Restaurant chains refocus on food quality to bring back diners

Juicier chicken tenders. Revamped sauces. Richer and creamier Frosties.

Across the restaurant industry, chains are turning their focus back to their food in the hopes that better quality will win back diners.

Over the last two years, consumers have dined out less frequently and grown pickier about where they choose to eat, based on data from Black Box Intelligence. In that time, “value” has been the buzzword du jour for restaurant executives, who have explained to analysts and investors that the word encompasses more than menu pricing alone.

Now, industry CEOs are turning to their corporate chefs to try to beat rivals on quality and taste, as they look to expand their definition of value. Discounts and one-off promotions can lift traffic for a time, but the actual product still matters for restaurants’ long-term growth, as well as franchisee profitability.

From Wendy’s to Chipotle Mexican Grill, chief executives touted new or upcoming improvements to menu items on their quarterly earnings conference calls in recent weeks.

“We think the product’s improved and even better,” Chipotle CEO Scott Boatwright told analysts on the company’s call in late October, referring to the burrito chain’s brisket, which returned to menus for a limited time Thursday.

For some chains, better food is a key step in ambitious turnaround plans.

For example, “quality food at real value” is one pillar of Wendy’s five-part turnaround strategy that the chain unveiled on Thursday.

“We’re also rebuilding our food offerings and have begun testing improvements to quality and craveability of our core items, including thicker, crispier bacon, a richer and creamier Frosty, whole leaf lettuce on sandwiches and improved salads,” Wendy’s CEO Bob Wright told analysts on the call Thursday.

That same day, the company reported its seventh straight quarter of same-store sales declines and publicly rejected a $1.4 billion takeover bid led by Nelson Peltz’s Trian Partners. Wendy’s said the proposal did not take into account the potential value that its turnaround plan could unlock.

There is precedent to suggest that better-tasting food can contribute to higher sales.

In 2009, Domino’s Pizza changed its recipe, swapping out its sauce, adding garlic to its crust and switching to shredded mozzarella with a hint of provolone. Along with blunt commercials that compared its previous crust to cardboard and old sauce to ketchup, the changes helped to spur U.S. same-store sales growth of 9.9% the following year.

Now, some of the same team that led the Domino’s turnaround is copying the playbook at Burger King’s U.S. restaurants.

Part of the burger chain’s multiyear comeback plan has focused on revamping its core menu items. It started earlier this year with its flagship offering, the Whopper, which received a better bun and a new mayonnaise. And in September, it rolled out an overhaul of its nuggets, switching to 100% white meat, crispier breading and a more flavorful marinade. It also reformulated its sauces.

“We’ve tried to look at our biggest categories first,” Josh Kobza, CEO of Burger King parent Restaurant Brands International, told CNBC. “We’ve also thought about the ones where the fixes are more straightforward and less operationally involved.”

Following the changes, Whopper sales were up by a double-digit percentage in the third quarter, Kobza said on the company’s earnings call in late October. And nugget sales climbed more than 35%. Burger King said its U.S. same-store sales jumped 8.4% in the quarter.

Like Domino’s, Burger King is highlighting diners’ past gripes with its Whoppers and nuggets in its ads, which star Burger King U.S. president and former Domino’s executive Tom Curtis.

Better-tasting food isn’t just for chains that are in trouble.

Even Chili’s, which has seen its same-store sales soar 52% over the past three years, is improving more of its existing menu options. After tackling its baby back ribs, burgers and nachos, it will turn next to salads and steaks, Brinker International CEO Kevin Hochman told CNBC.

“We’re going to be doing more dry aging of our beef to make it more tender, versus doing it in a plant,” he said. “It’s a little bit more expensive, but we think the taste is going to be a whole lot better.”

Chili’s rival Applebee’s launched a juicier chicken tender during its latest quarter, according to John Peyton, CEO of the chain’s parent company Dine Brands. In 2027, Applebee’s plans to overhaul more of its protein options.

“We think proteins are, number one, our biggest opportunity,” Peyton told CNBC. “Number two, they’re a big focus of the way people are thinking about eating right now, leaning into proteins and a little bit less with the carbs.”

Chicken is also a focus for McDonald’s, which is testing hand-breaded wings, strips and a sandwich in a handful of Chicago-area restaurants. It plans to expand the trial to more locations in the U.S. and Ireland in early 2027.

Moreover, McDonald’s is trying to improve its coffee, with fresher beans and upgraded equipment, executives said at the company’s investor day in September. Both chicken and coffee are fast-growing categories, offering more opportunities to lift sales than McDonald’s signature beef burgers.

While the burger giant isn’t in full turnaround mode like rivals Wendy’s and Burger King, its U.S. business has struggled in recent quarters after its value strategy didn’t gain the traction the company had hoped. In the third quarter, its U.S. same-store sales fell 0.2%.

In addition to menu tests, McDonald’s is also leaning into training to improve the quality and consistency of its core menu items. Starting in October, the company launched “Make It Golden,” a multiyear training program for corporate employees, restaurant workers and franchisees.

Ultimately, improved menu items mean little if the recipe changes aren’t well executed.