Bloomberg Businessweek
Father of Fast Casual on a Lifetime of Lessons Learned
Oct 26, 2023
Former CEO of Panera Bread and Au Bon Pain, Ron Shaich, discusses his book 'Know What Matters: Lessons from a Lifetime of Transformations.' Topics include building dominant brands, running private vs. public companies, challenges and humanity of running a public company, and choices, trade-offs, and finding opportunities in fast casual.
16:04
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Quick takeaways
- Understanding consumer desires for real food, engaging environments, and caring service drove the success of the fast casual dining concept.
- Empathy plays a crucial role in driving innovation and creating value for customers, but businesses should avoid becoming a platform for political forces.
Deep dives
The Rise of Fast Casual Dining
Fast casual dining emerged in the 1980s and 1990s as a concept that filled the gap between traditional fast food and fine dining. Ron Schake, known as the 'father of fast casual,' explains that the success of fast casual dining came from understanding consumer desire for real food, engaging environments, and caring service. This understanding of consumer needs and empathy laid the foundation for the growth of the global fast casual dining market, which is now valued at around $190 billion.
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