Taking a Bite Out of Inflation

Rising expenses don’t necessarily mean that brands need to raise prices. In fact, inflation can be an opportunity for companies to go against the grain by offering tempting deals to financially strained consumers. Not only can this approach attract and sustain business at a time when customers might otherwise forgo spending, but it can also engender new allegiances to brands that are taking a sympathetic stance toward buyers’ economic woes. Take the food industry as an example. Here’s a look at restaurants that are standing out during this trying time by offering affordable meals to people hungry for a deal.

A combination of nostalgia and sensitivity to inflation are what inspired East Coast pizza chain Bertucci’s to create a deal that harkened back to its earlier, less-expensive days. “In 1981, our first kitchen opened in the Davis Square neighborhood of Somerville, Massachusetts, with handcrafted menu items inspired by family recipes and a brick oven at its center,” the company says on its website. “Using only the freshest ingredients, we built unique pizzas and pastas and, ultimately, a tradition, while perfecting the art of brick oven cooking in front of the guests we served it to.”

More than four decades after its original location opened, the brand celebrated its longevity with a clever bargain. “The ’80s was such a delicious decade, so Bertucci’s is bringing it back. Visit your local Bertucci’s and be transported back to when the restaurant first opened its doors in Somerville, Massachusetts, in 1981,” Bertucci’s said in a statement that appeared in GlobeNewswire this June. “For a limited time, guests can enjoy up to a 75% price discount on some of their favorite appetizers, entrées, and a dessert that were all a part of Bertucci’s original menus in the ’80s.”

Although brief, the offer was also the company’s way of giving eaters a respite from the economic stress of the 2022. According to Restaurant Business, Earl Enterprises and Bertucci’s owner Robert Earl said, “These are challenging times for so many, and it was important for the Bertucci’s family to do something to offer a bit of relief — and this throwback menu should help.”

Like Bertucci’s, Mexican food chain Del Taco has come a long way since its founding, but it continues to earn a place on dinner tables by recognizing the tough economy. “Ed Hackbarth and David Jameson opened the first Del Taco in Yermo, California, in 1964,” the company’s website says. “With a menu of 19¢ tacos, tostadas, fries and 24¢ cheeseburgers, Del Taco brought in $169 in sales on its first day in business — the equivalent of 900 tacos. Things were off to a bold start.”

While Del Taco hasn’t kept prices quite that low, it has made a noteworthy effort to appeal to cost-conscious eaters with a new $2 menu that’s populated with 20 items. “The new menu consists of snacks and drinks that range from Chicken Tacos del Carbon and three-layer queso nachos to mini milkshakes and donut bites,” writes Fortune.

The fast-food industry’s general divergence from value meals prompted Del Taco’s decision to go the value meal route. Del Taco CMO Tim Hackbardt told Marketing Daily that “we started to see any brand that had a value menu was pretty much abandoning it — or the prices were really not a value anymore. We saw a potential opportunity for us to own that space.”

Canadian chain Pizza Pizza has differentiated itself by poking fun at other companies’ inflation-inspired branding campaigns. It’s not surprising that the company would find a clever way to connect with customers given its past success. “The first Pizza Pizza location was opened in Toronto in December 1967 by entrepreneur Michael Overs (who helmed the company as CEO until he died in 2010),” Foodservice and Hospitality writes. “During those early growth years, one element that spurred success was the company’s then-innovative use of a central one-phone-number ordering system. No matter where in the city (and later the province) a customer was ordering from, the phone number was always the rhythmic 967-11-11.” That number must’ve been music to hungry Canadians’ ears, because Pizza Pizza grew “to more than 750 restaurants from coast to coast,” according to its website.

Today, the brand is offering a new Fixed-Rate Pizza price guarantee. Canadify writes, “As part of the guarantee, Pizza Pizza is offering Canadians the opportunity to lock in the price of an XL four-topping pizza at $16.99 for up to 12 months with no price increases — guaranteed.” The Fixed-Rate Pizza price guarantee is a tongue-in-cheek allusion to other brands’ efforts to appear cost-friendly despite inflation.

“The inflation-busting offer includes an ad from agency Zulu Alpha Kilo that references surging inflation,” writes AdAge. “The approach, which mimics financial marketing, encourages consumers to “lock into a 1-year fixed rate.”

Bertucci’s, Pizza Pizza and Del Taco have made bold moves by defying inflation-era expectations and lowering prices, and if that approach doesn’t work, there is reason for restaurants to be hopeful that diners will still come in during this daunting time. “Consumers may keep going to restaurants because of what’s happening at other food and drink sources,” writes QSR magazine. “Grocery prices rose 12.2% in June year-over-year, the biggest 12-month leap since the period ending April 1979.”