Friends of Branded!
Happy Saturday and I hope you had a great week.
I no longer like and in fact, I try to avoid using the word “easy,” b/c let me tell you something you already know, nothing is easy.
Maybe it never was easy, but things seem to be just a little bit harder nowadays. As Branded’s “Finance Guy,” did the past week of market volatility make things more challenging? That’s possible of course, but I prefer to draw upon my inner Mark Twain.
For anyone that’s had a video call with me, you know that a picture of Mark Twain is on the wall over my right shoulder (along with more baseball hats that can fit on a windowsill directly behind me).
I (obviously) enjoy the writings and specifically the quotes from Mr. Twain, which is the pen name of one Samuel Langhorne Clemens, a celebrated American writer, humorist, and essayist. He’s best known for his novels The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1876) and Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1884), which some call the “Great American Novel.” The picture of Mr. Twain sits up and above my right shoulder primarily b/c of my apparently being incapable of writing shorter newsletters. The picture is a daily reminder of something I aspire to do, when I have more time. 😊
Schatz and I had the privilege of recording an episode of our podcast with George Felix, the Chief Marketing Officer of Chili’s Grill & Bar last week. It was such a fun episode, and I can’t wait for it to be released soon.
My partner and Branded’s CMO, Julie Zucker, would be less than happy with me if I front-ran the episode with Mr. Felix, and since I’m afraid of our Queen Z, I’m not going to mess around here. However, I feel at least a little comfortable saying that despite being only a few years younger than I am, Chili’s is one of America’s hottest restaurant brands right now!
In January 2025, Chili’s parent company, Brinker International, announced that the casual dining chain’s sales increased an incredible 31% for the previous quarter. This was Chili’s third-straight quarter of double-digit sales growth. But this inclusion of Chili’s in the Top of the Fold is NOT about its stock price or financial performance. It’s about how this brand is loved! Big time!
I’m admittedly taking a little risk here (with my partner Julie), but on the podcast, it just wasn’t possible to NOT talk about and also (sorry) sing the Chili’s jingle - “I want my baby back, baby back, back ribs” which is officially known at “Chili’s (Welcome to Chili’s).” This jingle was first broadcast in 1996, it’s made a cameo in Austin Powers "The Spy Who Shagged Me,” and NSYNC even recorded their own version of the song.
Most recently, the ‘90s R&B group, Boyz II Men, did a collaboration with Chili’s which was beyond appropriate as many people think this group sang the song anyway.
Chilis baby back ribs + Boyz II Men
My reason for highlighting Chili’s and its 30-year-old jingle is to address the role jingles play in the restaurant industry’s approach to advertising and specifically the changing landscape.
The restaurant industry doesn’t have any exclusivity when it comes to advertising and the shift in the role traditional commercials are playing. I’m also not going to suggest that commercials aren’t still a critical part of marketing strategies b/c they most certainly are. Allow me to quantify this for you. In 1967, a 30-second ad cost approximately $37,000. By 1985, the price had increased to $525,000. In 1995, a 30-second spot rose to $1.15mm, it nearly doubled by 2000 to $2.1mm and in 2025, some 30-second spots were sold for over $8mm.
Selling ad-space for the Super Bowl is a good gig, if you can get it! 😊
Yes, commercials still matter, but the form of their delivery and the impact they have has changed dramatically as a result of a combination of changing consumer behaviors and technology advancements. The rise of digital platforms has also led to the decline in traditional television commercials as consumers spend substantially more time on streaming services and social media platforms.
Don’t hate the players, hate the game.
This change in consumer behavior has led to advertisers (by necessity) allocating more time and attention (read: money) to digital advertising. Branded continues to pound the table that despite there being a surge, if not saturation of technology for our industry, digital marketing, the personalization of ads, and marketing that is far more precise and targeted isn’t a “nice to have,” but are now “table-stakes” and are critical.
You want to win the guest? You want a greater share of their wallet?
Operators, you must embrace digital and social media marketing. The evidence is clear that prioritizing digital marketing, including a strong focus on social media platforms, is a recipe (pun intended) for success.
