Monday, January 29, 2007

How We Built Stacked and Stuffed Hotcakes

Interview Part II with Senior Development Chef Brian Murphy

Q: What was the process for creating Stacked and Stuffed Hotcakes?
A: First we took our “blue-sky ideas” to the new products committee and from there we started to narrow down the product list. For the Stacked and Stuffed hotcakes we put 14 different types on the Internet and our marketing team asked for customers’ opinions through an online survey. With the help of 4,000 customers, we narrowed down the original 14 flavors to the five that we took into our test markets.

The first week of the test was focused on operations. We made sure that our grill cooks could produce it efficiently; kitchen prep could make it and follow the recipe easily and that it wouldn’t interrupt the servers’ work flow. We also looked at the food cost, food safety (how long we can keep the batter fresh/shelf life) and other technical issues that helped us make a better, fresher product. After that, we gathered the management team and employee feedback, corrected any recipe issues and then did a three-week consumer phase. In that phase, we surveyed our customers about what they liked, what they didn’t like, how frequently they dine with us, what they typically order, their age and their gender. All of the information we gathered not only helped us improve the product but also helped us build a customer profile (who will be ordering it).

Q: What improvements have been made since the test phase?
A: We worked on the food cost and the technical parts of the product so we can offer our customers a better tasting, fresher product at a lower cost.

Q: Who came up with the name for the hotcakes?
A: Mary, our senior vice president of marketing. She really thinks outside of the box and is willing to push the limits creatively. She’s a lot of fun to work with because she is so enthusiastic about the food.

Q: Why are the Stacked and Stuffed Hotcakes a great fit for Bob Evans?
A: I truly believe we have the best hotcakes in the industry – they are definitely a signature dish, and the filling we use to “stuff” the hotcakes has been a great success for us. Our customers love it in our stuffed French toast and our crepes too.

Bob Evans is known for having a solid tradition in savory breakfasts and we want to expand our breakfast line for those with a sweet tooth who might want to indulge at breakfast or for breakfast at dinner.


Check back soon and send us your pictures of your own adventures with Stacked and Stuffed Hotcakes! (Post them in your Flickr photo album with the tag "bobevans")