October 30, 2024 • 16 mins
Cava’s brand awareness has gotten a boost from the 2023 IPO, social media and its growing consumer packaged goods business, Chief Experience Officer Andy Rebhun tells Bloomberg Intelligence. In this episode of the Choppin’ It Up podcast, Rebhun sits down with BI’s senior restaurant and foodservice analyst Michael Halen to discuss how the chain’s marketing strategy is boosting same-store sales. He also comments on the success of its grilled steak and how the connected kitchen initiative can improve quality, consistency, order accuracy and speed of service.
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Speaker 1 (00:22):
Welcome to Chopping It Up. I'm your host, Mike Hallon,
the senior Restaurant and Food Service Analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence.
Our research and that a bi's five hundred analysts around
the globe can be found exclusively on the Bloomberg terminal. Today,
we're joined by Andy Rebin, chief Experience Officer at Cava.
Thanks for joining me, Andy.
Speaker 2 (00:40):
Hey, Mike, great to see you again.
Speaker 1 (00:43):
Yeah. Man, it's been over a year and a half.
We're long overdue for this episode. Man, it's great to
finally catch up with you. Thank you again for having me.
Speaker 2 (00:52):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (00:52):
For sure. Man, So when we met, you were the
CMO at l Poyolco. Now you've been at Kava for
almost a year and a half. Man, time flies. Can
you talk about the culture that Brett and the team
have built there.
Speaker 2 (01:05):
For sure, Kava's culture is really aligned with our mission
of bringing heart, health and humanity to food. It really
drives everything we do. Everything we do is grounded in
the Mediterranean Way, where food is at the center of connection.
We implore a spirit of generosity to our guests, team members,
in community. It's really ingrained in the culture. We have
(01:25):
a special feature called the Love button, which I know
has gained some traction in social media. But if someone's
having a bad day, we want to treat a regular
and say thanks for coming in. And also some of
our newer guests have the opportunity to experience that. We
really create engaging experience through delicious, innovative and naturally good
for you food. It helps people eat well and live
(01:46):
well and it's really food without compromise. And our company
culture is aligned with the heritage and values of our founders.
I know you mentioned Brett and Ted, Iike and Dimitri.
They really focus on that generosity, warmth and welcoming everyone
to our table. So it's a really beautiful culture and
it was a huge reason why I joined the.
Speaker 1 (02:04):
Organ So what's different about the new Project Soul store design.
Speaker 2 (02:08):
Yeah, it's incredible. It really reflects elements of our heritage
and culture. It makes our physical channel even more experiential
and welcoming. Consumers still want to dine out, and Project
Soul really allows us to re emphasize what it means
to have Mediterranean hospitality. We reflected this in our new
Wicker Park location, which features some of these elements, and
(02:30):
we continue to refine the model we've rolled out a
few so far in twenty twenty four. You can actually
check out our newest freestanding Project Soul location on McPherson
Boulevard in Fort Worth, Texas, and you'll notice there's softer seating,
increased greenery, and really a warmer brand palette to create
a comfortable, welcoming environment and really better express our concept essence.
(02:51):
So I'm really excited for you to check that one out, Mike.
Speaker 1 (02:54):
Very cool. I'm looking to go plant shopping this weekend. Man,
I need more greenery in my apartment.
Speaker 2 (03:00):
I love it all right.
Speaker 1 (03:01):
So you were CMO at Lpoil Loco. So how does
your current role differ from your last one?
Speaker 2 (03:06):
So current role is Chief Experience Officer. I lead the marketing,
digital and catering teams and really focus on that end
to end user journey from everything that the customer does
before they get into our restaurant. So all of our advertising,
everything that would motivate a consumer to choose us, whether
it be helping inform the menu strategy, really building the
(03:28):
life cycle marketing capability through our loyalty program, and then
building the off premise in group occation through catering and
It's really a cool opportunity at Kava because it really
focuses on all elements of what that experience means. We're
rapidly growing across the United States and really trying to
build that experience from day one and even before consumers
(03:50):
find out about the brand. It's a really great opportunity
for us to build that journey and think about how
all our different touch points are going to help inform
the vision of cop for the future.
