilled that we produced the new menu in braille so they don’t need to rely on staff and can take their time reading all the options.
QSR Media: What are the challenges you see in the industry right now?
Ross Worth: The biggest challenge is finding quality people and then helping them understand that the hospitality industry can provide a great career trajectory. It doesn’t have to be a gap-stop or part-time job while studying. The young man who owns Hog’s Toowoomba started his career as a dishwasher at our Tuggerah restaurant. And I started my career in hospitality as a dishwasher at KFC when I was 14. Finding quality people that want to have a career in hospitality is an industry-wide challenge, not unique to Hog’s.
QSR Media: What would you like to tell the market about the direction that Hog's Breath is strategically headed?
Ross Worth: Our goal has always been to be the best casual dining system in Australia and New Zealand and that won’t change. Hog’s is an Australian-owned company with 83 independently owned and operated restaurants throughout Australia and New Zealand, and we have a support staff of 34 in our head office who work hard at making us the best at what we do.
We’re now in our 27th year and we’ll continue to focus on serving good food, including our unique 18 hour slow cooked Prime Rib Steak, delivered with our own unique style of Hog’spitality in a relaxed environment with great ambience. We’ll also keep striving to stay ahead of the game and implement new initiatives as we see the need, like the introduction of our new menu that caters to all dietary requirements.
