Although the pandemic may have fast tracked the digital ordering revolution in the foodservice industry, many concepts were working to create successful virtual brands long before anyone winced at the word “COVID.” Consumer preference bent toward tech beginning in the early 2010s, and the pandemic accelerated far more trends than it invented, as customers looked out for their own safety and convenience.
For many established chains, virtual or delivery-only brands represent an opportunity to boost sales and open channels for guests while also trying out potential menu items. Other virtual brands emerged from independent ghost kitchens to fill a need in the market. Here’s a collection of nine top virtual brands with lasting power.
Want to add to the conversation? Smokey Bones CEO James O’Reilly will join Food News Media Editorial Director Danny Klein for a candid chat on the state of virtual brands on October 15—how to build one successfully, where the sector goes from here, are there too many concepts, and, simply, how can you stand out in a crowded field?
We’ll take questions and sort through the noise of one of the hottest movements in foodservice right now.
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Menu theme: Chicken wings
Locations: 1,000+
Owner/developer: Brinker International (parent company of Chili’s and Maggiano’s Little Italy)
With more than 1,000 participating kitchens, customers can get their fill of bone-in and boneless wings from It’s Just Wings, a Brinker International virtual brand that operates within Chili’s and Maggiano’s Little Italy. Launched in 2020, the virtual brand earned more than $170 million in fiscal 2021, according to Brinker earlier this year. Additionally, 70 percent of It’s Just Wings customers never ordered delivery from Chili’s through Doordash, showing the brand can go after a diversified consumer base.
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Menu theme: Pizza
Owner/developer: Chuck E. Cheese
Pasqually’s Pizza & Wings doesn’t immediately scream Chuck E. Cheese, which is a common theme of many virtual chains and their host counterparts. With a tagline of “Bold flavors with a grown-up taste,” it’s clear Chuck E. Cheese is going after a different sect of the market altogether. Pasqually’s offers specialty pizzas like Spicy BBQ Piggy and all-veggie along with wing flavors like Louisiana Honey Hot and Spicy Korean BBQ. All products are created with the same ingredients from Chuck E. Cheese’s kitchen, but the pizzas have thicker crusts, extra sauce, new blends of cheese and seasonings.
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Menu theme: Wings
Owner/developer: Applebee’s/Dine Brands
Picture wings with Cheetos Flamin Hot sauce. That’s what you get at Cosmic Wings, Applebee’s intriguing wing virtual concept. Applebee’s parent company Dine Brands tested a different digital wing brand Neighborhood Wings before launching the Cheetos-inspired line. Cosmic Wings now provides its Cheetos-flavored wings and fried cheese bites in Applebee’s kitchens nationwide.
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Menu theme: Sandwich melts
Owner/developer: Denny’s
This Denny’s virtual brand delivers a melt for every mood, whether customers are feeling the hearty Hot Mess Melt, more nutritious Eatin’ Good Melt, or a barbecue-drenched Giddy Up Melt. The Meltdown follows Applebee’s prior success with virtual brand The Burger Den. While 70 percent of The Meltdown’s menu offerings utilize ingredients already in Denny’s kitchens, the melt experience is completely new to Denny’s customers and those that stumble across The Meltdown digitally.
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Menu theme: Chicken
Owner/developer: Bad Daddy’s Burger Bar
Bad Daddy’s Burger Bar unveiled its sidekick virtual brand Bad Mama’s Chicken in late 2020, offering up chicken wings and tenders, tater tots, and mac and cheese. Available on major third-party delivery platforms, consumers can order fresh chicken tossed or dipped in honey Sriracha, Carolina gold, BBQ, smoky chipotle, fire, buffalo, Thai, and Thai buffalo.
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Menu theme: Wings
Owner/developer: Smokey Bones
The Wing Experience boasts 50 different wing flavors. Maple bacon and hot cinnamon candy apple are some of the more adventurous the brand offers alongside classic buffalo and barbecue variations. The Wing Experience is the product of full-service barbecue chain Smokey Bones’ virtual brand creativity (it also runs The Burger Experience) and an endeavor the company leaned into during the pandemic.
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Menu theme: Chicken
Locations: 700+
Owner/developer: Bloomin’ Brands
Another legacy brand looking to capitalize on the expanding chicken market, Bloomin’ Brands created Tender Shack in 2020. This was a revenue producing addition to Bloomin’ Brands’ portfolio. In February, on the verge of its national launch, 80 percent of the company’s customers for Tender Shack had never ordered from any of its legacy brands, including Outback, Carrabba’s, Fleming’s, and Bonefish Grill. At that point, Tender Shack, which debuted September in Tampa, Florida, went across the country through DoorDash, all the way to Hawaii. It was now live in 725 locations, primarily operating out of Outback and Carrabba’s kitchens, with a goal to achieve $75 million in incremental sales on an annualized basis.
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Absolute Brands
Owner/developer: The team behind Dog Haus
Absolute Brands offers craveable food items for those not looking to eat within a restaurant. The two latest in the lineup are JAILBIRD and Big Belly Burgers. JAILBIRD delivers classic wings and tenders while Big Belly Burgers is known for its humanely raised beef. Absolute Brands operates all of its virtual brands in Dog Haus restaurants, including others like Bad Mutha Clucka, Bad-Ass Breakfast Burritos, and Plant B.
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Creating Culinary Communities, or C3, has been forging virtual brands left and right. Of its portfolio that includes Umami Burger, Krispy Rice and Kumi, Sam’s Crispy Chicken is a virtual brand that provides the right fried chicken sandwich for every occasion. Radical Rooster’s Chicken is another virtual brand that just debuted from C3 as an exclusive Grubhub partnership. The menu has offerings like Just Tenders, Radical Tender Dog (two chicken tenders in a warm bun with coleslaw and pickles) and a Mac Daddy Wrap (mac and cheese in a wrap with bacon crumbles and pickles).
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