Speaker 1 (04:01):
Awesome man. Yeah, and you see a lot about how
it's bringing Mediterranean cuisine, so I guess to a lot
of parts of the country that didn't have it prior.
Do you have any data on how fast Mediterranean's growing
in the US?
Speaker 2 (04:14):
Yeah, Well, we believe Mediterranean is obviously the next major
cultural cuisine category. It's ranked number one diet eight years running.
As our nation has become more diverse, consumers are craving
more bold, interesting flavors, and consumers are also increasingly focused
on wellness but really unwilling to trade taste for health,
and Mediterranean definitely checks a lot of those boxes. We
(04:38):
have over seventeen billion combinations at Kava, so it's one
of those cuisine categories that you can dip your toe
into lamb or Harisa chicken, or hummus or tasiki. It's fun.
I love love the food. I can get something unique
every single day. It's amazing.
Speaker 1 (04:56):
No, it's cool, man. I'm a huge fan of Mediterranean
food and cobs great. So, yeah, you don't have to
sell me. Talk to me about the importance of value
in this economy.
Speaker 2 (05:10):
Yeah, value is very important. I think you've seen as
fast food restaurant chains have become a little bit more expensive,
the value equation of kava is becoming more reasonable for
consumers to trade up. You know, many times you find
two or three dollars difference between the menu prices, and
when you think about kava. Our food is delicious. You
(05:33):
bring in that Horisa chicken, you bring in hummus, rice,
super greens. It's really a full, complete meal. And many
consumers can have one or two meals out of our
food because our portions are very generous. And so you know,
you think about what value means. It's really about consumer experience.
It's about the food and really welcoming environment. And we
(05:56):
do that at our restaurants and through our digital channels.
Speaker 1 (05:59):
Awesome. Yeah, and I noticed no price hikes in California, right.
Speaker 2 (06:03):
Yeah, We've we've maintained a very good price value experience
equation in our California market for sure.
Speaker 1 (06:11):
And that's good man. I mean, I've seen outperformance in
the companies I cover. Unfortunately I don't cover Cave yet.
I'm hoping soon. But you know, for Winkstop and Texas
Roadhouse are two names that really come to mind that
underpriced competitors, and it's really helped their traffic. Can you
talk a little bit about how the IPO has impacted sales?
Speaker 2 (06:33):
Yeah, it's difficult to tease out one thing as you
look at our revenue growth, but the IPO clearly increased
brand awareness and the interest which helps drive some of
the sales on the near and long term. But you know,
we've really focused on building what it means to be
a category defining Mediterranean brand, and you know, the IPO
was one of several different levers that I think we've
pulled to really increased brand awareness across the United States.
(06:56):
We really have leaned into our social media. It's been
a huge part of our growth strategy and it's been
effective from a cost perspective as well as just making
sure that people feel that accessibility and that personality, and
so it's definitely been a combination of factors that has
helped really increase that brand awareness.
Speaker 1 (07:17):
I think I saw that customer awareness is about forty percent.
How much has it have grown over the last few years.
Speaker 2 (07:22):
Yeah, awareness is growing as we've expanded our presence across
the country. We have more than three hundred and forty
restaurants now in twenty five states in the District of Columbia,
and like I stated earlier, we have an extremely passionate
fan base on social media who have followed us and
have reposted a lot of earned media has helped support
that brand awareness as well as our CpG business has grown,
(07:46):
so people are making the connection between the restaurant and
what we sell in CpG. So brand awareness has grown.
It's been really exciting to see as we've opened up
more locations and had a more well rounded media strategy.
Speaker 1 (07:59):
Yeah awesome, I'm the Red Pepper Hummus for years.
Speaker 2 (08:02):
Local that's awesome. So here, so yeah, thank you?
