Cracker Barrel’s Minimal Response to Burger Criticism
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Cracker Barrel added the plant-based Impossible Burger to its menu and faced more backlash than expected. An executive explained the change:
"Our new breakfast menu innovations provide a personalized experience with delicious breakfast choices to satisfy every taste bud—whether guests are nostalgic for homestyle food, hungry for a nutritious plant-based option or have a craving for a sweet treat. At morning, noon or night, we want guests to enjoy craveable breakfast favorites at a compelling value.”
But many customers responded negatively:
"Don't ever try to push that crap in my direction. Stick to the basics that made your franchise a success,"
"Are you kidding me? Who do you think your customer base is? I still order the double meat breakfast, and it's not even on the menu anymore."
"You just lost your customer base. Congratulations on being woke and going broke..."
I don’t see much in response from Cracker Barrel, except the picture above on Twitter. A company spokesperson did release this statement to NBC News:
"We appreciate the love our fans have for our all-day breakfast menu. At Cracker Barrel, we’re always exploring opportunities to expand how our guests experience breakfast and provide choices to satisfy every taste bud—whether people want to stick with traditional favorites like bacon and sausage or are hungry for a new, nutritious plant-based option like Impossible Sausage."
Maybe the company gave fuller responses on other social sites, or leaders may have decided to stay out of the fray and let people decide what to order. They did enough testing—in 50 restaurants—to know the market. With the hand-shaking image, they accept responsibility and invite people to just get along. This could be an example of a minority group of outliers making noise, but ultimately, going back to their favorite restaurant as always.
