Arby’s carves out a niche among meat lovers
Fast- food chain says it’s proud of ‘ big- meat, high- protein’ menu
In an age when fast- food restaurants feel pressured to tout healthy fare, one chain stands unabashedly apart with a focus on what it perceives heartland diners want most: meat.
Lots of it, and not just the roast beef sandwiches that gave Arby’s its start 53 years ago. Now, with the advertising tag line of “We have the meats,” it offers everything from poultry to pork.
“Our brand has always been about big- meat, high- protein sandwiches,” Arby’s President Rob Lynch said. “We probably were not doing as good a job of promoting that. We got caught in the rut of being just a roast beef place.”
An emphasis on meat looks like a winning strategy. Last year, Arby’s says it saw annual U. S. sales of $ 3.7 billion, up from $ 3.5 billion in 2015. At the same time, sales at restaurants open at least a year rose 3.8% last year compared to the year before.
It’s an even sharper turnaround when viewed by its recent past. In 2008, the chain bought Wendy’s, which proved to be a disaster. Three years later, with sales at $ 3.1 billion, Wendy’s/ Arby’s Group sold Arby’s to Roark Capital Group in Atlanta, its current owners.
Arby’s takes a no- apologies approach to its menu. To fend off fast- food critics and freshen its image, some major chains promote items that offer a counterpoint to their grease bombs.
Burger King sells sliced apples. McDonald’s serves a kale salad. KFC offers grilled, not just its namesake fried, chicken. Taco Bell has a “Fresco” option that replaces mayonnaise- based sauces, cheeses and other higher- calorie condiments with pico de gallo. Before spokesman Jared Fogle went to prison in a sex scandal, Subway plugged its sandwiches as a way to lose weight. Lynch doesn’t buy it. “Some of our competitors have struggled the last few years. They’re trying to be everything to everyone,” he explained. “We’re sticking with our strategy.”
Arby’s is squarely back in the quickservice restaurant sandwich category, a segment of the industry in which visits increased by 7% in the year ending June 2017 compared to a year ago, according to the NPD Group.
Arby’s offers sandwiches with brisket, Angus steak and Greek- inspired gyros. Arby’s also started upping its limitedtime offers, including venison sandwiches during hunting season, the Italian pork roast known as porchetta and, for last month’s Game of Thrones season finale, smoked turkey legs.
The downside is the calorie and fat counts that come with a meat- centric menu. For example, an Arby’s Bourbon BBQ Brisket Sandwich has 720 calories and 39 grams of fat, and the Arby’s Reuben sandwich has 680 calories and 31 grams of fat.
“We’re never going to be a salad place,” Lynch said. “We may offer salad, which we do ... but that’s not what makes us special or unique.”