Speaker 1 (08:05):
Yeah so yeah, yeah. Man, I'm customer. I've been a
longtime customer, both in and outside the restaurant, dude, and
this is just you know, This is a small sample size,
this is my local kava, but it sure seems like
the customers are getting younger.
Speaker 2 (08:19):
Yeah, I mean, look, we have a broad appeal across
ages and genders, geographies and market types. It's really one
of the things that's made the company successful. We don't
talk about the specific demographics, but we do do well
among some of our younger consumers, and like I stated earlier,
lots of diversity. From a background perspective, they really create
(08:39):
bold and interesting flavors over the more standard cuisine. Eating
is a form of self expression, and so with our
Mediterranean way hospitality, delicious and differentiated food, it clearly resonates
with this cohort.
Speaker 1 (08:54):
Yeah, there's definitely been They've definitely taken over my local
kava for sure. Man grilled steak that was has been
highly successful for you. I think even on the call,
Brett said it was even more successful than you had expected.
You know, is there anything interesting about who's ordering that
(09:14):
the demographics of the customers that are ordering that order.
Speaker 2 (09:17):
We don't really talk about the demographic deal, you know,
detail for competitive reasons, but our menu with steak and
it really has broad appeal. You know, we've seen it
ordered at lunch, at dinner. It's light, it feels really good,
especially when you pair it with our super greens. It's
a really delicious entree to have throughout the day, and
(09:38):
so we've seen customers order it at all day parts
in all types of customer bases.
Speaker 1 (09:42):
So I'm usually a Lamb meatball guy, So i haven't
had the steak. Yeah, I'm going to have to try it.
Speaker 2 (09:48):
Sounds like that might be dinner tonight in the Haleen household.
Speaker 1 (09:51):
Dude, it might be. I you know, I'm we eat
a lot of steak and ground beef here, so you know,
when I go out, I try not to eat it.
But yeah, I know what's going to happen. I'm going
to get the grilled steak and it's can be awesome,
But then I'm also going to be like I need now,
i need Lamb meet Ball. So I think you might
get an incremental visit from me this month.
Speaker 2 (10:11):
Amazing, thank you.
Speaker 1 (10:13):
So on the last Ernie's called, Brett mentioned there were
some gaps in the menu that you're going to try
to attempt to fill through innovation. Is there anything you
could share about those gaps?
Speaker 2 (10:26):
Yeah, I think to offer just a little clarity there.
Guests have been asking for a beef option, so we
saw a perceived gap and we felt we could fill
it with steak. It's already something for there's really already
something for everyone at Kava, and we really felt like
steak was another opportunity to add to that. Everyday Craving
shared this earlier, but seventeen billion possible combinations, and we
(10:48):
really try to use our culinary authority and strength and
innovation to provide that newness for the guests. We really
try to offer items that aren't available elsewhere and then
put our spin on it. Grilled steak is obviously seasoned
with our bold Mediterranean spices, sun dried tomatoes, smoky a
lepo pepper, It's fired on our grill. You really can't
(11:09):
find anything else like it, So I'm excited that you're
gonna have it for dinner tonight. And then we recently
came out with garlic ranch peda chips. It's our first
ever new peda chip flavor. Peda chips have been a
cult favorite both in the restaurants and on social media,
and we really felt like there was an opportunity to
lean into it.
Speaker 1 (11:25):
My son, he'll like to hear that he likes to
peda chips. I'm going to give you one of my
cooking secrets.
Speaker 2 (11:30):
Man.
Speaker 1 (11:30):
I use Aleppo on my steaks too, so it sounds
like it's right up my alley. And you mentioned social
media advertising is doing well for you. I guess where
do you do? You know where have you been most
successful on social media? And do you have any plans?
Are there anything big coming up either this year and next?
Speaker 2 (11:48):
Yeah? So social media continues to be a strong in
cost effective marketing strategy for us, particularly with people in
driving consideration. Our campaigns have been affected because they've been organic, authentic,
and really expressed that genuine love guests have for Kava.
