The BRITE Conference , taking place on March 4 & 5 at Columbia University, brings together 400-500 leaders from business, technology, media, and marketing to discuss how technology and innovation are transforming the ways that companies build and sustain great brands.
S’MAC: MAC AND CHEESE MADE-TO-ORDER ENTERPRISE
February 28, 2013 by 1 Comment
157 E 33rd St. Between Lexington and 3 Avenues (Murray Hill) • 212.683.3900
S’MAC
Their Success…Multiple combinations drive repeat business at a single-product enterprise. This single-product, multi-unit enterprise has managed to take a simple childhood classic of mac and cheese and turn it into a thriving business.
S’MAC offers 12 different pre-selected combinations of macaroni and cheese, plus a sampler mac and cheese skillet of 8 combinations. Guests can also build their own creation, choosing from 15 cheeses and 22 mix-ins. The diverse menu items include Masala, with a tomato-based cheese sauce and Indian spices, Alpine with Gruyère and slab bacon, and Parisienne, with Brie, shiitake mushrooms, rosemary, and roasted figs. S’MAC is conscious of the varying health concerns of guests with offerings of gluten-free pasta, whole-wheat pasta, or reduced lactose sauce upon request.
S’MAC certainly draws tourists looking for a one-time experience, but the sustainability of their concept stems from their ability to become a part of their guests’ regular lunch, dinner, or late-night routines – to create a menu to which neighborhood residents and those who work near their stores will want to return time after time.
What We Learned…Single-product doesn’t have to mean single-flavor. Running a single-product enterprise can be a great way to create buzz and interest, as well as make your kitchen production and internal operations seamless for replication while offering a fun, engaging guest experience.
Take Aways…When developing a single-product enterprise, think about your target market and the target location. Innovate and expand upon your product so that it can become a part of that market’s day-to-day routine, giving you a core of regular guests.
Whole Foods Markets Makes #19 on Fortune’s Most Admired Companies List
February 28, 2013 by Leave a Comment
Whole Foods Market ranks No. 19 on FORTUNE magazine’s 2013 “World’s Most Admired Companies” list. The only grocer on the list, the company is also named as the Most Admired Company in the food and drug store industry, leading the top ten list of retailers in the category.
“The health-food pioneer continues to rack up record sales, and has plans to nearly triple U.S. its store count,” reported the magazine, noting that Whole Foods Market “earns high marks from customers (and analysts) for quality that keeps its patrons loyal…”
Whole Foods Market is ranked in the top ten for innovation, social responsibility, employee retention and product quality. The only company from Austin to make the list, Whole Foods Market is one of three Texas-based companies included in the top 50 this year.
The list and related stories appear in the March 18 issue of FORTUNE.
To complete the survey, Fortune’s survey partner, Hay Group started with approximately 1,400 companies: the Fortune 1,000 — the 1,000 largest U.S. companies ranked by revenue and non-U.S. companies in Fortune’s global 500 database with revenue of $10 billion or more. Hay then selected the 15 largest for each international industry and the 10 largest for each U.S. industry, surveying a total of 687 companies from 30 countries. To create the 57 industry lists, Hay asked executives, directors, and analysts to rate companies in their industry on nine criteria, from investment value to social responsibility. A company’s score must rank in the top half of its industry survey to be listed.
To arrive at the top 50 Most Admired Companies overall, the Hay Group asked the 3,800 respondents to select the 10 companies they admired most, from a list made up of the companies that ranked in the top 25% in last year’s survey, plus those that finished in the top 20% of their industry. Anyone could vote for any company in any industry, which is why some results may seem anomalous.
paigepapers.com 