• by Teresa Buyikian , October 8, 2024

Chainfest, touted as the “world’s largest gourmet chain food festival” took place this past weekend in downtown Los Angeles. Still in its festival infancy at year two, Chainfest is the brainchild of actor and writer B.J. Novak and Michelin-starred chef Tim Hollingsworth, also the pair behind L.A.’s Chain restaurant, which offers gourmet takes on fast food. The concept for the festival, per the brand, was for each “chain to showcase a one-of-a-kind pop up restaurant, allowing fans to experience their favorite chains in all-new and gourmet ways.”

To this consummate Gen X-er, the appeal of paying to eat fancy tweaked versions of chain food (tickets ranged in price from $125 to over $400 for VIP)  that I will never be able to eat again, and waiting in line to collect branded chain swag, still escapes me. BUT I am most definitely NOT the target here. It’s all about the millennials.

Several millennial attendees, when asked about the appeal of Chainfest, universally responded that nostalgia for the brands they grew up with was the main draw. Brands participating in this year’s Chainfest included Cracker Barrel, Domino’s, Johnny Rockets, White Castle, KFC, and Panda Express, along with Los Angeles’ cult favorite Koo Koo Roo, which teased of the return of potential brick-and-motor locations in the L.A. area by serving its classic mac and cheese.

According to The Future of Commerce, “with over 83 million members in the U.S. alone, millennials are currently the largest generation in America's history. Their retail purchasing totals $1.9 trillion over the course of next 12 months.”  And according to a recent Forbes article, not only are millennials obsessed with nostalgia; they’re driving an entire nostalgia-based culture in music and fashion, in addition to food.

None of the millennials said that what drew them to festival was the food, which you would think to be the appeal of a food festival with tickets costing between $100-$400+. The food was hit and miss.

But Chainfest, with close to 5,000 attendees, was something more than that. Festival-goers saw this as a communal bonding event featuring brands from their youth. They were more excited by the brand experiences than the food itself.

Three out of four millennials polled in a recent Eventbrite survey said they would rather buy an experience over a product, and this certainly seems to be the case here, as they were universally having a blast.

This being said, the most popular booths? Those with the best BRANDED experiences and swag. The unofficial winner, in my estimation? The somewhat food-related Pepto Bismol, which had a line from the second it opened until it closed, giving out bright Pepto-pink bucket hats and matching festival-friendly, see-through plastic fanny packs.  Both had the pink and yellow Pepto logo prominently displayed.

Red Robin definitely won the experiential prize, bringing a human-sized claw prize machine, in which attendees were strapped, then lowered into a pit of foam mixed in with branded Red Robin swag to grab. The food winner? Krispy Kreme, which gave away exactly what it does best: doughnuts.

Considering the presence of several non-food brands this year with Visa, Cash App, Lactaid, Volkswagen and Pepto Bismol, and 5,000 millennials directly engaging with the brands, perhaps other non-restaurant companies might consider creating a branded millennial experience for the next Chainfest. Maybe a Kraft Mac & Cheese wrestling pit, or a Kool-Aid dunk tank?