Brinker moves virtual brand It’s Just Wings to Chili’s menu

Dive Brief:

Brinker will bring virtual brand It’s Just Wings to Chili’s core menus in a process Brinker CEO Kevin Hochman described as “graduating... to the real world,” on the company’s Q4 2023 earnings call.
It’s Just Wings will be added “prominently” to Chili’s new bar menu, which debuts in September, and as a subsection to the standard dining room menu, Hochman told analysts and investors.
Brinker axed one of its other virtual brands, Maggiano’s Italian Classics, earlier this year as part of an effort to simplify restaurant operations. But the success of It’s Just Wings, and its integration with Chili’s menu, shows it’s possible for virtual brands to grow from marginal sales drivers to more important menu categories.

Dive Insight:

Brinker believes It’s Just Wings can attract trips to Chili’s bar and strengthen the brand’s image as a wings joint, Hochman said. Chili’s plans to strengthen the debut of It’s Just Wings by aligning it with “sports events and viewing occasions” that encourage bar traffic. In Chili’s main dining area, Brinker expects It’s Just Wings to spark add-ons and trade up in appetizers.

“We’ll start with football season and drive the Wings business throughout the year,” Hochman said.

In-store sales will complement the virtual brand’s off-premise sales and offer it a chance for to grow significantly, Hochman said.

“It's Just Wings is one of the largest, if not the largest, virtual brands in the world, and it's likely to get a lot bigger in the for-real restaurant world,” Hochman said.

Brinker is building a “more sophisticated” CRM program in partnership with GALE, a restaurant CRM agency, to encourage trial of It’s Just Wings in store. Brinker will use digital communications to ensure the brand is prominent in the runup to sporting events, when consumers are likely to look for wings.

Last quarter, CFO Joe Taylor said that diner demand for virtual brands has weakened since COVID-19 dining restrictions ended. Phasing virtual brands into hybrid service, where they exist both online and in store, may help restaurants offset such declines in digital engagement. Chuck E. Cheese and Applebee’s both recently added items from their virtual brands to their in-store menus.

Steve Provost, who Hochman credited with developing the It’s Just Wings concept, will retire from Brinker at the end of August. Provost served as CMO and head of innovation at Chili’s from 2017 to 2018, and as Brinker’s chief concept officer from 2019 to June 2020, before returning to his role as president of Maggiano’s Little Italy. He held that role from 2009 to 2018, and from June 2020 onwards, according to his LinkedIn profile.