Instagram is the restaurant industry’s go-to, and I dare say essential social media platform, but TikTok, and Facebook are also important for attracting, engaging, and retaining guests.
Restaurants are enhancing the guest experience through personalization and that specifically includes guest interactions by leveraging tailored push notifications and marketing e-mails based on past behaviors.
Back when Branded made its investment into one of the market’s leading kiosk companies, Bite, I had become convinced that the kiosk was to QSR cashiers as E-ZPass was to New York’s tollbooths. My young daughter has never seen a human at a tollbooth and I’m not sure if she’s going to remember a human at a QSR checkout (although I have no doubt that she’s going to remember the guest ambassadors that are now on the customer-side of the counter and engaging with guests in a far more hospitable, and less transactional way).
You don’t have to take my word for it about the importance of kiosks for quick-service and limited-service restaurants, b/c you can simply take a look at this article from our friends at QSR on Why Shake Shack’s Kiosks are Going to Be a Game-Changer (thank you QSR for backing me up here).
With kiosks and specifically Bite in our portfolio, today, it’s digital signage and menu boards that has our attention.
It’s with high conviction, thanks to our network of operators (our army of subject matter experts) that has us convinced that restaurants need a digital signage upgrade, and this is going to be a big focus for 2025 (and for the years ahead).
The adoption of digital menus and signage to enhance guest engagement and streamline operations is now mission critical and this isn’t just about the modernization or digitalization of the dining experience. This move is about the need for operators to align with the industry’s move towards more dynamic and experiential advertising strategies. While it’s a little risky in today’s environment (just ask Wendy’s CEO, Kirk Tanner), I’ll fully own that digital menu boards and interactive displays give operators the opportunity for revenue management including real-time updates and promotions (please note - I didn’t use the words represented by the acronym, “DP”). 😊
Similar to how we got behind Bite in the kiosk arena, that’s what we’re doing with our newest portfolio company, Vistify, the dynamic on-brand menu board and digital signage company that we believe is the leading and a best-in-class operator-centric platform.
I could say Vistify is best, but I don’t like using the “est” and besides, Homes.com has me convinced that we’re not allowed to say such things in support of companies. 😊
Going back to the top of this Top of the Fold, I feel fortunate to have grown up at a time when jingles thrived on both TV and radio. Chili’s is a favorite of mine with its baby back ribs, but for me, the OG jingle is from Oscar Meyer, and it was from its jingle that I learned how to spell the name of my lunch meat at a young age.
I want to give a big thanks to Mr. Andy Lambros, the 4-year-old, that starred in this commercial from 1973 - My bologna has a first name.
In the category of too much information (like that's a thing with me), the commercial was originally meant to be sung by a group of children in a playground, but b/c of their ages, the commercial would have been cut among them so that no one kid would need to memorize the entire song. The plan changed on the day of the filming with the director asking the children if any of them could sing the entire jingle straight from the beginning to the end. Young Mr. Lambros answered the call and he, just like our Hospitality Hangout podcast, did it in one take.
If my youth was the golden age of jingles, then the first two decades of the 21st century was the decline of the jingle and the rise of digital. The earworm was no longer the objective, and it was replaced by brands emphasizing visuals, storytelling, and influencer marketing.
When it comes to current marketing strategies, I’m finding the first half of the current decade to be something spectacular because of the trend of nostalgia marketing. Some restaurants, and I’ll start this decent and the landing of this section just as I started it, with our friends from Chili’s, and how they're bringing back and remixing old jingles with modern twists. In this current age of digital marketing, full length jingles are not necessarily making a comeback, but short-form audio hooks are the new ear worm.
Think about McDonald’s and its “ba-da-ba-ba-baaa” and my favorite version of this sonic logo with Brian Cox. These five non-words in a row, converted the McDonald’s jingle “I’m Lovin it,” (a slogan from 2003) into a sonic logo. If you’d like to learn more about the history of McDonald’s most popular jingle, you can do so here: I'm Lovin' It: The History Of McDonald's Most Popular Jingle
As I wrote at the very top, nothing is easy right now, so I want to end this week’s Top of the Fold with the links to a few commercials. These ads caught my eye, made me laugh, and reminded me why commercials may not be the show, but they may in fact be even better. I’ve made sure to give attribution to the folks that brought these ads to my attention.
