Chick-fil-A is getting in on fancy drink trend with new concept Daybright
Chick-fil-A is backing a new beverage-focused restaurant concept called Daybright.
Red Wagon Ventures, a subsidiary of the popular chicken chain, will launch the new concept this fall, a Chick-fil-A spokesperson confirmed Tuesday.
It’s coming to Hiram, about 30 miles northwest of downtown Atlanta in Paulding County.
Daybright will serve specialty coffees, smoothies, cold-pressed juices and food. Its menu will not include Chick-fil-A items.
The Chick-fil-A spokesperson declined to share more information Tuesday, saying “we look forward to sharing more details in the future.”
A number of quick-serve chains are diving deeper into beverages. Drinks can have higher margins than food, depending on their complexity.
“Restaurant chains know they can’t afford to fall behind on beverage trends,” said Duane Stanford, editor and publisher of trade publication Beverage Digest. “Social media is fueling demand for customized specialty beverages that offer big flavor, trendy ingredients and Instagram-worthy visuals.”
The key, though, is to quickly test and learn what resonates with customers and what can be scaled, Stanford said.
“Instead of bogging down core operations with experiments, these standalone concepts create innovation labs that are easy to shut down and can operate outside the spotlight for the most part,” he said.
Inside its restaurants, Taco Bell has launched a beverage-forward concept called Live Más Cafe with aguas frescas and specialty coffee. Taco Bell said this month it would open 30 more locations.
“Live Más Cafe is part of the team’s bold bet to go after the $25 billion beverage category in the U.S.,” David Gibbs, CEO of Taco Bell parent company Yum Brands, said in an August earnings call. “The cafe was inspired by Gen Z’s love for curated, customizable drinks.”
McDonald’s also created beverage spinoff CosMc’s but ultimately closed the locations. It is now testing some of the drinks at its main restaurants.
“It’s a really large market opportunity,” McDonald’s President and CEO Christopher Kempczinski said of beverages in an August earnings call. “It’s growing and it’s more profitable than food.”
Red Wagon Ventures is an incubator established to create new concepts and services beyond Chick-fil-A restaurants. It gets its name from the red wagon that Chick-fil-A founder Truett Cathy carted around when he was 6 years old to sell Coca-Cola to his neighbors.
Red Wagon Ventures was also behind another restaurant concept called Little Blue Menu in College Park, Maryland, which serves menu items such as burgers and wings. It also developed a family entertainment concept called Kefi that operated for a couple years in Buckhead.
Other Chick-fil-A concepts include Truett’s Luau, a Hawaiian-themed restaurant in Fayetteville, and the diner-themed Truett’s Grill.
About the Author
