Three days before Chick-fil-A is set to launch its new multi-grain oatmeal nationwide, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution caught up with Woody Faulk, vice president of brand strategy and design. Faulk oversees the College Park-based chain's menu strategy. Here is the edited question and answer session about the kettle-cooked oatmeal. (For up-to-the-minute news, follow the AJC's fast-food coverage on Twitter.)
AJC: Companies like McDonald's, Starbucks and Caribou Coffee have already jumped into the oatmeal market. How long was Chick-fil-A's version in development?
Faulk: It was less than 18 months.This was actually a pretty fast project for us. We don't do things very quickly in terms of development. When (oatmeal) first started showing up in Starbucks' menu a few years ago, we suspected that it would be adopted by other brands. And sure enough, it has. We never wanted to emulate what those brands were doing. We wanted to let them spend all the marketing investment to get the awareness -- and then we'd come behind with a better product. We were not worried about first-mover advantage on this because we ultimately think consumers will choose the best item.
AJC: The calorie count on this oatmeal can vary from 120 calories with no toppings to 290 calories with toppings like cinnamon brown sugar. What's the strategy behind that?
Faulk: Customers really like to be in control of their choices. We give them options. It's no different than watching people doctor up their coffee. At the base level, we wanted to have a very low-calorie option. But if people wanted to add a bunch of stuff, too, that is there for them.
The calorie number was not our primary focus. What Chick-fil-A always focuses on is taste. we wanted to have an incredibly tasting product, balanced against the calories. Even with offering the better-for-you options, they're still a minority within our product lineup. We're making some headway with them, but by far the majority of our customers prefer the full-taste items like our chicken biscuits or breakfast burritos. But what you can do (with oatmeal and other low-calorie options) is accommodate customers with dietary needs.
AJC: Has the introduction of yogurt parfaits, fruit cups and multi-grain bagels been a success over the last few years?
Faulk: Low calorie items are by no means going to catch up with our core items in terms of sales. People still talk nutrition but we find from their purchase behavior that they buy taste. What the oatmeal does, is it keeps you from losing people (to other restaurants.) You have to have a variety of nutritional items. (Oatmeal) is really a product that we don't expect to have large sales, but it should get people to come more frequently.
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