America’s most powerful restaurant brands. The results might surprise you

America’s restaurant brand landscape is changing and this is mostly due to Millennials which reward different things when it comes to eating out. This generation values coffee shops and quick service as well as an informal setting much more than their parents and grandparents so they altered the list of America’s most popular brands of restaurants.

Millennials are changing the popular restaurant brand landscape and the recent report released by Harris poll shows the impact of the shift.

The Harris Poll Brand Equity Trend Survey reveals brand health over time and it shows which are the strongest brands in the restaurant industry. It highlights that Millennials are pushing businesses to adopt new technologies in order to adapt to their lifestyles. Millennials award higher than average brand equity to Coffee and Quick Service, Casual Dining and Chicken restaurants and this explains why some brands have adopted solutions for taking quick orders, thus gaining more traction with the younger generation.

“Restaurants continue to adapt to the millennial lifestyle, and advancements in ordering methods such as Starbucks’ mobile app and Chick-fil-A’s ‘Mom Valet’ are likely influencing millennials’ higher brand equity scores,” said Joan Sinopoli, vice president of brand solutions at The Harris Poll.

But Millennials, so far, have a limited disposable income when compared to baby boomers. And here, pizza chains and Mexican restaurants are losing out. Experts from Harris say that this is could be a great opportunity for establishments that focus on healthy eating, as long as they target their message right.

“While the millennial dollar is powerful and attractive and many are clearly enjoying their rising disposable income, baby boomers already have the cash to spend on meals out and need to be courted,” Sinopoli added. “The baby boomer versus millennial gap among pizza chains and Mexican restaurants may reflect boomers’ needs to eat healthier and the fact that they no longer have kid palates to please – and that signals an opportunity for restaurants on the healthier end of the chain continuum to target them in their messaging and menu offerings.”

Which are the strongest restaurant brands

To see which are the strongest restaurant brands in the U.S., Harris Poll surveyed more than 100,000 consumers for their business survey, which also included 90 food chains. Looking at familiarity, quality and purchase consideration, the specialists established an equity rating for each brand.

America’s best burger joint

Burgers are considered a staple food for the American culture and when it comes to the strongest burger restaurant, Harris found that, for the first time, the title of Burger Restaurant Brand of the Year goes to Five Guys which ousts two-time honoree In-N-Out Burger, followed by, in order: Shake Shack, Wendy’s, Culver’s, Whataburger, McDonald’s, SONIC America’s Drive-In, Smashburger and Steak ‘n Shake.

“The burger brand category has become less fragmented, as regional brands expand and become available in more parts of the country,” said Sinopoli. “This is certainly the case with Five Guys, who has shed its ‘small regional player’ designation as it expands its footprint and marketing budget along with its fandom, which is a tremendous contributor to brand equity.”

Emblematic of America’s fast-food culture, McDonald’s remains the brand with the highest score when it comes to familiarity across all brands measured in Harris Poll’s EquiTrend study but Five Guys leads the Burger Restaurant category in purchase consideration, pushing it to the top of the list.

Best cup of joe

Coffee shops are a big part of the Millennial lifestyle and this year, the prize goes to Starbucks which dethroned three-time honoree Dunkin’ Donuts. While familiarity, quality and purchase consideration scores are tight between Starbucks, Dunkin’ Donuts, Krispy Kreme and Einstein Bros Bagels, Starbucks pulls ahead based on the strength of its familiarity score.

Measuring for best coffee restaurants, Harris also found that while 5 per cent of Millennials visit a restaurant daily, 11 per cent of them are, each day, walking into a Starbucks. The discrepancies are even higher for the X Generation for which the average restaurant visit was at 1 per cent while 10 per cent of them got their daily coffee from a Starbucks restaurant.

“Given the ever-present morning rush lines at Starbucks, the fact that Millennials and Gen X make daily Starbucks runs might not be entirely surprising, but it is telling,” said Sinopoli. “With its engaging rewards app and high-end Starbucks Reserve brand, Starbucks is proactively pursuing millennials and quite frankly, doing it better than most right now.”

Hot and spicy

Moe’s Southwest Grill retains its Fast Casual Mexican Restaurant Brand of the Year title for the second consecutive year. The only thing hindering its success is its lack of familiarity. But the quality and consideration scores were high enough to keep it in the lead.

“Moe’s has a unique tie to pop culture and knack for engaging customers that’s appealing to its core consumer,” said Sinopoli.

Moe’s was followed in its category by Baja Fresh Mexican Grill and Taco Bell while the former two-year leader (2014-2015) Chipotle is still having difficulties recovering form its issues with food-borne illness.

Let’s order a pizza

While not popular among baby boomers, pizza is still very much a favourite for younger generations and this year, the gold prize goes to, for the first time since 2012, Papa John’s.

The brand showed a significant increase in both quality and purchase consideration and this was enough to surpass the four-years-in-the-row favorite, Pizza Hut. The pizza chain category also has a new entry, Papa John’s is followed by Blaze Pizza, Pizza Hut, and Marco’s Pizza.

A sweet tooth

For this year, Harris introduced a new category, largely based on customer demand. They looked at Ice Cream and FroYo Shops and given the scores, it concluded that these were largely more popular than any other restaurant brands. Among them, the prize this year went to Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream Shop.

According to the ratings, Baskin Robbin’s Ice Cream Shop came in second and Cold Stone Creamery is third.

A sandwich on the go

The epitome of casual dining, sandwich shops are still led by Subway, a brand that has been winning the gold medal in this category for the seventh year in a row. It is popular among all generations but reports suggest that younger customers seem more attracted to this brand which has shown a strong and stable equity over the last 13 years.

Subway is followed, in order, by Panera Bread, Potbelly Sandwich Shop and Corner Bakery Cafe.

A casual night out

As mentioned, the Harris poll shows a high preference among younger generations for casual restaurants. This year, The Cheesecake Factory not only made its debut in the poll but also landed the number one spot, leading the Casual Dining category. It scored high in both quality and purchase consideration and this is thanks, in large part, to youngsters.

The second place in casual dining went to Texas Roadhouse followed by Olive Garden Italian Restaurants. Steakhouses are still very popular with the Outback Steakhouse and LongHorn Steakhouse being fourth and fifth. California Pizza Kitchen, International House of Pancakes, Carrabba’s Italian Grill, Maggiano’s Little Italy Restaurant and Chili’s Grill & Bar complete the top ten casual dining chart.

Some other popular brands, linked in popular culture with the American experience ranked bellow average like is the case for Applebee’s, Buffalo Wild Wings, Red Lobster Seafood Restaurants and TGI Friday.

I’ll have chicken

Largely driven by Millennials, the most powerful brand for chicken restaurants, for the fourth year running goes to Chick-fil-A. But Millennials are not the only ones contributing to the brand’s success. Parents with children also seem to prefer this particular brand which received higher scores from customers with kids.

Chick-fil-A is followed by Zaxby’s, El Pollo Loco and Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen. Other surveyed chains like Church’s Chicken and Kentucky Fried Chicken ranked below the category’s average.