Chick-fil-A Responds to Customers' Cravings With New Hand-Spun Milkshakes

18/05/06 Atlanta-based Chick-fil-A, Inc. is enhancing its dessert menu with the addition of hand-spun Milkshakes. On May 22, the chain will roll out four flavors of Milkshakes: cookies & cream, strawberry, chocolate and vanilla.

"For years, our customers have pleaded for us to add milkshakes to the menu," said Woody Faulk, Chick-fil-A's vice president of brand development. "Nearly 70 percent of the customers we interviewed said they wanted the opportunity to enjoy milkshakes at Chick-fil-A. Yet, the message was loud and clear -- they expected nothing less than the highest quality product from Chick-fil-A, which meant using the finest ingredients and for the shake to be hand-spun."

The new Milkshakes are made from Chick-fil-A's popular "home-style" Icedream®, and are topped with light whipped cream and a maraschino cherry. Premium ingredients, including Oreo® Sandwich Cookies and HERSHEY'S chocolate syrup, guarantee the high level of quality that complements Chick-fil-A's menu. Milkshakes will be offered in a 20 oz. cup and are priced starting at $2.79 each at most locations.

"Today, our overall menu must satisfy both a discerning and demanding customer with more choices," added Faulk. "Our challenge is to add appropriate quality choices while maintaining product leadership with our core menu items in a quick-service setting. These hand-spun Milkshakes, like the recent additions of our new fruit cup, premium coffees, a new chargrilled sandwich, and enhanced breakfast line-up, help us to do this as we continue to offer a menu of choices that balance taste and nutrition."

Before rolling out its new dessert option nationally, Chick-fil-A conducted an extensive year-long evaluation of the new Milkshakes in 26 restaurants in Raleigh and Durham, North Carolina. In a corporate-sponsored survey in the test restaurants, customers rated the hand-spun Milkshakes a 4.6 out of 5 in overall taste. Customers also said the new Milkshakes tasted like authentic ice cream parlor milkshakes, with comments like: "It was the first fast-food milkshake that actually tasted like it was homemade."

Solving the Speed of Service Challenge

Chick-fil-A has been recognized by QSR Magazine as having the "Best Drive-Thru in America" for three of the past four years. In keeping with this distinction, preparation time was a key factor for considering Milkshakes as a new menu item. New equipment, ingredients, packaging and processes were evaluated extensively to ensure that the quality was in keeping with Chick-fil-A's menu profiles, while not compromising speed of service at high-volume drive-thrus or at the front counter.

"One of the biggest challenges we faced when developing Milkshakes was minimizing impact on operational issues, primarily in the area of speed of service," said Brian Wray, who managed Chick-fil-A's Milkshake rollout. "If either is compromised, we run the risk of jeopardizing our relationship with our customers. The last thing we want is to have a great-tasting product that creates long lines in the drive-thru and at the cash register. There is no reason why a customer who does not order a Milkshake should be held up by someone who is purchasing a Milkshake."