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Working towards menu innovation with Freddy’s Frozen Custard and Steakburgers

April 1, 2024

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3 minute read

Midwest Dairy partnered with Freddy’s Frozen Custard and Steakburgers (Freddy’s) to promote different dairy-based limited-time offer (LTO) programs in their restaurants throughout 2023. Together, we created impactful promotions to expand the chain’s audience and satisfy their appetite for new flavors and products. Freddy’s is a 450-unit quick-service restaurant chain headquartered in Wichita, KS, with most of their locations in the Midwest Dairy region.  

During the June Dairy Month promotion, three dairy-based items were featured, showcasing the delicious and fresh dairy products produced locally by dairy farmers. Promoted products included an LTO BBQ Double Bacon Cheeseburger combo with Cheese Curds and an LTO key lime pie flavored Frozen Custard Concrete. The program was a multi-media effort featuring digital advertising, select market TV/cable ads, sponsored ads, and extensive in-store point-of-sale promotion. The program resulted in incremental unit sales of more than 12 percent system-wide. The promotion reached over six million consumers across 34 different states.  

In the fall of 2023, checkoff worked with Freddy’s on another promotion. This time, Midwest Dairy partnered with Freddy’s to develop and promote a Grilled Cheese Steakburger paired with a Pumpkin Pie Concrete and Shake. These two exciting menu innovations supported an LTO promotion with Freddy’s, utilizing the Undeniably Dairy logo. 

The Steakburger featured two pieces of buttered Texas toast, a steakburger patty, two slices of American cheese, two slices of Swiss cheese, and a creamy tomato spread. The taste was a comfort food throwback to grilled cheese and tomato soup, and the Pumpkin Pie Concrete combined fall flavors with Freddy’s Frozen custard.  

The campaign ran from September 1 to October 31, 2023. Midwest Dairy provided promotional support through digital and printed ads, in-store point-of-purchase promotion, email campaigns, social media ads, and influencer engagement. In addition, the campaign ran as a featured product on the Freddy’s Rewards app. The campaign resulted in the best-performing new product launch and limited-time offer of the year for Freddy’s. The campaign reached 1.5 million people and generated an incremental 2.2 million pounds of dairy volume. The media exposure and customer feedback were particularly strong for the Grilled Cheese Steakburger as it was the single best-selling item of any promotion cycle at Freddy’s in 2023. 

In addition to highlighting dairy products and creating promotional deals for Freddy’s menus, Midwest Dairy also provides consumer insights on menu trends and flavors. Our partners receive a comprehensive package when they work with checkoff, as we provide more than funding to better connect with consumers in every way possible. With checkoff’s resources and Freddy’s delicious menu, Midwest Dairy is eager to continue to connect delicious dairy products to consumers.