Consumer Marketing News, Views, and Reviews: September 2022

Welcome back to our monthly news roundup for franchise consumer marketers. Whether Covid is finally behind us or another surge awaits, the changes it brought are here to stay and businesses will be adjusting for years to come. If you have news items, trends, reports, or studies you think will be useful to CMOs and our other franchise consumer marketing readers looking to navigate the new future, please forward them our way!

And now, the news… …ON THE TECH SIDE Panera Tests AI in the Drive-Thru in Partnership with OpenCity Robot Cooks Are Rapidly Making Their Way into Restaurant Kitchens How Robots Are Advancing the Pizza Industry International Domino's Franchisee Explores Pizza Automation Bellabot Robot Cat Server Now Helping Customers at Restaurants in NYC Digital Sales Drive Performance at Burger King and Tim Hortons Everything You Need To Know About A/B Testing (Adobe) Salted, a Digital Native Restaurant Company, Blends Ghost Kitchen and Brick-&-Mortar …IN THE MARKETPLACE Jack In The Box Hikes Menu Prices 9.7% To Counter Slowdown, Inflation Restaurant Reputations Held for Ransom by Fake One-Star Reviewers Restaurants Are in a Perfect Storm, But Solutions Abound Germany’s Plant-Based Fast Food Is Years Ahead of the U.S.

Restaurant Meals Become a Relative Bargain as Grocery Prices Soar New “Dunkin’ Rewards” Program Coming to California Before National Launch McDonald’s Asked Food Bloggers To Decide on the Taste of a Special Regional Burger Isle of Wight Restaurant Ditches Plant-Based Dishes Citing “Holier Than Thou” Vegans McDonald’s Considers Chicken Big Mac for U.S Following U.K.

& Miami Intro Can We Finally Kill Off Cheap, Disposable Conference Swag?