White Castle New Year, New Partnership, New Electricity

 

There is not a restaurant professional that wonders how White Castle has outlasted so many other chain restaurants.  It’s now 101 years and thriving.  According to Steven Johnson Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®, “White Castle has had consistent brand message combined with a positive proactive set of ‘new’ branded relevant promotions yearly that edify the consumer to with the brand in an interactive and participatory way. 

This year is starting off with White Castle teaming up with New York artist Dave Pollot to offer something new and different to Cravers, especially those with a taste for fine art and puzzles to create new brand electricity. Yes, puzzles are both interactive and participatory, even more important, they currently are very hot with consumers.

According to Johnson, “Brand relevance is in part driven with innovation in new food products in combination with new avenues of distribution all of which are the platform for the new electricity.” 

Johnson stated “that in my minds-eye the new electricity must be very efficient for the supply and includes such things as fresh foods, developing brands, unique urban clothing, grocerant positioning, fresh food messaging, autonomous delivery, cashier-less retail, plates, glasses, cash-less payments, digital hand-held marketing.

All retailers to survive the next generation of retail must embrace the artificial intelligence revolution while simultaneously embracing fresh food that is portable, fresh, with differentiation that is familiar not different. 

Most of you know White Castle is “The famed home of The Original Slider”.  They now have turned one of Pollot’s collectible works of art into a 285-piece jigsaw puzzle, which is now available for sale while supplies last at the House of Crave, White Castle’s online store. Net proceeds from the sale of the puzzle, which costs $24.99 plus tax, will be donated to White Castle’s Team Member Relief Fund, an emergency support program designed to help team members who encounter unexpected financial hardships.

So, the still-life oil painting is one of several pieces in Pollot’s “Calorie Composition” series, which all feature food items representing various brands thoughtfully placed among flowers and other inanimate objects, creating an interesting juxtaposition between classic images and contemporary icons. The White Castle print shows three Sliders and some onion rings along with French fries and a soft drink in White Castle’s distinctive packaging, all displayed among bunches of grapes and a vase holding muted pink and peach flowers.

Jamie Richardson, vice president at White Castle, stated, “When we saw Dave’s painting featuring White Castle, we just knew we had to collaborate with him to give even more value and recognition to this fabulous work — it is ‘art of the unexpected’ at its finest,” … “We loved the idea of creating and selling a jigsaw puzzle to heighten awareness of the piece, and the idea of using the proceeds to support our Team Member Relief Fund makes the project even more worthwhile.”

In case you did not know, Pollot is a New York-based artist known for bringing “new life to old art.” He finds unwanted, thrift paintings and adds his own touch, most often pop culture icons and parodies. In doing so, he says he “bridges the divide between classic and pop art.”

Now purchasing a puzzle for a good cause will make anyone feel warm and fuzzy inside. If you want to feel even cozier, then treat yourself to some delicious comfort food as you put your White Castle puzzle together.

For a limited time, White Castle is offering its unique and delicious take on two seasonal favorites — sloppy joes and mac and cheese — all for special low prices.

So, the Sloppy Joe Slider features lean ground beef made with savory onions, tomatoes, and bell peppers for a sweet and tangy flavor. It’s the classic traditional sloppy joe, slider-sized! The Smoky Joe Slider is the Sloppy Joe Slider topped with smoked cheddar cheese and crispy onions. Those looking to spice things up this winter can enjoy the Spicy Joe Slider, topped with spicy jalapeño cheese and jalapeño crisps.

White Castle’s Mac and Cheese Nibblers are cheese-covered macaroni coated with a crave-able crispy batter, making them soft and creamy on the inside and crunchy on the outside. A perfect pair to all three Sloppy Joe Sliders, the Mac and Cheese Nibblers are available in three sizes starting at $1.99: small (five Nibblers), medium (12 Nibblers) or sack (20 Nibblers).

Will your company be around 101 years from now?  Foodservice Solutions® team is here to help you drive top line sales and bottom-line profits. Are you looking a customer ahead? Does your messaging look more like yesterday that tomorrow?  Visit GrocerantGuru.com for more information or contact: Steve@FoodserviceSolutions.us Remember success does leave clues and we just may the clue you need to propel your continued success.