WaBa Grill Achieves Best First Quarter In Brand’s History

WaBa Grill achieved its best first quarter in the brand's 15-year history, with same-store sales up 21.3% and a record-breaking weekly per-store sale average.

Read the original at Franchising.com
WaBa Grill Achieves Best First Quarter In Brand’s History

TL;DR

WaBa Grill achieved its best first quarter in the brand's 15-year history, with same-store sales up 21.3% and a record-breaking weekly per-store sale average. The brand's success is attributed to strong digital sales, free delivery promotions, and new menu introductions.

“After achieving such strong momentum in 2020, our Q1 record-breaking sales are a direct result of our dedicated franchisees who continue to take excellent care of their guests and the communities they serve,” said Andrew Kim, President & CEO of WaBa Grill. “It’s clear that the demand for healthy fast casual is on the rise, and I’m confident we will continue to achieve significant milestones throughout our 15th anniversary year and beyond.”

A variety of factors contributed to the brand’s success including strong digital sales and the continuation of free delivery on any orders placed via the WaBa Rewards App through the end of January 2021, a systemwide promotion that began in March 2020. WaBa Grill also introduced attractive value-added promotions along with a new, and well received, wild-caught salmon recipe just in time for Lent. On the corporate level, the brand made four major executive promotions including the appointment of Andrew Kim to president and CEO.

Additionally, Entrepreneur magazine named WaBa Grill one of the “Top 5” franchises in the Asian food category and one of the “Hottest Franchise Opportunities” of 2021.

“We have many exciting developments lined up for the rest of 2021 including new menu introductions and continuing to expand the brand throughout California and into new states with the support of both new and existing WaBa Grill franchise partners,” said Mark Finnegan, Chief Marketing & Information Officer at WaBa Grill. “It really has been amazing to see the growth in sales and success that our franchisees have experienced over the past few years, we have so much to celebrate at Waba Grill!”

For 15 years, WaBa Grill has been serving its famous rice bowls, plates and salads made with fresh vegetables, healthy grains and high-quality proteins including fresh, never frozen chicken, marinated ribeye steak, wild-caught salmon, jumbo shrimp, and organic tofu, all prepared to order on an open-fire grill and customized with a variety of flavorful sauces including the fan favorite WaBa Sauce. Along with takeout and curbside pickup, guests may place orders via the WaBa Rewards App for always low-cost delivery along with any of WaBa’s third-party delivery partners, DoorDash, Grubhub, Uber Eats and Postmates.

In this story

This story was originally published in Franchising.com on April 28, 2021. Burnaze summarizes and links to the original reporting.

Read the full story at Franchising.com

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