Dive Brief:
- Firehouse Subs is bringing back its complimentary Hot Sauce Bar and announcing its return via a marketing campaign, according to a company release.
- The marketing campaign will include three national TV commercials, social media, out-of-home billboards and digital advertising. In addition, a select number of restaurants will be adorned with a plaque proclaiming “I Brought It Back” to recognize the super fans who led the charge to reestablish the Hot Sauce Bar.
- The return of the QSR chain’s 13-sauce condiment bar comes after a four-year absence. The chain removed the feature from its restaurants in March 2020 as the pandemic hit but has brought it back after significant fan backlash.
Dive Insight:
In case you haven’t heard, spicy is in. Indeed, 85% of Americans now use hot sauce in their meals, according to a national survey from Wired Research cited by Firehouse Subs, and, as such, the chain is returning to the action.
The Hot Sauce Bar’s return is being heralded with a multichannel marketing campaign that includes a commercial depicting a couple eating dinner at a fancy restaurant. Upon realizing the restaurant doesn’t have a hot sauce bar, the patron gets upset, ultimately demanding access to “at least” 13 flavors of hot sauce to use at his discretion. He eventually tries to lead the rest of the patrons in a chant demanding hot sauce to his date’s obvious embarrassment.
“Over the past few years, we've heard from countless guests on social channels, by email and even through handwritten letters begging for the return of our Hot Sauce Bar,” stated Dena vonWerssowetz, Firehouse Subs’ chief marketing officer, in a release. “Our fans are passionate and this complimentary addition of the Hot Sauce Bar delivers a customized, flavorful experience that remains unmatched.”
The Hot Sauce Bar features 13 sauces, each labeled with a heat scale from one to ten. The flavors range from a Datil Pepper Sauce that boasts a subtle sweetness and tangy kick to a Sizzlin’ Scorpion sauce that features scorpion and habanero peppers. The lineup also includes familiar brands, including Tabasco, Frank’s Red Hot and Cholula. The sauces can be added within the restaurant and requested in online orders.
Earlier this year, Firehouse Subs adopted a multi-agency roster model to handle its marketing as it looked to achieve greater scale and stand out amid an increasingly crowded QSR sandwich market. The roster now includes Orchard, which handles lead creative duties, and Omnicom’s PHD, and its data-driven Omni platform, for media. Other appointments include Quality Meats (handling activations and partnerships), 500 Degrees (in-restaurant merchandising and on-premise experiences), Jones Knowles Ritchie (design) and ICR (public relations).
Firehouse Subs, which has been owned by Restaurant Brands International (RBI) since 2021, opened its first locations outside North America last year and is now looking to bring the brand to the Middle East. RBI saw system-wide sales increase 5.0% year-over-year in Q2 2024, with Firehouse Subs notching 3.3% growth.
