Brands opening new doors: How they are extending categories to attract customers

Early 2000 introduced so many new trends wherein we saw brands like McDonald’s opening its first hotel in Zurich in 2001 to FMCG major Nestle partnering with Toll House Café in 2000 to open a café in Texas to extend its café service across the globe. Brands have always experimented beyond its diameter to make customer feel happy and always introduce them with something new and exciting.

Our brand touches over 60 million customers per year. Primarily families, the customers experience fresh-baked Nestlé® confections prepared by passionate team members.

Also Read: Chick-in to the spiciest stay as KFC opens ‘House of Harland’ staycation in London

And, what began as a chocolate chip cookie in has grown into a dessert concept that knows no boundaries and have opened closed to 100 cafes across by developing bakery cafés across the US, Puerto Rico, Canada, and the Middle East.

According to Thunderbird, The Golden Arch Hotel by McDonald’s was positioned as four-star accommodations with cutting-edge in-room technology and unique, modern interior design. Testimonials of guests were mixed following their stays in the Golden Arch Hotels. Most seemed to agree, however, that the four-star rating didn't seem to match with McDonald's image.

To experiment with something new and beyond hamburgers, McDonald’s decided to launch a "diversification" strategy to foster new ideas and concepts worldwide. And, that’s how the QSRchain entered into the world of hotel business.

As per Thunderbird, the hotel market in Zurich was booming with multiple building projects under way. With a steady gowth, the brand faced the challenge of how to profitably target the key customer segments: travel groups, business travelers, and frequent travelers.

Banking on the same trend, KFC is recently setting up a pop-up hotel in partnership with hotels.com. Called as House of Harland- the KFC themed staycation is located in London, where each room is filled with delicious details, from a private cinema room, to a Finger Lickin’ ‘Press For Chicken’ button and Hot Winger Arcade Machine.

From getting personally picked up in a slick Black Cadillac, to being greeted by your very own ‘Chick-In’ Clerk whose sole purpose is to make your stay a pleasure, you can expect to feel like fried chicken royalty from start to finish.

“And because we love a theme, rooms are available to book exclusively on Hotels.com from 11am on 11th August for just £111 per room per night* (see what we did there!?), with 100% of proceeds going towards the KFC Foundation,” shared the statement.

Similarly, Oreo Cookie from the house of Mondelez has launched first-ever OREO café on Aug. 3 in the US. Located on the third floor of the ‘It’Sugar’ store in the American Dream retail and entertainment complex in East Rutherford, the café is Mondelez’s idea of new, immersive and personalized way for all fans and cookie lovers to experience Oreo in person.

Sharing the news on social media, Oreo posted, “Secret’s out, Oreo’s first-ever café is here! Shop all things OREO merch and customizable, delicious treat.” It also offers retail items including Oreo cookie products and official merchandise, but it also features a treats bar where guests can enjoy shakes, sundaes, cheesecake and more made with Oreo cookies.

Extending its services to kiosk model, ONE Nestlé Experience by Nestle is an initiative taken by Nestlé in India to promote entrepreneurship & grow branded kiosks across select channels pan-India. “Branded Retail Kiosk is a one-stop solution, which provides quick, tasty and hygienic food & beverage products to consumers with high emphasis on quality & food safety in an “out-of-home” environment,” read the Nestle website.

As per the brand, these kiosks are operated by franchisees under Nescafé, Maggi, Kit Kat, a+ brands and are called Nescafé Corner, Maggi Hotspot, Kit Kat Break Zone and a+ Milk Booth, respectively.

May Interest: Sweet Truth: A look inside OREO’s first-ever café

My ONE Nestle Experience has truly been unique. In a short span of 11 months, we went from 1 kiosk to 10 kiosks across wet, east and south regions of the country,” shared Suraj Paddle who wants to grow the number soon.

Hence, we can say that not just attracting new customers, but this could also act as a new strategy to tap new and untapped markets, areas and customers.