Buffalo Wild Wings turned its business strategy around. The restaurant, which before the pandemic had a business model focused on attracting diners who were fans of sporting events, is now trying to attract other customer profiles.
“We had to design new ways to reach customers. We had to reinvent ourselves and do things focused on the menu experience,” said Gustavo Barraza, director of operations for Buffalo Wild Wings.
To fill tables again, the company reinvented its menu and added unusual flavors to its wings and dessert menus, thanks to alliances with other companies, such as PepsiCo. Now, for example, it has Cheetos breaded tenders. “People associate them with something that reminds them of childhood,” Barraza explained.
The company assures that after the adjustment in its menu it has registered increases of 40% in its sales. Now diners return once a month to try the innovations, when before adding these products to the menu, it would take about three months before a new visit.
In addition to PesiCo, Buffalo Wild Wings made another alliance with Hersey Mexico, to use Chokis cookies as an ingredient in their desserts and Pelón Pelo Rico in their sauces. These innovations have a temporary nature, the chain’s idea is to rotate their menu every three or four months, depending on demand.
“A winning participation (of a new variant of a product) varies between 5% and 10% of the total sales of that product, and the sum of these alliances has represented 15%,” adds Barraza.
Focus on home deliveries
Buffalo Wild Wings paused its plan to open new restaurants in Mexico amid the pandemic. For now, the company is concentrating on strengthening home deliveries, a channel that generates 30% of its sales, up from 10% three years ago.
The chain has 40 units in Mexico. “We are in all major cities. Obviously the pandemic stopped us, right now we are on pause. What we are looking for at this time is to consolidate our operations. By 2023 we will be resuming the expansion (of units)”, said Gustavo Barraza.
