What Makes an Iconic LTO?

What makes an Iconic LTO? A limited time offering in layman’s terms,  An LTO can drive traffic, can refresh a brand, can launch new strategies and can engage new trial in consumers.      

       Recently driving by Del Taco® I noticed the Crispy Shrimp Taco promotional banner, a seasonal customer favorite and a top selling item in Del Taco’s long history. 

 

     It is an instant reminder of the value of a successful LTO.  Looking back in 2005 when I was developing the Crispy Shrimp Taco for Del Taco® as a consultant, it was a pivotal menu item in QSR’s stake in the seafood game.  Fast Casual had proven to sell wonderful seafood. Rubio’s Fresh Mexican Grill® and Wahoo’s Fish Tacos® were early innovators in fast casual seafood.   Seafood was still considered a risk and had had limited success at Fast Food chains.  Shrimp in particular as it is an allergen concern for 2% of the population. Del Taco® had tried fish tacos with marginal success. Launching a shrimp taco had many strategic advantages.  First and foremost is the unbelievable global appeal of shrimp.  Shrimp is the highest consumed seafood across the globe which means lower risk.  With lower risk to the consumer comes more trial opportunities new and loyal customers.  It was also boosted by patrons observing religious holiday of Lent. 

     Of course the biggest hurdle to the developing a shrimp taco is the price. When selling a 6” taco for less than $2 dollars, every penny counts.  Add fluffy flour tortilla, fresh cabbage, cool creamy sauce, salsa, lime wedge and packaging, there is not much left for the star of this taco creation: the wonderful sweet shrimp.    

    When I envisioned sweet, succulent, shrimp in a light crispy coating,  I did not have bay shrimp in mind.  But the test kitchen was full of sample upon sample of bay shrimp with a variety of seasoning, coatings and topping.  I exhausted the gamut of sales reps for protein sources and batter systems, all of which had a good point, Price, Price Price. With an original consumer target price of $1.59,  Traditional R & D thinking is to back into a price point but Innovative R & D thinking asks a different set of questions.  How do I innovate value in and price down?  And so the testing began.  

        Research and development is just as much identifying what does not work as what does.  Eating a couple too many bay shrimp tacos  and many flaws were apparent. The prototype tacos were messy to eat as the tiny bay shrimp invariably escaped from the taco and land straight onto your lap if in a car or the wrapper if you’re lucky.  But the eating quality never delivered as the breading to shrimp ratio was not ideal, there was always more breading to shrimp meat. When the tests do not provide the answers you want, do as Don Draper does: Change the Conversation. (ala award winning TV series “Mad Men”)

Actor Jon Hamm as Don Draper

New Conversation:  What is the minimum number of shrimp needed to make a great taco?     Answer:  5-7 shrimp

The next challenge was to develop a coating that made 5-7 shrimp be as voluminous and voluptuous as possible without being “bready” or heavy.  This was done through rethinking the breading system. Without giving away proprietary secrets,  the first round launch had a butterflied shrimp and an innovative breading system covered every nook and cranny, encased and sealed in the delicious flavor of the shrimp.  The butterflying of the shrimp increased the surface area and made every bite a perfect ratio of seasoned crispy crunchy coating giving way to firm yet moist and delicate shrimp meat.  Contrasted with the crunch of thinly shredded cabbage, cool creamy sauce and a blast of fresh lime and salsa.  In 2006, the DEL TACO® Crispy Shrimp Taco left a crave-able stamp of approval that resulted as Del Taco’s top selling menu LTO item in their 30 year history, topping out on the menu sales mix at 13%. Remarkably with the innovative design and durability of the LTO, it was turned around from bench-top to store test in less than 90 days and to chain wide launch within 180 days.  Quote (LAKE FOREST, CA) Feb 17 2010  Del Taco® John Cappasola VP of Marketing “One of the most requested LTO’s of all time.” added Cappasola “Consumers know that Del Taco® is the place for great tacos and unbelievable value and our Crispy Shrimp Taco really delivers”.   So popular they gave it its own Facebook page.

      As is often with products, the ingredients may change in a constant quest of lower costs and profitability, the shrimp is no longer butterflied.  While it lost some of the textural impact and increased value that butterflying provided it is still a solid performer for 8 years now, an iconic LTO. 

An LTO with a healthy nutritional halo and big flavor that has stood the test of time as this is a constantly evolving target.  

 

A recent nutritional comparison made up of QSR Menu items, the Crispy Shrimp taco leading in three categories was lowest in calories, carbs and sodium putting this LTO in a category of its own before its time, Iconic.

     Shortly after the launch and success of this Iconic LTO Del Taco® was acquired by Sagittarius Brands then owners of Captain D’s Seafood® chain for an unreported $400m plus.

      “Gina Galvan’s firm developed the shrimp taco for our company and it was very successful.  She is very innovative and truly understands how products must perform in a quick service kitchen. I have been impressed with her creativity while at the same time understanding the need for simplicity. Her creative tailors the product to the production environment. Gina can take a product idea and turn it into cash.” Quote Ron Petty at Sagittarius Brands (then CEO at Del Taco 2006)   

Gina Galvan’s Mood for Food Brand Group uses, ingenuity, insight and innovation to create Iconic LTOs.  An Iconic LTO can anchor a marketing calendar.  An Iconic LTO allows a company to negotiate pricing, leverage suppliers, build inventory, take advantage of limited supply and launch for biggest bang for your buck.  

    Since Del Taco® successful launch of the Crispy Shrimp Taco, seafood has become commonplace at QSR.  The Del Taco® Crispy Shrimp Taco; an Iconic LTO available every February since 2006 is back again ...go out and try it today!

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