What happened to Bud Light and IHOP is being taught in textbooks handed out to college students in business classes. Both brands tried to reinvent themselves. Bud Light was the most widely consumed beer in the United States, and it wasn't even close. IHOP was one of the leading breakfast restaurants but decided to rebrand themselves as a burger joint. Bu Llight now barely registers sales that would put it in the top 10 beers consumed by Americans. And let's not get started about Jaguar.
CEO Julie Felss Masino Took over control of Cracker Barrel restaurants in 2022. Cracker Barrel was a multibillion-dollar company built upon a brand that struck a chord with Americans. Comfort food that was served in a restaurant designed to remind you of the corner restaurant in America. It featured comfort food that was freshly prepared on site and reminded you of what your grandmother used to make. Meatloaf and mashed potatoes or biscuits and gravy. Things that evoked positive memories in the clientele.
Then the company began to embrace the principles of DEI. They actively recruited and promoted people that fell into the preferred demographic groups. They wanted to change the culture of corporate Cracker Barrel. And things began to change. People began to complain about the lack of friendly service which was part of the brand that helped to make them a successful company. Cracker Barrel was not alone in the restaurant industry and trying to find employees especially those that we're trainable and would understand the importance of branding.
Certainly, the downslide began before Masino took her position as CEO. Even as many brands suffered the negative consequences of not only embracing DEI but actively promoting 'inclusion', Masino began to double down. Changing the name of DEI and removing the identification of specific 'underrepresented' groups didn't change the approach of the company. They just couched it in nonspecific terms.
But more importantly these new hires that worked in the corporate officers made changes that began the downslide. Instead of preparing fresh food on site every day common items such as meatloaf, mashed potatoes, and hash brown casserole, they were made in factory kitchens and shipped to the restaurants where they were reheated in a microwave. Even some of the food that was claimed to be made fresh on site used premade ingredients along with fresh ingredients. Very little was actually prepared from scratch. Even recipes for biscuits and other items were changed to include more processed ingredients that were less expensive.
Still Cracker Barrel survived. Masino wasn't done. She oversaw the rebranding of the company. She thought the restaurants were too dark and dingy, so they have been upgraded in her opinion. They now look more like any large chain restaurant. Modern decor with lots of lights and fancy decor. They even changed the sign/logo. Gone is the man sitting on the front porch next to an actual Cracker Barrel. Now it's just a sign that says Cracker Barrel. Apparently, the man represented looked a bit too southern and represented misogyny or racism. Why not get rid of the name cracker? That describes a white person. Oh wait, I had to check the DEI dictionary. Cracker is OK because it's a derogatory term to describe a white person.
The core of their customers is not happy and the $2 billion in market value the company has lost since she tookover is only going to get worse. Will Cracker Barrel recover? The real question is, will it survive? I don't think it will ever reach its previous status as a successful, iconic American restaurant. Masino has made sure of that.