What I really like about it too is as we've
opened up in new markets like Chicago, there was a
(12:09):
really growing speculation about when we were getting ready to open,
and once we opened, we had incredible amount of receptivity
for that Wicker Park location. We had a organic video
post by a guy by the name of Cody Premer
who did something called make me your Favorite. It has
over forty million views now and many of our brand
(12:31):
fans were passionate before they work with us. So a
great example would be Lindsay Horan. She's captain of the
US women's soccer team. Her and her team reached out
to us heading into the Olympics, and she loves our
food and incorporates it into her training regimen. And she
has an extensive and growing following.
Speaker 1 (12:48):
And I saw your testing some ads on connected TV.
So what kind of av bump do you think you
can get from National Advertising?
Speaker 2 (12:56):
Yeah, we ran a very small test several months ago.
It performed well, and we continue to learn and we
continue to be focused on digital, social and earned media.
Speaker 1 (13:07):
Yeah, it's something I'm going to be watching, you know,
because you know, obviously it's more online and connected media now,
but you know, TV ads still have an ROI and
you know there's some examples of some chains. I once
say when National man, they kind of blew up Sonic
pop Eyes. You know, from what I know of Kava,
it's always been a leader in terms of, you know,
(13:28):
in restaurant technology, right and so I know that you
have your fingers in a lot of different technologies right now.
Can you talk a little bit about the Connected Kitchen initiative?
Speaker 2 (13:39):
Yeah, we're really in the second wave of our digital
transformation at Kava and the Connected Kitchen initiative is just
another example of our attempt to continue to lean into it.
And so we're using data driven and gen AI tech
to drive quality and consistency, increase order accuracy, and boost
our speed of service. So we're running a small pilot
of AI video tech that monitors how quickly ingredients on
(14:03):
the in restaurant makeline are being depleted, and it also
alerts the team in real time for prep and cook
batch amounts. So it's a really really neat technology and
it's going to really help us as we continue to grow.
Speaker 1 (14:13):
Okay, very cool, and there's been talk about some labor
model improvements right I think is hourly turnover improved twenty
eight percent in the second quarter.
Speaker 2 (14:22):
Yeah, we're we're also doing some testing on labor deployment,
so we're reallocating hours to deliver better food, better hospitality,
and more efficient speed of service. This test is progressing.
It's in twenty nine restaurant where net neutral labor dollars
and labor hours in the test locations. We're really focusing
on more time to coach and train and more time
to interact with guests and a more positive work environment
(14:44):
and we'll continue testing throughout twenty twenty four, with hopefully
the intent to rollout in twenty twenty five if the
results meet the expectations.
Speaker 1 (14:54):
All right, great, And then I also saw something about
real time guess feedback technology. What's out of.
Speaker 2 (15:00):
Yeah, we're doing restaurant health testing. That technology that really
allows us to try to keep a finger on the
pulse of the business down to the specific locations, and
it really supports our teams in consistently delivering an exceptional
guest experience.
Speaker 1 (15:15):
Awesome. All right, So the most important question, what's your
favorite kava order?
Speaker 2 (15:19):
My favorite kava order spinach, brown rice, I get hummus,
two scoops of eggplant, I do half horisa chicken, half
roasted veggies, tomato, onion, tomato, cucumber, feta, pickled onions, avocado,
and then I do either scub or I do Greek vinagrette.
I have that down to a tea. That was the
(15:40):
easiest question of the day.
Speaker 1 (15:42):
You do have that? You do have that down to
a tea? Because it's gonna take me a little while
to think about everything. But now I'm a lamb meatball guy.
I have I definitely herisa crazy feta and that red
pepper Hummus pickles, hot peppers. I'm definitely missing some other
(16:03):
stuff in there, but yeah, Covas CoV is great man.
And you guys, you guys do a great job. Man.
I I'm I'm very excited to continue following this story
and hopefully covering it pretty soon. Well, listen, man, thanks
for joining me. This was a lot of fun. It's
great to see you. You know, obviously our guests can't
see you, but it was good to see you. It's
been a while.
