Latest news with #SmokedBrisketBaconSmash
Business Insider
4 days ago
- Business
- Business Insider
Smashburger's new CEO wants to flip the script on the burger chain's fortunes
Jim Sullivan is taking the wheel at Smashburger as the fast food chain's latest CEO. The name of the game is to "refresh" the burger chain 's identity and "reclaim" its footing in a flooded market, he told Business Insider. Sullivan, who has worked at Smashburger since June of 2024 as the brand's chief development officer and, since February, its president, was appointed to the role of CEO on Tuesday. He replaces Denise Nelsen, who left the company in February after less than a year in the role. Sullivan is the sixth person to hold the title of CEO since Smashburger's 2007 launch. His goal is to make the brand that put thin and crispy burger patties on the map nearly 20 years ago smash the competition — literally and figuratively. "This brand was built on five main pillars: taste, taste, taste, variety, and value, and that's what I'm going to be laser-focused on," Sullivan said. "So whether it's in-restaurant, online, or third-party, we want to make sure that we have a consistent theme, and that's about our high-quality products." Questions of ownership, value, and brand identity have circled the chain for years. Stalled talks of an early IPO gave way to an acquisition by Jollibee in 2018. In the years since, Smashburger has faced shaky financials and decreased its footprint from a peak of 335 global units to 204 open locations across 30 US states and seven countries. Sullivan said the recent launch of the "Summer of Smash" menu, featuring the return of its Smoked Brisket Bacon Smash and a new lineup of offerings under $4.99 to attract price-conscious consumers, was in line with this strategy. After driving growth at major chains like Qdoba and CKE Holdings —which runs Hardee's and Carl's Jr. restaurants — Sullivan is also doubling down on new franchises. The chain operates 121 corporate locations and 83 franchises. Over the next 12-18 months, Sullivan said he plans to hire outside experts to help with expansion into nontraditional marketplaces like airports and college campuses. "For us, the focus is going to be winning back guests and getting our food back in more of our consumers' mouths, to put Smashburger back where it belongs: the category leader in the premium fast casual space," Sullivan said. After years of sizzling, stalling, and starting over, it appears Sullivan is hoping he can flip the script — and maybe a few patties — on Smashburger's fast-casual comeback campaign.
Business Insider
14-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Business Insider
Smashburger cofounder shares how he created hits like the McGriddle and Stuffed Crust Pizza— and why generational trends don't factor into R&D
Don't expect to find a Labubu -themed promotion at Smashburger anytime soon. The Denver-based chain is preparing to launch its "Summer of Smash" menu on July 22, featuring the return of its Smoked Brisket Bacon Smash and a new lineup of offerings under $4.99. But while Smashburger's new items do include a slate of hot dogs — which are, no doubt, having a cultural moment, particularly among younger fans — the chain's cofounder, Tom Ryan, says his research and development process doesn't hinge upon generational trends. "It drives me crazy when you hear people, usually young guys who are probably 28, saying, 'Oh yeah, we're focused on Gen Z people and millennials,' and it's like, what's gonna happen when they grow up?" Ryan told Business Insider. "At some point in time, their lives are gonna change." Ryan is known for his work creating iconic fast food classics, such as McDonald's McGriddle and Pizza Hut's Stuffed Crust Pizza. Over his nearly four decades as a food scientist for major brands, he says he's watched as chains trap themselves by chasing younger audiences with fleeting food trends, rather than prioritizing creating timeless staples that fans return to for years. "When my kids were small, obviously, I worked there, but we went to McDonald's all the time — as soon as my kids got old, we never went to McDonald's again," Ryan said. "And now my kids, who now have kids of their own, are going back to McDonald's. Guess why? Because it's the kids who take them there. And so, to me, I didn't want to be on that teeter totter or swinging pendulum of being relevant and then not being relevant." He added: "In my past life at McDonald's, I could point to data there, so that when those things happened, it showed up in their overall kind of seven-year swings, between doing really well and not doing well." Set your target audience and stick to it It's not that Ryan doesn't take the average age of the chain's customers into account at all — just that the 68-year-old fast food veteran takes a longer view of history when forming his menus than simply trying to cater to the latest whim of Gen Z — or whoever the trendiest generation is at the time. "All product development has to start with that: Who are you appealing to, and how are you going to be talking about it?" Ryan said. "My goal in putting Smashburger together in 2007 and keeping it vital in 2025 is to basically address what's on our menu and how we talk about what's on our menu with a tonal target: the mindset of an aspirational 32-year-old." To Ryan, consumers in their early 30s are cool, tuned in to culture without being driven by it, and have a bit of expendable income. Making food for them, no matter what generation they're from, forces him to create products with a certain level of modernity that also resonate with the next generation of consumers, because whether you're 23 or 45, Ryan says the goal is to have the energy of a 32-year-old. This strategy also prevents him from reinventing the wheel each time a new generational cohort passes through his doors. Instead of keeping tabs on what's most trendy, he focuses on making the food taste good and keeping it modern without being pegged to a specific era. "In the case of hot dogs, we've had them on our menu before, but we brought them back in with all the glizz and glamour that the current market is looking for in these things," Ryan said. Smashburger's new Big Dog lineup includes an "Americana" version with ketchup, mustard, sweet relish, and diced red onions, as well as "Bacon Cheese" and "Chili Cheese" variations. The quarter-pound Angus beef dogs, while they're "not your grandfather's hot dog," Ryan said, are intended to get "all the favorites in there." "Some things change, and a lot of it is the appearance and architecture, but the flavors stay fairly traditional," Ryan said. So, while hot dogs may be trending, Ryan's not banking on virality — he's betting on flavor that outlasts the algorithm.
