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The name alone, Red Lobster, instills feelings that you are about to eat some delicious and healthy food.
Millennials seems to agree.
According to businessinsider.com, “Red Lobster has made surprising gains with an unlikely customer demographic: millennials.
The chain was named the top restaurant choice among 18- to 24-year-olds in a recent survey by Nation’s Restaurant News that included 173 other brands. Since going private, the company has started catering its menu to new food trends with the additions of wild-caught Alaska Sockeye Salmon, lobster tacos, and new flavors like chimichurri and spicy Tennessee bourbon shrimp.
Red Lobster has also increased the size of its shrimp by at least 47% in most of its dishes and says it changed cooking practices to improve taste. For example, cooks started preparing the shrimp scampi in-house and added more sauce to the dish, after customers said they wanted additional sauce for dipping their cheddar bay biscuits.”
It’s not easy to get a pulse on this desirable group but there are sources who are defining their wants, desires and needs.
The informative source restaurantbusinessonline.com report, “Millennials, the much lauded-after generation that marketers still are trying to figure out, have a different set of needs and wants than the overall consumer base. Quality must be balanced with convenience, and it’s as much about the overall experience as it is about the food.”
You already know who Red Lobster is, true?
Let’s capsulize who this great female friendly chain is.
Red Lobster is the world’s largest seafood restaurant company, headquartered in Orlando, Florida, with an impressive heritage and an even brighter future. As a private company owned by Golden Gate Capital, Red Lobster is focused on delivering freshly prepared seafood at reasonable prices – served in a lively, contemporary seaside atmosphere. With 58,000 employees in over 700 restaurants in the U.S. and Canada, and a growing international footprint, Red Lobster is more committed than ever to be where the world goes for seafood now and for generations. To view the complete Red Lobster menu, visit Red Lobster’s website.
Very valuable information.
Some of their recent phenomenal gains are due to their female friendly approach including their high level promotions and appointments.
Please meet Salli Setta.
Ms. Setta is an American restaurateur and businesswoman. She is the President of Red Lobster, an American casual seafood restaurant chain operated by Darden Restaurants. She served as the Executive Vice President of Marketing for Red Lobster from 2005 until July 2013, when she was named president
From Red Lobster 2016/03/18 Press Release.
“Red Lobster Seafood Co. President Salli Setta has been named a board member of the Women’s Foodservice Forum (WFF), the food industry’s premier leadership development organization. Setta, a 25-year veteran of the restaurant industry, was selected for her experience leading a globally recognized brand that is committed to supporting the advancement of women and will serve two three-year terms on WFF’s board.
“I am honored by this appointment and am eager to begin working with my colleagues on the board to activate the WFF’s mission of advancing women in the foodservice industry,” Setta said. “Red Lobster, like the WFF, is committed to empowering women, providing them with skills and leadership development to help them further their professional careers.”
Red Lobster has been recognized as an industry leader in female advancement in the workplace by having the highest female representation in restaurant management in casual dining, according to the People Report™, a widely used publication in the industry*. Red Lobster’s rate of hiring and promoting female managers from within is also among the best in casual dining, and in 2015 the company was named to the Forbes® Best Employers List, which ranks companies based on the percent of employees who would recommend their employer to others.
Setta, who was named president of Red Lobster in 2013, leads all of Restaurant Operations, Marketing, and Culinary and Beverage for the iconic brand, which operates more than 700 restaurants in North America and has more than 58,000 employees. Under her leadership, Red Lobster introduced a new, simpler, seafood and lobster-centric menu and implemented numerous operations initiatives and simplifications that have led to best-ever levels of guest satisfaction and positive financial results. She was also part of the leadership team that helped Red Lobster become an independent, privately-held company, leading the organization through significant change.
Prior to being named president, Setta was the brand’s Executive Vice President of Marketing for eight years, where she led a comprehensive brand refresh with its Today’s Fresh Fish menu, Wood Fire Grill cooking platform and the well-received “Sea Food Differently®” advertising campaign. She began her restaurant career at Olive Garden and, during her 15-year tenure with the brand, served in numerous roles including Vice President of Brand Marketing and Senior Vice President of Culinary and Beverage.
Setta is the recipient of multiple industry awards and is a three-time Menu Masters Award winner for her work on initiatives like Red Lobster’s Today’s Fresh Fish Program and Menu Refresh. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Organizational Communication from the University of Central Florida, an MBA from Florida Institute of Technology, and is an alumna of the Women’s Senior Leadership Program at the Kellogg School of Management. She has served on the board of the Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra, the Lake Highland Preparatory School Board of Visitors and the Women’s Food Service Forum Strategic Marketing Council.”
Thanks to Red Lobster we can become more familiar with the Women’s Foodservice Forum.
Who are they?
The Women’s Foodservice Forum (WFF) is the industry’s premier leadership development organization with more than 25 years of experience advancing women in the foodservice industry. WFF serves thousands of individuals and hundreds of employers in all segments of the industry including operations, manufacturing, distribution, publishing, consulting and more. Through highly effective and educational events such as the Annual Leadership Development Conference, Executive Summit, leadership development programs and rich networking opportunities, WFF provides the competence and strategic connections needed to make a positive difference in the careers of women in the foodservice industry. For more information, visit www.womensfoodserviceforum.com.
Is Red Lobster on your upcoming menu? We think it should be. Enjoy.
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Sources: brainyquote.com, Wikipedia, fciwomenswrestling2.com, FCI Elite Competitor, photos thank you Wikimedia Commons.
http://www.businessinsider.com/red-lobster-is-millennials-favorite-restaurant-2016-5
http://www.restaurantbusinessonline.com/ideas/consumer-trends/millennials-favorite-chains