Speaker 2 (16:23):
Great to see you too, Mike, Thank you so much.
Speaker 1 (16:25):
Yeah, and I want to thank the audience for tuning in.
If you liked the episode, please subscribe and leave us
a review. Check back soon for another installment of Chopping
It Up.
Welcome to Chopping It Up. I'm your host, Mike Hallon,
the senior Restaurant and Food Service Analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence.
Our research and that a bi's five hundred analysts around
the globe can be found exclusively on the Bloomberg terminal. Today,
we're joined by Andy Rebin, chief Experience Officer at Cava.
Thanks for joining me, Andy.
Speaker 2 (00:40):
Hey, Mike, great to see you again.
Speaker 1 (00:43):
Yeah. Man, it's been over a year and a half.
We're long overdue for this episode. Man, it's great to
finally catch up with you. Thank you again for having me.
Speaker 2 (00:52):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (00:52):
For sure. Man, So when we met, you were the
CMO at l Poyolco. Now you've been at Kava for
almost a year and a half. Man, time flies. Can
you talk about the culture that Brett and the team
have built there.
Speaker 2 (01:05):
For sure, Kava's culture is really aligned with our mission
of bringing heart, health and humanity to food. It really
drives everything we do. Everything we do is grounded in
the Mediterranean Way, where food is at the center of connection.
We implore a spirit of generosity to our guests, team members,
in community. It's really ingrained in the culture. We have
(01:25):
a special feature called the Love button, which I know
has gained some traction in social media. But if someone's
having a bad day, we want to treat a regular
and say thanks for coming in. And also some of
our newer guests have the opportunity to experience that. We
really create engaging experience through delicious, innovative and naturally good
for you food. It helps people eat well and live
(01:46):
well and it's really food without compromise. And our company
culture is aligned with the heritage and values of our founders.
I know you mentioned Brett and Ted, Iike and Dimitri.
They really focus on that generosity, warmth and welcoming everyone
to our table. So it's a really beautiful culture and
it was a huge reason why I joined the.
Speaker 1 (02:04):
Organ So what's different about the new Project Soul store design.
Speaker 2 (02:08):
Yeah, it's incredible. It really reflects elements of our heritage
and culture. It makes our physical channel even more experiential
and welcoming. Consumers still want to dine out, and Project
Soul really allows us to re emphasize what it means
to have Mediterranean hospitality. We reflected this in our new
Wicker Park location, which features some of these elements, and
(02:30):
we continue to refine the model we've rolled out a
few so far in twenty twenty four. You can actually
check out our newest freestanding Project Soul location on McPherson
Boulevard in Fort Worth, Texas, and you'll notice there's softer seating,
increased greenery, and really a warmer brand palette to create
a comfortable, welcoming environment and really better express our concept essence.
(02:51):
So I'm really excited for you to check that one out, Mike.
Speaker 1 (02:54):
Very cool. I'm looking to go plant shopping this weekend. Man,
I need more greenery in my apartment.
Speaker 2 (03:00):
I love it all right.
Speaker 1 (03:01):
So you were CMO at Lpoil Loco. So how does
your current role differ from your last one?
Speaker 2 (03:06):
So current role is Chief Experience Officer. I lead the marketing,
digital and catering teams and really focus on that end
to end user journey from everything that the customer does
before they get into our restaurant. So all of our advertising,
everything that would motivate a consumer to choose us, whether
it be helping inform the menu strategy, really building the
(03:28):
life cycle marketing capability through our loyalty program, and then
building the off premise in group occation through catering and
It's really a cool opportunity at Kava because it really
focuses on all elements of what that experience means. We're
rapidly growing across the United States and really trying to
build that experience from day one and even before consumers
(03:50):
find out about the brand. It's a really great opportunity
for us to build that journey and think about how
all our different touch points are going to help inform
the vision of cop for the future.
Speaker 1 (04:01):
Awesome man. Yeah, and you see a lot about how
it's bringing Mediterranean cuisine, so I guess to a lot
of parts of the country that didn't have it prior.
