Without a doubt, 2024 was the year of the Meal Deal, with
nearly every major QSR reacting to inflation and decreased sales with $4, $5 or $6 and up bundled food offerings. Unsurprisingly, the story on this very topic topped the list of most-read QSR Insider
stories of 2024, as well as making a few other appearances in the top 10.
Pizza chain stories also took up significant space this year, with four pieces on three different chains, and two on
the refresh, resurgence and ultimate expansion of the Chuck E. Cheese brand. Here’s a rundown of the stories readers found most interesting in 2024.
As stated above, the appropriately
titled "Lunch Is Too Damn Expensive" topped the list at number one. According to a Q2 2024
Restaurant Trends Report by restaurant digital platform provider Toast, QSR guests paid an average of $11.45 for a burger meal, up almost 5% from 2023. The price hikes were found to be universal, also
affecting sandwiches, bowls, salads and burritos.
Coming in at number two was Chuck E. Cheese’s first appearance on the list, with "Chuck E. Cheese Aims To Revitalize Brand With New Reality Game Show." Following
the retirement of the original in-store animatronic band, parent company CEC Entertainment looked toward Hollywood and the development of its own reality show in partnership with the producers of
“Top Chef.” The show, which is still TBD, is slated to consist of “physical challenges … over supersized arcade games – including pinball, air hockey, alley roller
and the human claw.”
"QSR Mealtime Is Now Flex Time" was the third most-read
story, which analyzed a study that found as customers returned to dining out at post-pandemic, many were actually dining outside of typical breakfast, lunch and dinner rush times.
At the
number four spot was "Shake Shack Ups Its Chicken Game, Disses Competitor."
As the chicken wars continued into 2024, the chain’s giveaway offered customers what they couldn’t get from its chicken-themed competitor: a free serving of the bird on Sunday (when
Chick-fil-A is closed).
Social media cookie darlings Crumbl landed at number five, with "The Power Of Social Drives Crumbl's Success." The Utah-based cookie chain opened its
1,000th store, boasted over seven million TikTok followers, and attributed its success to having technology at the core of its operations.
"Papa Johns Splashes Out On Surrealism With Trippy Campaign" came in at number
six, introducing the pizza chain’s new brand platform “Better Get You Some” with a hip-hop surrealistic campaign created by The Martin Agency and voiced by Grammy award-winning
rapper Big Boi.
Pizza also came in at number seven, with "Dead Presidents
Inspire Loyalty For Pizza Chain," which dug into East Coast chain &pizza’s revamped loyalty program, “The Dead Presidents Club.” The program’s name was inspired by the
chain’s first Washington, D.C. location, and “embod[ied] the spirit of rebellion and innovation.”
Landing in the number eight spot was last year’s wrap-up, "Pop Culture Trends Drive Top 2023 QSR Insiders." The year was dominated by
McDonald’s drink-based offshoot CosMc, Pumpkin Spice-flavored everything, and Applebee’s Dollarita stories.
Super Bowl stories still gets as many eyeballs as ever, with "Scorecard: Super Bowl QSR Spots "at number nine. Dunkin’s “The DunKings”
made their Big Game appearance, scoring #2 on the USA Today Ad Meter, the de facto gauge of voting viewers’ favorite Super Bowl commercials. The :30 spot, which ran twice on the game
itself, starred Ben Affleck (whose Artist Equity production company created the spot), with cameos by Matt Damon, Tom Brady, Jack Harlow, Jennifer Lopez and Fat Joe. The game also marked
Popeye’s first Super Bowl appearance.
And lastly, at number 10, came another mention of CEC Entertainment, with "Chuck E. Cheese Navigates Balance Between Marketing To Kids - And Adults." A
Q&A with CEC’s Senior Director of Brand Marketing Blake Johnson, the story discussed the chain’s $300 million investment in modernizing its Fun Centers and upgrading its menu, along
with its strategic marketing to both kids and their parents.