Case Study

Case Study:

Plant-based Menu Overhaul in a Legacy QSR Chain
Follow the steps:
1. Answer at least one (1) question from each of the four (4) headings below.
2. 700 words in paragraphs under headings and with your conclusion/solution.
3. Copy the case study with your response (solution) in any AI.
4. Ask for the solutions in 150 words each from the top three (3) business consulting companies MBB McKinsey, Boston Consulting Group, Bain & Company.
5. Provide a short reflection (100 words) of your and the consulting companies findings, difference?
6. Then upload and submit your case study answer.

Background
A long-established quick-service restaurant (QSR) chain with thousands of locations globally has relied for decades on a meat-centric menu (burgers, fried chicken, and breakfast sandwiches). Facing a post pandemic surge in consumer interest in healthier, plant-forward eating and growing concern about climate impact, senior leadership commissions research to explore whether the chain has permission to play in the plant-based space. Partnering with an insight firm, the company conducts focus groups and mini-groups with current and lapsed guests to understand attitudes toward plant-based proteins, desired nutritional profiles, sensory expectations, and menu positioning. Research shows mainstream guests are open to plant-based options if they feel indulgent, are competitively priced, and are fully integrated into the main menu rather than segregated as special diet items.

Based on these findings, leadership pilots a plant-based burger and breakfast sandwich in 300 stores across three regions, supported by modest marketing emphasizing flavor and value rather than ideology. Operations must adapt sourcing, kitchen workflow, staff training, and digital menu design while maintaining speed of service and profitability. You are part of the strategy team tasked with evaluating the pilot and recommending whether and how to scale the plant-based portfolio chain wide in a way that aligns with health, sustainability, and financial objectives.

Quantitative and performance results
1. What were the most important performance indicators the QSR chain needed to improve (e.g., same-store sales, customer traffic, profitability, brand equity), and which ones should leadership have prioritized first to demonstrate operational grit in action?
2. How would you measure the success of introducing plant-based core items in terms of operational and financial outcomes (short-term vs. long-term)? Consider metrics such as attachment rate, cannibalization of meat items, food cost percentage, and drive thru times.
3. Imagine you have access to five years of the chains financial and operational data around the plant-based rollout. Which three metrics would you track monthly to determine whether the gritty operational changes (new SKUs, training, layout changes) were actually working, and why?

Cause-and-effect on results
4. Select two major operational moves (for example: adding plant-based proteins to the main grill line, integrating and repeating them in both general and dedicated plant-based sections on the digital and in-store menus). For each, map out the chain from operational decision internal behavior change customer experience measurable business result.
5. To what extent are improved results driven by cost advantages of plant-based items (lower food cost, reduced volatility) versus growth in traffic and check size from new and existing guests seeking healthier or climate-conscious options? How would you attribute impact between these categories using data and observation?
6. If the chain had focused only on adding one token plant-based item without investing in menu design, staff training, or marketing (i.e., check-the-box approach), what different results would you expect to see three years later in terms of plant-based penetration, brand relevance with Gen Z, and overall same-store sales?

Comparing intended vs. actual outcomes
7. For one key initiative in the case (e.g., integrating plant-based items alongside meat items and repeating them in a dedicated plant-forward section), identify the intended result, the actual result, and at least two unintended consequences (positive or negative). How does this illustrate grit (disciplined, data-driven persistence) versus simple persistence?
8. Which result in the pilot (financial, operational, cultural, or brand-related) best validates leaderships insistence on treating plant-based as core, not nichefor instance, improved menu mix, higher brand consideration scores among younger consumers, or margin expansion on signature plant-based items? What evidence from the case supports your argument?
9. Where did operational grit risk backfiring on results (e.g., overcomplicating kitchen workflows, confusing loyal meat-focused guests, increasing waste from new SKUs)? How did the chain manage or fail to manage those risks during the pilot?

Scenario and decision questions
10. Assume key metrics plateau after an initial strong uplift in plant-based sales and brand relevance. As the chief operating officer, what next wave of gritty operational decisions would you make to keep improving results (e.g., new dayparts, limited-time flavors, supply-chain changes, digital menu personalization) without eroding culture or alienating core meat-eating guests?
11. You are a skeptical board member concerned about overinvesting in plant-based given uncertainty about long-term demand. What result-based questions would you demand answers to before approving a global rollout (e.g., payback period by market, sensitivity to ingredient inflation, regional cultural fit, effect on franchisee economics)?
12. If you had to present a one-page operational grit scorecard for this plant-based turnaround, what 68 results or leading indicators would you put on it (for example: plant-based mix of sales, margin per equivalent item, guest satisfaction scores on taste and healthfulness, Gen Z consideration, kitchen throughput, and food waste rate), and how would you justify each?

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