Do you have any data on how fast Mediterranean's growing
in the US?
Speaker 2 (04:14):
Yeah, Well, we believe Mediterranean is obviously the next major
cultural cuisine category. It's ranked number one diet eight years running.
As our nation has become more diverse, consumers are craving
more bold, interesting flavors, and consumers are also increasingly focused
on wellness but really unwilling to trade taste for health,
and Mediterranean definitely checks a lot of those boxes. We
(04:38):
have over seventeen billion combinations at Kava, so it's one
of those cuisine categories that you can dip your toe
into lamb or Harisa chicken, or hummus or tasiki. It's fun.
I love love the food. I can get something unique
every single day. It's amazing.
Speaker 1 (04:56):
No, it's cool, man. I'm a huge fan of Mediterranean
food and cobs great. So, yeah, you don't have to
sell me. Talk to me about the importance of value
in this economy.
Speaker 2 (05:10):
Yeah, value is very important. I think you've seen as
fast food restaurant chains have become a little bit more expensive,
the value equation of kava is becoming more reasonable for
consumers to trade up. You know, many times you find
two or three dollars difference between the menu prices, and
when you think about kava. Our food is delicious. You
(05:33):
bring in that Horisa chicken, you bring in hummus, rice,
super greens. It's really a full, complete meal. And many
consumers can have one or two meals out of our
food because our portions are very generous. And so you know,
you think about what value means. It's really about consumer experience.
It's about the food and really welcoming environment. And we
(05:56):
do that at our restaurants and through our digital channels.
Speaker 1 (05:59):
Awesome. Yeah, and I noticed no price hikes in California, right.
Speaker 2 (06:03):
Yeah, We've we've maintained a very good price value experience
equation in our California market for sure.
Speaker 1 (06:11):
And that's good man. I mean, I've seen outperformance in
the companies I cover. Unfortunately I don't cover Cave yet.
I'm hoping soon. But you know, for Winkstop and Texas
Roadhouse are two names that really come to mind that
underpriced competitors, and it's really helped their traffic. Can you
talk a little bit about how the IPO has impacted sales?
Speaker 2 (06:33):
Yeah, it's difficult to tease out one thing as you
look at our revenue growth, but the IPO clearly increased
brand awareness and the interest which helps drive some of
the sales on the near and long term. But you know,
we've really focused on building what it means to be
a category defining Mediterranean brand, and you know, the IPO
was one of several different levers that I think we've
pulled to really increased brand awareness across the United States.
(06:56):
We really have leaned into our social media. It's been
a huge part of our growth strategy and it's been
effective from a cost perspective as well as just making
sure that people feel that accessibility and that personality, and
so it's definitely been a combination of factors that has
helped really increase that brand awareness.
Speaker 1 (07:17):
I think I saw that customer awareness is about forty percent.
How much has it have grown over the last few years.
Speaker 2 (07:22):
Yeah, awareness is growing as we've expanded our presence across
the country. We have more than three hundred and forty
restaurants now in twenty five states in the District of Columbia,
and like I stated earlier, we have an extremely passionate
fan base on social media who have followed us and
have reposted a lot of earned media has helped support
that brand awareness as well as our CpG business has grown,
(07:46):
so people are making the connection between the restaurant and
what we sell in CpG. So brand awareness has grown.
It's been really exciting to see as we've opened up
more locations and had a more well rounded media strategy.
Speaker 1 (07:59):
Yeah awesome, I'm the Red Pepper Hummus for years.
Speaker 2 (08:02):
Local that's awesome. So here, so yeah, thank you?
Speaker 1 (08:05):
Yeah so yeah, yeah. Man, I'm customer. I've been a
longtime customer, both in and outside the restaurant, dude, and
this is just you know, This is a small sample size,
this is my local kava, but it sure seems like
the customers are getting younger.
