IHOP

By Mary Caldwell

Dishes: Stuffed Crepes Supreme, Bacon and Cheddar Stuffed Crepes and Grilled Ham and Swiss Stuffed Crepes
Price: $3.99 to $6.99
Rollout: Sept. 29, 2003
Company: IHOP Corp., Glendale, Calif.
Units: 1,165
Description: Stuffed Crepes Supreme: 2 inches tall, 8 inches long, 1.5 inches wide, 16 ounces. Two light, golden crêpes stuffed with scrambled eggs, Jack and Cheddar cheeses, ham, pork sausage and crisp bacon. Topped with Jack and Cheddar cheeses.
Developer: Monte Loiacono, director of research and development

Veteran IHOP franchisee Joe Katin says, "It was the most unbelievable promotion I've ever seen in the IHOP system; it was extremely successful." Katin, who has been an IHOP franchisee for 30 years and currently has 35 IHOP locations in Texas, with more planned, is talking about Stuffed Crepes, which wowed IHOP guests last fall and garners this year's "Best Menu/Line Extension" category of Nation's Restaurant News' 2004 MenuMasters Awards.

The three versions of the dish take the chain's existing crepes — normally served sweet — and fill them with scrambled eggs, cheese and breakfast meats for a savory twist on favorite IHOP products.

Monte Loiacono, IHOP director of research and development, led the team that developed the crepes, along with John Koch, now vice president of product, menu and purchasing; Luis Galvan, test kitchen supervisor; and Lynn Gabriel, quality assurance manager.

During the crepes' 90 days of fame, they generated about 6.5 percent of IHOP's total sales, a stronger-than-typical performance for a promotional product, according to IHOP communications director Patrick Lenow. Depending on location and crepe type, the dish sold for $3.99 to $6.99, with an average food cost of 20 percent to 25 percent. IHOP's average guest check is just over $7. Nearly half of the crepes were sold at breakfast, about a third of total crepe sales came at lunch and the rest were split between dinner and other times.

Lenow credits careful market research before testing as a key to ultimate success of a menu rollout such as the Stuffed Crepes. Comprehensive surveys allow the company to identify items destined for popular appeal as well as menu proposals that don't resonate with customers. While product weights and proportions fluctuated a bit during testing of the stuffed crepes, Lenow says, the ingredient combinations themselves never were changed once the crepes went into kitchen testing. "We hit a home run out of the gate. The combinations we started with were the combinations we ended up rolling out."

Before national rollout IHOP test-marketed the crepes in 17 restaurants in Las Vegas, Phoenix and Houston, supported by local television advertising and point-of-purchase promotional materials. Confident of success — customers were enthusiastic about the crepes, and the restaurants consistently were able to execute the dish well — the IHOP team slated the crepes for national rollout.

Katin, though initially a bit dubious about combining the savory fillings into the sweet crepe wrappers, uses it as an example of Loiacono's savvy about knowing what menu items to pursue. "The things [Monte] brings to the table are just phenomenal," the franchisee says. "Every time I get on the other side of him, I always wish I was on his side. The guy is unbelievable." Katin appreciates Loiacono's commitment to soliciting input from franchisees and keeping them informed about upcoming developments.

The crepes' familiar components represent a comfort zone for consumers and cooks alike. From an operator's standpoint, introducing the crepes took very little effort. The dish requires no special equipment and fits squarely into IHOP's niche of generously proportioned breakfast all day long. Katin says, "The crepes were extremely successful for us because they utilize products on our shelves, and we didn't have to bring in limited-time-offering products, which made it wonderful for the franchisees."

Loiacono says the person who most influenced him to follow the corporate side of the restaurant business is retired research-and-development chef Gino Loring. The two have known each other for three decades and have worked together a number of times over the years, including working for the late Hans Prager, founder of the Ritz in Newport Beach, Calif., and for W. R. Grace. Loring describes Loiacono as extremely intelligent and creative and also lauds Loiacono's characteristic thorough preparation and calm manner. "He has the additional gift of the patience and the diplomacy to see [creative endeavors] through," Loring says. "Monte has the creativity and the passion for what he does, but he also has the ability to control his passions in order to not blow people away. He has the diplomacy that strengthens his passion and creativity."

"Monte has an unbelievable personality," Katin says. "He works long hours and has a huge drive to be No. 1. And no matter what you say to him, he always has a smile on his face. He is always looking for better ways to make the IHOP system No. 1 in family dining. As a franchisee, when I look at someone with that kind of enthusiasm, it makes me happy to see somebody who is so excited about what they're doing."

Loiacono says he loves creating food and enjoys interacting with all the people along the way, including franchisees and those involved in purchasing, training, operations and manufacturing, always with the ultimate goal of pleasing the IHOP customer. "That is the person that we're ultimately trying to satisfy," he explains. "Without guests, without people coming into your restaurant, you don't have anything. That's what drives our business, that is how we make our money and that is really our target: [finding] what we can do to create food that gives us the greatest guest satisfaction.

"The enjoyment of our business is that you can create food, and you give it to our guests and you create that satisfaction and enjoyment — and that's what it's really about."