Dive Brief:
- IHOP is adding a pancake of the month feature to its menu. Starting on Feb. 1, “a new flavor will be available as a full stack, side, or as part of a pancake combo for the calendar month,” according to a press release published Monday.
- To encourage customers to try the pancakes, IHOP will give 10 loyalty points, called PanCoins, to customers who order the pancake of the month twice or more in one month, and 100 points to customers who order the monthly special pancakes every month in a given year.
- The program offers novelty to guests and gives IHOP a method to test the reception to new pancake recipes for potential inclusion in its permanent menu or in other LTOs.
Dive Insight:
IHOP will serve chocolate strawberry pancakes as the first of the monthly pancake options, start on February 1. The dish consists of “chocolate chocolate chip pancakes” topped with cheesecake mousse, chocolate syrup, whipped cream and chocolate chips. The brand will serve it “while supplies last.”
According to IHOP’s rewards page, customers can redeem three of its loyalty points for a short stack of pancakes, which makes the loyalty aspect of the monthly pancake program a significant discount for high-frequency customers. Those ordering the pancake of the month twice earn enough points to redeem about three and one-third short stacks, which would normally take $50 of total spend.
Last year, IHOP significantly renovated its menu, adding new categories and some dishes that were on the menu prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Arthur Carl II, vice president of culinary, IHOP said the brand’s “culinary team got creative in the kitchen, and developed a lineup of new flavors.” The chain did not immediately respond to a request to share the lineup of new flavors for the remainder of 2024.
In 2022, IHOP launched its rewards program, which it calls the International Bank of Pancakes, in which one point was equal to about one pancake in rewards.