Speaker 2 (08:19):
Yeah, I mean, look, we have a broad appeal across
ages and genders, geographies and market types. It's really one
of the things that's made the company successful. We don't
talk about the specific demographics, but we do do well
among some of our younger consumers, and like I stated earlier,
lots of diversity. From a background perspective, they really create
(08:39):
bold and interesting flavors over the more standard cuisine. Eating
is a form of self expression, and so with our
Mediterranean way hospitality, delicious and differentiated food, it clearly resonates
with this cohort.
Speaker 1 (08:54):
Yeah, there's definitely been They've definitely taken over my local
kava for sure. Man grilled steak that was has been
highly successful for you. I think even on the call,
Brett said it was even more successful than you had expected.
You know, is there anything interesting about who's ordering that
(09:14):
the demographics of the customers that are ordering that order.
Speaker 2 (09:17):
We don't really talk about the demographic deal, you know,
detail for competitive reasons, but our menu with steak and
it really has broad appeal. You know, we've seen it
ordered at lunch, at dinner. It's light, it feels really good,
especially when you pair it with our super greens. It's
a really delicious entree to have throughout the day, and
(09:38):
so we've seen customers order it at all day parts
in all types of customer bases.
Speaker 1 (09:42):
So I'm usually a Lamb meatball guy, So i haven't
had the steak. Yeah, I'm going to have to try it.
Speaker 2 (09:48):
Sounds like that might be dinner tonight in the Haleen household.
Speaker 1 (09:51):
Dude, it might be. I you know, I'm we eat
a lot of steak and ground beef here, so you know,
when I go out, I try not to eat it.
But yeah, I know what's going to happen. I'm going
to get the grilled steak and it's can be awesome,
But then I'm also going to be like I need now,
i need Lamb meet Ball. So I think you might
get an incremental visit from me this month.
Speaker 2 (10:11):
Amazing, thank you.
Speaker 1 (10:13):
So on the last Ernie's called, Brett mentioned there were
some gaps in the menu that you're going to try
to attempt to fill through innovation. Is there anything you
could share about those gaps?
Speaker 2 (10:26):
Yeah, I think to offer just a little clarity there.
Guests have been asking for a beef option, so we
saw a perceived gap and we felt we could fill
it with steak. It's already something for there's really already
something for everyone at Kava, and we really felt like
steak was another opportunity to add to that. Everyday Craving
shared this earlier, but seventeen billion possible combinations, and we
(10:48):
really try to use our culinary authority and strength and
innovation to provide that newness for the guests. We really
try to offer items that aren't available elsewhere and then
put our spin on it. Grilled steak is obviously seasoned
with our bold Mediterranean spices, sun dried tomatoes, smoky a
lepo pepper, It's fired on our grill. You really can't
(11:09):
find anything else like it, So I'm excited that you're
gonna have it for dinner tonight. And then we recently
came out with garlic ranch peda chips. It's our first
ever new peda chip flavor. Peda chips have been a
cult favorite both in the restaurants and on social media,
and we really felt like there was an opportunity to
lean into it.
Speaker 1 (11:25):
My son, he'll like to hear that he likes to
peda chips. I'm going to give you one of my
cooking secrets.
Speaker 2 (11:30):
Man.
Speaker 1 (11:30):
I use Aleppo on my steaks too, so it sounds
like it's right up my alley. And you mentioned social
media advertising is doing well for you. I guess where
do you do? You know where have you been most
successful on social media? And do you have any plans?
Are there anything big coming up either this year and next?
Speaker 2 (11:48):
Yeah? So social media continues to be a strong in
cost effective marketing strategy for us, particularly with people in
driving consideration. Our campaigns have been affected because they've been organic, authentic,
and really expressed that genuine love guests have for Kava.
What I really like about it too is as we've
opened up in new markets like Chicago, there was a
(12:09):
really growing speculation about when we were getting ready to open,
and once we opened, we had incredible amount of receptivity
for that Wicker Park location. We had a organic video
post by a guy by the name of Cody Premer
who did something called make me your Favorite. It has
over forty million views now and many of our brand
(12:31):
fans were passionate before they work with us. So a
great example would be Lindsay Horan. She's captain of the
US women's soccer team. Her and her team reached out
to us heading into the Olympics, and she loves our
food and incorporates it into her training regimen. And she
has an extensive and growing following.
