Bob Evans Farms

Kid Times program offers a combo platter of good taste and great fun for the young

For big results from small people, don't look any further than Bob Evans Farms. The family restaurant chain's revamped children's menu and program, called "Kid Times," has seen double-digit increases in kids visits and kids sales, plus a jump of more than 50 percent in kids dessert sales.

That's the word from Peter Keiser, the 530-unit chain's senior marketing manager, who drove the marketing aspects of the program in tandem with Chad Congrove, executive development chef, who spearheaded product development and enhancements.

"We've always had a children's menu," says Keiser, who spent four years in marketing at Friendly's before joining Columbus, Ohio-based Bob Evans Farms two years ago.

Spurring the program revamp were recent surveys that reiterated how important kids were in the Bob Evans customer mix. According to Keiser, "Thirty percent of respondents said the decision to dine here was their child's. Since this is such a fast-growing segment for us, we needed a focused initiative that was consistent across all levels of communications."

The result was Kid Times, an integrated program introduced in May 2002 that features place mats, crayons and 12 kids meals displayed in a 12-page activity book. Those in-store items work in conjunction with regional radio, television and print advertising and a vibrant Web presence.

Randy Hicks, a senior vice president with the chain, says: "I've been here for 25 years, and Kid Times has made it a lot more fun for kids. Obviously, they don't come here alone, so this has also helped us with guest checks and customer counts."

Kid Times promotes 12 kids meals, including a range of new and enhanced products from Congrove and chef Joe Cottage.

Key components of the menu are a new crispy chicken quesadilla plus items with kid-friendly names like Pizza Pizzaz, Hot Diggety Dogs, Sketti n' Meatballs, and Mac n' Cheese as well as side dishes like garden salads, glazed carrots, rice pilaf and baked potatoes.

"Chicken quesadilla is a new entrée that tested extremely well," says Congrove, who has been with Bob Evans Farms for five years. "The kids version is lettuce-based with cheese. We took out the tomatoes and onion and other stuff that kids don't like."

Congrove adds that the best sellers for kids always have been the chain's pancakes and french toast. "For these we upgraded the presentation, making it more fun by putting them in the form of a smiley face."

Pizza now is pictured on the menu with a side of fresh fruit to get away from what Congrove calls "the chicken fingers and french fries look."

The children's program at Bob Evans Farms is targeted to youngsters 12 and under. "We give families an opportunity to select from different side dishes," Keiser says. "Overall, I think parents feel good about the options they have here for their kids."

Of course, no kids meal is complete without dessert. Congrove and Cottage created three new products that sent dessert sales soaring. Leading the pack is the "I'm Smiling Sundae," a jolly-looking treat with a bright chocolate smile and Reese's Peanut Butter Cups as eyes.

The first four pages of the 12-page activity book are devoted to food and feature colorful graphics and items with ear-catching names like Turkey Lurkey and Plenty-o-Pancakes. The remaining eight pages are packed with family and educational activities that kids and parents can do together.

"When a child comes into the restaurant, we give him an activity pack, which includes the activity book," says Keiser, who explains that the eight activity pages are provided by Weekly Reader, the news source for school children, and Scholastic, a noted publisher of children's books.

"I'm really excited about how we tie in with Weekly Reader and Scholastic," says Mike Thompson, Bob Evans' vice president and regional director for central Illinois. "It's one thing to sell food but something else to be consciously involved in children's education. To keep the activity book from getting boring, we change the eight-page educational section four times a year."

Keiser says that pulling all elements of the program together took about two years, including conducting competitive research, consumer research and focus groups.

If senior management had any trepidation about launching such a comprehensive program aimed at children, it vanished with the first test results, Keiser says. "They recognize the importance to Bob Evans of younger families and children," he adds.

After assembling all the promotional pieces and launching Kid Times last spring, Keiser says his biggest kick came during a personal experience at a Bob Evans restaurant.

"I was watching as a mother and three young children came in to eat," he recalls. "The kids all had Game Boys, but they put them down and began working in the activity book. That told me that we were adding value to the dining experience by drawing them away from the Game Boys."

When he's out and about in his region, Thompson says, he sees the greatest impact from Kid Times on weekends. "This is really driving business," he says. "In the dining room you can look out and see that 20 to 30 percent of the customers have children with them. I attribute that specifically to the improvements we've made in our children's program."