Adapting its innovation strategy for “the new normal,” On the Border
Creating and introducing new menu items can be a dangerous endeavor. When a pandemic enters the picture, foodservice managers have to learn a whole new system.
CEO of On the Border Mexican Grill & Cantina Edithann Ramey remarked, “It’s been an unprecedented, incredible impact to our industry.” “We had to shut down the dining room restaurant with wine, food, and service and prepare for a completely new manner to take care of our customers overnight. We had to overhaul our service model completely. From a menu standpoint, there has been a change—we had to revise our menu. We’ve added some new offerings, such as pre-made drinks that we can now take out, and we’ve modified our labor model to fit this new normal. There’s something fresh every day because we’re always coming up with new deals, pertinent packages, and methods to improve community service.”
Cheesy Queso Enchiladas, Texas Queso Fries, Melted Queso Fundido, and Cheese-Smothered Steak Fajitas are among the dishes offered on the recently-unveiled Queso Fest menu at On the Border. The restaurant’s aim to rejuvenate its brand includes this innovation, which, according to Ms. Ramey, has not been derailed despite being put on pause following the coronavirus.
“We are entering this storm with a lot of momentum,” she stated. Therefore, we had created these innovation mini windows all year long as part of our strategy. On the Border is well-known for a few things, including its limitless tacos, enchiladas, and value platforms that incorporate some degree of fresh innovation.
However, we have also been developing new platforms that have novel flavors and inventive ideas. More than ever on the Border. One of our largest new events was Queso Fest; we had a few more planned, but they have been put on hold. Since they are an integral component of our plan to remain relevant in a highly competitive climate, we still anticipate their arrival. Other platforms are now being introduced all year long and center around fresh cuisine concepts that draw inspiration from our border-style Mexican perspective on food. They are therefore on hold for the time being, but we fully plan to return with new menus and the newest cuisine as soon as this is concluded. From a broad platform standpoint, we may be at a standstill, but even so, we’re making an effort to maintain some degree of innovation while navigating this chaos.
Box lunches and Family Meals are now exclusively available for takeaway at On the Border in an effort to continue being creative in satisfying customer needs. While the Family Meals serve four to five people and contain dishes like enchiladas, tacos, or fajitas delivered with chips and salsa, Mexican rice, and a choice of beans, the box lunches have sandwiches and salads paired with chips, salsa, and a cookie.
Ms. Ramey stated, “Obviously, everyone has adopted the same ‘come pick up your food’ model, so those who can offer something interesting will probably succeed better than those who do not.” We have introduced new lunch box and family bundles that include enchiladas and fajitas along with a dessert and appetizer. Next, we are preparing some cold-prepared meals that you could purchase over the phone, take home, store for the week, and possibly even prepare on Friday. Therefore, even in this temporary setting, our chefs are still considering ways to remain current as we bide our time until we resume our regular schedule of events.
The restaurant is also looking into potential bundles that include homemade meal kits and pantry essentials like rice and beans that are currently hard to obtain in grocery shops.
Rice is among the items you are unable to obtain. People have hoarded, making it impossible to obtain that staple, according to Ms. Ramey. Thus, rice and beans may be included in a bundle. After that, we’re looking at bundles that are more focused on foods that you wouldn’t pick up hot but could bake later.
We were talking about a make-your-own-enchilada kit among other things. Furthermore, I believe that most people want us to prepare their meals, but how can we make anything so straightforward that it still tastes good three or four days later rather than while it’s hot? We’re only considering new methods for consumers to appreciate the brand and simplify their life. Ms. Ramey solicited advice from working mothers, who are among her peers, in order to build these new products.
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“I get a lot of inspiration for our next steps from our focus group, which consists of four or five working mothers,” Ms. Ramey added. “My spouse works from home, I work as a mother, and we homeschool our kids. During social happy hours, I’ve been chatting to a lot of working mothers, and they’ve told me they’re tired of cooking and that they’re not used to it. They’ve had enough. They also talk about how challenging it is to teach their kids while working as a mother. Mothers now have to take much different care of themselves, even as On the Border has altered our service model and the way we care for people. These moms aren’t used to having to cook so much, so we want to help them.”
Ms. Ramey stated that On the Border has been surviving the “madness” because of the company’s pivoting efforts, which have included innovation and an emphasis on takeout.
Delivery and to-go business has increased as a percentage of our overall revenue. It’s our only business now, but it used to be a lot smaller part of our company,” she remarked. However, compared to before, it is significantly higher. We are performing better than we anticipated, so it gives us hope that everything will work out.
Looking ahead, On the Border anticipates being able to continue serving its clientele during the epidemic and reorienting its strategy in the upcoming months.
“After this is over, we still intend to open our doors, and we’re very dedicated to continuing to keep the brand alive and innovate in unique ways so we can weather this storm,” Ms. Ramey stated. “And after that, you can anticipate more flavors, Border Bites, and snacks coming soon. Our DNA and combos are heavily influenced by tacos, which we’ve been experimenting with to make interesting and novel with various flavors. Our innovation pipeline will undoubtedly get back up and have a lot of of new fun flavors so people can come back and visit us inside the restaurant.”