Speaker 1 (12:48):
And I saw your testing some ads on connected TV.
So what kind of av bump do you think you
can get from National Advertising?
Speaker 2 (12:56):
Yeah, we ran a very small test several months ago.
It performed well, and we continue to learn and we
continue to be focused on digital, social and earned media.
Speaker 1 (13:07):
Yeah, it's something I'm going to be watching, you know,
because you know, obviously it's more online and connected media now,
but you know, TV ads still have an ROI and
you know there's some examples of some chains. I once
say when National man, they kind of blew up Sonic
pop Eyes. You know, from what I know of Kava,
it's always been a leader in terms of, you know,
(13:28):
in restaurant technology, right and so I know that you
have your fingers in a lot of different technologies right now.
Can you talk a little bit about the Connected Kitchen initiative?
Speaker 2 (13:39):
Yeah, we're really in the second wave of our digital
transformation at Kava and the Connected Kitchen initiative is just
another example of our attempt to continue to lean into it.
And so we're using data driven and gen AI tech
to drive quality and consistency, increase order accuracy, and boost
our speed of service. So we're running a small pilot
of AI video tech that monitors how quickly ingredients on
(14:03):
the in restaurant makeline are being depleted, and it also
alerts the team in real time for prep and cook
batch amounts. So it's a really really neat technology and
it's going to really help us as we continue to grow.
Speaker 1 (14:13):
Okay, very cool, and there's been talk about some labor
model improvements right I think is hourly turnover improved twenty
eight percent in the second quarter.
Speaker 2 (14:22):
Yeah, we're we're also doing some testing on labor deployment,
so we're reallocating hours to deliver better food, better hospitality,
and more efficient speed of service. This test is progressing.
It's in twenty nine restaurant where net neutral labor dollars
and labor hours in the test locations. We're really focusing
on more time to coach and train and more time
to interact with guests and a more positive work environment
(14:44):
and we'll continue testing throughout twenty twenty four, with hopefully
the intent to rollout in twenty twenty five if the
results meet the expectations.
Speaker 1 (14:54):
All right, great, And then I also saw something about
real time guess feedback technology. What's out of.
Speaker 2 (15:00):
Yeah, we're doing restaurant health testing. That technology that really
allows us to try to keep a finger on the
pulse of the business down to the specific locations, and
it really supports our teams in consistently delivering an exceptional
guest experience.
Speaker 1 (15:15):
Awesome. All right, So the most important question, what's your
favorite kava order?
Speaker 2 (15:19):
My favorite kava order spinach, brown rice, I get hummus,
two scoops of eggplant, I do half horisa chicken, half
roasted veggies, tomato, onion, tomato, cucumber, feta, pickled onions, avocado,
and then I do either scub or I do Greek vinagrette.
I have that down to a tea. That was the
(15:40):
easiest question of the day.
Speaker 1 (15:42):
You do have that? You do have that down to
a tea? Because it's gonna take me a little while
to think about everything. But now I'm a lamb meatball guy.
I have I definitely herisa crazy feta and that red
pepper Hummus pickles, hot peppers. I'm definitely missing some other
(16:03):
stuff in there, but yeah, Covas CoV is great man.
And you guys, you guys do a great job. Man.
I I'm I'm very excited to continue following this story
and hopefully covering it pretty soon. Well, listen, man, thanks
for joining me. This was a lot of fun. It's
great to see you. You know, obviously our guests can't
see you, but it was good to see you. It's
been a while.
Speaker 2 (16:23):
Great to see you too, Mike, Thank you so much.
Speaker 1 (16:25):
Yeah, and I want to thank the audience for tuning in.
If you liked the episode, please subscribe and leave us
a review. Check back soon for another installment of Chopping
It Up.
Host
Michael Halen
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