Dive Brief:
- Shake Shack will serve up a fine dining experience at select restaurants across the country beginning Monday as part of its White Truffle Menu, the company announced Wednesday.
- Customers can reserve a table at 10 Shake Shack restaurants to partake in a $20 per person prix fixe tasting menu between Feb. 27 and March 2.
- This marketing event follows the release of the limited-time White Truffle Menu, which launched Feb. 10.
Dive Insight:
The White Truffle Burger is part of Shake Shack’s strategy to serve an elevated, affordable menu item rather than relying on steep discounting like fast food chains do, CEO Randi Garutti said during the company’s year-end earnings call.
“We want to capture that trade-down and that person who says, ‘You know what, for $9.99 or less, I can get a White Truffle Burger that I could never get at any fast-food-type restaurant,’ Garutti said. “While that's an elevated experience for that style, it's a great value and continues to position us as I think the leader in that affordable opportunity to just have something great.”
The company also plans to have a rotation of LTOs to boost frequency, and to test new items throughout the year, such as new packaging, caffeinated lemonades and mini shakes, Garutti said. The chain plans to launch a couple of plant-based options this year also, including a non-dairy chocolate shake and a new Veggie Shack Burger, which contains mushrooms, farro, quinoa, sweet potatoes, carrots and more. The burger was developed at the chain’s test location in the West Village in New York, and Garutti said it will be tested by a wider audience later this year.
