The session titled "Feeding Souls Everywhere: How White Castle Satisfies Cravers in Grocery Aisles and Beyond" at the Groceryshop 2024, featured Lisa Ingram, President and CEO of White Castle, and Joe Laszlo, Head of Content for U.S. Groceryshop.
The discussion centered on White Castle’s dual identity as both a restaurant and a CPG brand, exploring how the company has leveraged innovation, marketing strategies, and loyalty programs to engage consumers across different channels.
Key Themes and Takeaways
White Castle’s Expansion into Retail
- White Castle began its journey into retail over 37 years ago when Lisa Ingram’s father, then president of the company, noticed that many customers were buying large quantities of sliders at restaurants and freezing them to enjoy at home. This insight led to White Castle expanding its product line into grocery stores.
- Today, White Castle’s retail products are available in all 50 states, covering grocery, mass, convenience, dollar, and vending channels. This contrasts with their 330 restaurant locations in just 14 states, making retail a key growth engine for the brand.
- Ingram emphasized that the goal remains to provide Cravers (the affectionate term for White Castle customers) with access to sliders "whenever and wherever they want them," with a focus on innovation and expanding the product line.
Customer Overlap and Demographics
- There is considerable overlap between restaurant and retail customers, especially in markets where White Castle restaurants are present. However, in non-restaurant markets, 65% of retail customers have never visited a White Castle restaurant but still crave the brand's products.
- White Castle’s retail product demographic includes families, young adults, and younger couples, with 30% of customers being families and 36% being young adults. The brand is also gaining traction with younger demographics, including Gen Z.
Marketing Strategies and Fun Collaborations
- White Castle employs distinct marketing strategies for its restaurant and retail products, but both focus on creating fun, memorable experiences. The brand has embraced cool collaborations with partners like Puma (White Castle shoes), Funko, and DGK skateboards to reach younger audiences.
- The brand’s products are often associated with fun, social occasions like tailgates, weddings, and parties, reinforcing its identity as a brand that brings people together for memorable moments.
Special Promotions and Holiday Campaigns
- White Castle is known for its Valentine's Day promotion, where restaurants turn into full-service venues, complete with reservations, menus, and table service. In 2023, they took over 30,000 reservations on OpenTable for this one night.
- In 2024, White Castle expanded this experience to retail markets by partnering with HEB to create a pop-up Valentine's Day event in San Antonio, complete with a mariachi band and even a marriage proposal.
- White Castle also embraces Halloween, promoting limited-time packaging, such as their jalapeño sliders in fun seasonal designs.
Brand Loyalty and the Craver Nation Program
- White Castle’s Craver Nation Rewards Program is designed to integrate both restaurant and retail customers. The loyalty program is built around "memorable moments", where customers can earn rewards by participating in quests, such as visiting White Castle at specific times or trying new products.
- Ingram shared that their Cravers Hall of Fame is another loyalty initiative where customers submit their White Castle stories for a chance to be inducted. Interestingly, some Hall of Fame members have only experienced White Castle through retail products, showing the power of the brand’s reach across different channels.
Team Culture and Employee Engagement
- White Castle fosters a strong family-oriented culture within its workforce, with over 10,000 team members. Ingram highlighted that many employees describe their work environment as family-like, which is a source of pride for the company.
- As part of their commitment to team engagement, White Castle celebrates National Hamburger Month each May, encouraging corporate employees to work shifts in castles or production plants to better understand frontline operations and reinforce company values.
Looking Ahead to 2025
- Ingram shared that White Castle is exploring the use of AI in restaurants, looking to enhance personalized experiences for customers.
- On the retail side, White Castle aims to strengthen its connection with retail Cravers, exploring opportunities to use influencers and tap into community-driven marketing initiatives to deepen consumer engagement.
Notable Quotes
- Lisa Ingram: "If you have a microwave, you have a White Castle."
- Lisa Ingram: "We want to make sure that we’re staying relevant for the next generation. Our vision statement is to feed the souls of Craver generations everywhere."
- Lisa Ingram: "It's harder to get into the Cravers Hall of Fame than it is to get into Harvard."
White Castle continues to balance its legacy as a restaurant brand with its growth as a retail product in grocery and mass markets. By focusing on innovation, fun collaborations, and loyalty-building efforts, White Castle has been able to maintain its iconic status while reaching new consumer segments across the country.
As the brand looks to the future, it is clear that both AI and personalized retail experiences will play a role in driving further growth and consumer engagement.
