IHOP’s recent lineup of biscuit sandwiches.
Source: IHOP
For the first time ever, IHOP is making its biscuits menu available nationwide.
The Dine Brands chain, best known for its pancakes, has been branching out into different categories, from burritos to savory crepes, after slashing its menu by a 3rd in the course of the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic. The brand new menu items have largely focused on drawing in diners during lunch and dinner hours and attracting more takeout orders. IHOP has also brought back some old favorites, similar to its Cinn-A-Stack pancakes.
Nonetheless, the chain’s menu strategy hasn’t been enough to offset consumers’ cautious spending behavior. In its latest quarter, IHOP’s same-store sales grew just 2.1%, despite higher menu prices compared with the year-ago period. Sister brand Applebee’s fared even worse, reporting a same-store sales decline of 1% for the identical period.
Shares of Dine Brands have fallen 25% this yr, dragging its market value all the way down to $856 million.
Starting Monday, IHOP’s sales — and Dine Brands’ stock — could get a lift from its biscuits menu. The chain has sold biscuits in certain regions, similar to the South, but it surely decided to make the leap and produce them to menus nationwide.
The brand new lineup features a buttermilk biscuit; a breakfast biscuit sandwich made with bacon, American cheese, cheese sauce and eggs; a chicken biscuit sandwich that features pickle chips and country gravy; and a fresh strawberries and cream biscuit stuffed with cheesecake mousse, strawberries and syrup.
The breakfast biscuit sandwich, with a selection of a side, will probably be available until Sept. 26 for $7 to appeal to budget-minded consumers.
IHOP Chief Marketing Officer Kieran Donahue told CNBC that consumer research showed diners across the country could be fascinated about eating the chain’s biscuits.
“We would not have put this on our menu if we didn’t think it had national appeal,” she said.
But first, the chain upgraded its biscuit recipe. The result’s a biscuit that is flaky with a bit crunch on the highest, based on Donahue.
Biscuit sandwiches have been growing more popular with consumers, based on data from Datassential, a food and beverage market research firm.
Chick-fil-A’s national expansion outside its Southeast stronghold has brought the Southern breakfast staple further into the mainstream. When Wendy’s rolled out its breakfast nationwide in early 2020, biscuits joined croissants and English muffins because the bases for its breakfast sandwiches.
But biscuits aren’t on menus as much as they was once. They will be found at 11.8% of U.S. restaurants, down from 14% in 2020, based on Datassential. Still, while their availability has shrunk, biscuits are growing more popular as sides and appetizers, the firm found.
Consistent with that trend, IHOP crafted its biscuits menu to be versatile. For instance, the fresh strawberries and cream biscuit could possibly be a sweet breakfast or a dessert.
Donahue also said that the chain made sure the biscuits could work for takeout as well. Greater than a fifth of IHOP’s sales come from to-go orders.