Cheesy Gordita Crunch

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Taco Bell: When You Don’t Have Time for Freshness
Cheesy Gordita Crunch
Last modified on December 9, 2015 at 9:43 pm
In order to better serve its customers, Taco Bell stopped cooking its meat.

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On December 13, 2015, Cheesy Gordita Crunch commented on Clover Food Lab: Fast Food That’s Good For You :

Great write-up on Clover! You clearly link the operational and business strategies. iPhone ordering and automated plant watering free up employees to make the food faster; local ingredients and a willingness to run out of ingredients lead to delicious, healthy food.

In reading this, I had a few questions:
1) With high wages and lots of technology (and technology costs), what does that mean for Clover’s food prices? Are they high?
2) Are some customers frustrated by the lack of consistency in food? (No set menu, changes in recipes, certain things running out).
3) With regards to your final question about whether the Clover strategy could be replicated, I have an additional question. Are there many customers with demand for Clover’s customer promise / value proposition outside Boston? It makes sense that there is a customer base in a health conscious city like Boston, but I’d be curious if there is similar interest in other areas.

On December 13, 2015, Cheesy Gordita Crunch commented on IKEA: Redefining the Market to Achieve Success :

Awesome summary of the Ikea operating model. I hadn’t really thought about how disruptive Ikea really was to the furniture market, but you’re right; Ikea follows a completely new business model and operating model. You laid out the benefits of the combined warehouse/retail space quite clearly, and I can see how those strategies (along with the advanced inventory management system) are well-aligned with a low-price/relatively high-quality strategy.

Another interesting aspect of the Ikea model is the self-build nature of the furniture. Some people have suggested that this actually makes people like their furniture more. I wonder if Ikea intended this effect or if it is just a fortunate by-product of their strategy!
http://www.npr.org/2013/02/06/171177695/why-you-love-that-ikea-table-even-if-its-crooked
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IKEA_effect

On December 13, 2015, Cheesy Gordita Crunch commented on CoCo, a Taiwanese treat with Global mind :

First of all, I love CoCo. I went every day for a year, no joke.

With respect to the quality value proposition, I would be interested to hear from management about who they see as their competitors. Are there other bubble tea chains? Or are they only competing with small, one-store type shops? If the latter, the quality strategy makes a ton of sense to me. Consistent product is one of the major benefits to patronizing a chain. I didn’t realize how much training took place! As part of the quality strategy, do they also use more technical equipment than other bubble tea shops? I know CoCo uses some fancy mixing and cup sealing equipment, but I don’t know how that compares to other bubble tea shops. That could be another operating/business model alignment.

With respect to innovation, I’m impressed. 30% of new products each year is a lot! I’m curious if each CoCo location serves the same products or if it varies based on customer taste. (I know that many fast food restaurants vary their menus in various cities and countries). Also, how different are the new products? Do the new products require new equipment or additional training for the workers?