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Chick-fil-A wins, QSRs win bigger in most-loved brands report

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December 9, 2019

Chick-fil-A may sometimes have controversy, but they also have very devoted customers, as is evidenced in Savanta's Top 100 Most Loved US Eating Out Brands survey, which puts the chicken sandwich chain in the No. 1 slot. In fact, overall in this analysis of top dining out spots, traditional fast food brands really took the prize for greatest presence in Americans' hearts, with 60% of the top 20 restaurant brands falling into the traditional quick-service category, according to information released by Savanta today. 

Chart: Savanta

Just in the top 10, half were QSRs, including the aforementioned, Chick-fil-A, followed by Krispy Kreme at No. 4 Subway at No. 6, Dunkin at No. 8, In-N-Out at No. 9 and Taco Bell at No. 10. Other QSR winners in the top 20 included Popeyes(12), McDonald's (15), Raising Cane's (16), Wendy's (17), Cold Stone Creamery (19) and Culver's (20) . 

The Top 100 is based on 60,000 interviews with diners through Savanta's market intelligence platform, BrandVue Eating Out. Also in the Top 20, two fast casual brands — Starbucks and Panera — came in at No. 2 and No. 13 respectively. Other favorites in the Top 20 were casual or finer dining concepts. 

Equivalent BrandVue Eating Out research in the UK revealed that brands that are more loved are also more commercially successful, with almost a quarter (23%) of visits to a venue depending upon how much a customer loves the brand.  

Covering a wide range of major and niche eating out venues, the Top 100 report is also broken into sub-categories that distinguish most loved QSRs, fast casuals, dessert and coffee brands, among others. Savanta's analysis of the data also shows the impact of embracing trends, such as innovation and tech, and the importance of fostering meaningful brand relationships. 

The BrandVue Eating Out intelligence platform is a brand, audience and customer-tracking engine which captures and analyses the views of 60,000 diners on more than 150 eating-out venues each year.