You want to have a laugh, give the links below a click (they’re all safe and are just LinkedIn posts from a few folks I enjoy following).
- Jesse Cole - Liquid Death + Kegs for Pregs
- Boardroom - Puma brings back Afroman's Because I Got High
- Institute - California Pizza Kitchen Turns 40
Tomorrow kicks off the Restaurant Leadership Conference 2025, one of Branded’s favorite events each year and I want to thank our friends, partners, and the good people at Informa Connect for their continuing to bring our community together each year for this leading event.
I have more to say about this event in the Shoutout section, but I wanted to close this week with gratitude to not only the folks at Informa, but to our corporate partners: Ayden; DoorDash; DIRECTV Foodbuy; Dinova; and Qu as well as our participants in the inaugural Influencer Row: Give an Ovation Podcast; ChatGTM by Inc Tank GTM; The RTG Podcast; and Marketing Bites: Restaurant Growth Unwrapped by Nift.
We appreciate this entire crew and look forward to RLC being a fantastic show! For those rallying to the conference, I’ll see you in Arizona!
It takes a village.
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As Branded returns tomorrow with enthusiasm and energy for INFORMA's Restaurant Leadership Conference, I’m feeling a little nostalgic and decided to go old school for this week’s shoutouts!
The FIRST shoutout goes to Branded’s very first investment, PourMyBev the world leader in self-pour beverage solutions (I didn’t say “the best,” I said the “world leader”). 😊
This week, our partners at PourMyBev released its 2024 Impact Report, showcasing another year of significant achievements and insights powered by data from 567 self-pour locations.
This year marks a pivotal moment in the growth and evolution of the company as it fully transitions to PourMyBev, the new parent company of PourMyBeer. As the industry continues to develop, PourMyBev has expanded its offerings from beer to a fully integrated ecosystem that includes wine, cocktails, coffee, and non-alcoholic beverages. PourMyBev unites these under one innovative platform to enhance both operator efficiencies and the guest experience.
Please join the entire Branded Team as we congratulate our friends at PourMyBev as they embrace the future of the self-pour industry.
You can explore the full report and learn more about this company’s journey and innovations here: 2024 Report - The Impact of PourMyBev in the Self-Pour Beverage Market
The SECOND shoutout this week goes to our second investment, our friends at Chowly and a 90-day assessment of the Chowly Platform.
Yes, Chowly finished the month of March with its BEST MONTH ever (a 100% month-over-month growth in Q1), but the team is already expecting to set another high watermark this month.
Chowly is the leading solution for SMBs to optimize your digital storefront, boost online orders, and create new revenue streams.
I invite you to watch the full video and see how the Chowly Platform can fuel your profitability: Chowly Platform - let's sizzle!
The THIRD and final shoutout this week goes again to our corporate partners and Influencer Row participants at this year’s Restaurant Leadership Conference 2025.
At this point, you’re either going to the event or not going to the event, so this isn’t a sales pitch, but a statement – this is one of the most value-added and tactical shows of the year for our industry.
Readers of the H^2 know Branded’s views on conferences (these in-person events are important) and on the fragmentation of our industry (among the most fragmented with over 70% of US restaurants being independents and SMBs).
This event brings executives from across the industry with varied backgrounds, experiences, and expertise. The conference is of course an opportunity to catch-up with old friends and to make new ones, but it’s also an opportunity to meet with many of the industry’s key decision-makers.
As Branded’s “Finance Guy,” I’ll let the numbers speak for themselves when it comes to this event with a few “fast facts” and a breakdown of the participants from the restaurant industry.
For anyone looking to engage and explore which industry events are right for you and your company, please give me a call.
These events aren’t inexpensive and that includes both time and money. Branded is an active conference attendee and we also work hard to amplify the experience of our friends and partners. We’d be thrilled to discuss how we can amplify your conference experience.
