CHICAGO — Technomic and C3 have joined forces to provide expanded services to their clients, beginning with a new Family Attitudes and Motivations (FAM) Dining Program which brings together the respective strengths of these two organizations to provide rich, actionable insights to chain restaurants and their suppliers.
Today's economic climate makes it even more essential for restaurant operators to seize the opportunities to capture family dining-out. Meals ordered by children accounted for 1.3 billion restaurant orders in 2008 and $5.6 billion in sales. Research has found that 20 percent of all dinner occasions that are not alone include kids ages 11 and under.
The new FAM Dining Program focuses on family dining occasions at both casual dining and quick-service restaurants, with consumer-based research that targets both moms (1,500 interviews) and kids between the ages of 6 and 12 (1,200 interviews).
Drilling down into key decision-making influencers within and outside the family unit, the study assigns weight to each family member in restaurant selection. Specific types of family dining occasions are defined and assessed, including special versus every-day occasions. Family guest experiences are evaluated, but also contrasted with the experiences of children, to identify where those differences lie and how restaurant operators can address them.
"This program offers both restaurant operators and their suppliers a unique way to look at the family demographic and develop targeted solutions that meet their needs," say Randy Jordan, C3 president.
The FAM Dining Program is scheduled to launch at the end of May, with comprehensive findings delivered to sponsoring clients by mid-July. For more information on this research, please contact Patrick Noone, Technomic director of business development at (312) 506-3853 or pnoone@technomic.com.