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Branded invites readers of the H^2 that are interested in learning more about our portfolio companies, and investment strategies to become part of our Access Hospitality Network.
This week I want to highlight our portfolio company, Mr Bing, the market’s leading East Asian Street sauces and bold flavors company!
In light of the current trade environment, I want to share a few important certifications that Mr Bing has secured or can point to. All the icons below are important, but one struck me as particularly important at this time!
Away from the “Made in America” icon, I also want to highlight some of the recent activities and “wins” that Mr Bing is driving.
As you’ll see below, Mr Bing has been a busy binger!
First and foremost, we love when our partners launch a new stock keeping unit (aka: “SKUs”) and that’s exactly what Mr Bing has done! The company launched its Asian BBQ sauce and is now available in Sprouts, QFC (Kroger), and Harmons, and very soon in Stop & Shop, Smart & Final, Key Foods, Hannaford, Lowe’s, and Food City!
If you’re judged (in part) by the company you keep, I want to now share some new friends and partners of Mr Bing.
Our good friends at California Pizza Kitchen (one of the amazing commercials I shared above in celebration of its 40th year) has made Mr Bing a permanent branded menu.
Our new friends at Taco John's have a limited-time-offer (“LTO”) slated for this summer and my younger brother’s favorite coffee & donut chain (to be announced soon) will be testing some items with Mr Bing as well.
Finally, I might love me some Big Chicken, but I can celebrate the fact that a most famous southern chicken chain is working on a Mr Bing item for 2026.
Mr Bing’s friends at Beef 'O' Brady's Family Sports Restaurant have added a Mr Bing Chili Crisp Salmon to its menu at its 125 locations. I want to give a special thank you to Beef ‘O’ Brady’s parent FSC Franchise Co and its restaurant procurement partners, Restaurant Partners Procurement.
In the extremely competitive world of Sriracha sauce, a big win for Mr Bing was Eurest USA and HMSHost switching to Mr Bing Sriracha nationwide as their primary Sriracha brand. Winner, winner, Mr Bing Sriracha dinner!
When I say, “it takes a village,” in the case of Mr Bing and the good people over at HMSHost, we want to thank one of our friend’s and partners, Scott Sanders of Foodbuy (also a Branded corporate partner, see how this all comes together) for helping to make this magic happen with his connections to HMSHost’s corporate chefs Jeff Steelman & Chris Windus.
If you’d like to explore opportunities with Mr Bing, bing-it-on, and please feel free to contact me directly!
As a reminder, Gen Z and Millennials love condiments and 1 in 4 say they bring their own condiments to restaurants!
Checkout this article here: Fortunate - Gen Z and Millennials Love Condiments (especially hot sauce)
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Featured Episode: How Moe’s is Winning the Hospitality Game: Trends, Transformation & Insider Strategies with Mike Smith
In this episode of Hospitality Hangout, Michael Schatzberg, “The Restaurant Guy,” and Jimmy Frischling, “The Finance Guy,” are joined by Mike Smith, Chief Brand Officer of Moe’s Southwest Grill, for a high-energy conversation packed with hospitality insights, real-world hospitality stories, and brand-driven restaurant transformation.
Mike shares how Moe’s is leaning into emerging hospitality trends, executing bold hospitality strategies, and driving hospitality success in a competitive landscape. From the power of brand to the importance of connecting players across the industry, this episode is a masterclass for hospitality insiders looking to stay ahead. Tune in and discover what it takes to lead in the evolving world of hospitality.
Listen now and stay ahead of the game! 🎧
Tune into the episode and subscribe to our channel here: Hospitality Hangout With Mike Smith
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That’s it for today!
See you next week, same bat-time, same bat-channel.
It takes a village!
Jimmy Frischling
Branded Hospitality Ventures
jimmy@brandedstrategic.com
235 Park Ave South, 4th Fl | New York, NY 10003
Branded Hospitality Ventures ("Branded") is an investment and solutions platform at the intersection of foodservice, technology, innovation and capital. As experienced hospitality owners and operators, Branded brings value to its partners through investment, strategic counsel, and its deep industry expertise and connections.
Learn more about Branded here: Branded At-A-Glance