Ruby Tuesday, Inc.

By Bonnie Brewer Cavanaugh

Dishes: mashed cauliflower, low-carb burger wrap, low-carb cheesecake
Price: $10 to $12
Rollout: Phase I of the Smart Eating menu initiative began Nov. 11, 2003; Phase II rollout began April 27 and includes full nutritional information on every menu item, such as calories, fat and fiber in addition to net carbs.
Company: Ruby Tuesday Inc., Maryville, Tenn.
Units: 700, mostly co-owned; some are franchised
Description: approximately 30 new items, including a mashed-potato substitute, creamy mashed cauliflower. The 6-ounce serving is made with steamed mashed cauliflower, with some milk to give it "comfort food appeal."
Menu developer: Julie Reid, director of research and development, and Bob Eberhardt, corporate chef

Producing two new menus a year is the norm for casual-dining giant Ruby Tuesday Inc. But when those menus include some 30 new low-carb dishes and nutritional information, that's innovation.

It's no wonder then that the 700-unit chain is being lauded with Nation's Restaurant News' 2004 MenuMasters Award for Best Healthy Choice Menu Selection. Phase I of its recent low-carbohydrate "Smart Eating" initiative was launched in November, featuring brand-new low-carb items in addition to regular menu favorites; nothing was removed. New cooking techniques and educational tools for more healthful eating also were introduced.

Phase II of the initiative was launched April 27 with nutritional information for every menu item as well as some additional low-carb and low-calorie dishes.

A mashed-potato substitute, mashed cauliflower, is one of the most popular new items of Phase I. Steamed cauliflower is mashed with milk to give it the "comfort food appeal" of mashed potatoes in a low-carb form.

When people are eating low carb, one of the things that they miss most are comfort foods, notes Julie Reid, the chain's director of culinary research and development.

One way to cut carbs on Ruby Tuesday's new menu — without sacrificing favorites — is to order one of the chain's signature burgers on a whole-grain, high-fiber tortilla wrap, she says.

"People who come in thinking they are going to have a bunless burger are surprised that they can have some form of carrier," Reid notes.

As for desserts, "our low-carb cheesecake is our No. 1 best seller," Reid notes. It again goes back to providing comfort food. A guest will think, "If I can have bread and if I can have dessert, those are things I can't have on a diet normally."

Sandy Beall, the founder and chairman of Ruby Tuesday, spearheaded the push to include low-carb items thanks to customer feedback.

"Going out to eat shouldn't be hard; it should be fun and relaxing, a retreat and a reward," whether a customer is dieting or not, notes senior vice president Richard Johnson. "All of us could be very focused on trying to develop food that is good for you, but if it doesn't taste good, it really doesn't matter. Julie makes sure not only that we're meeting nutritional needs but also that it tastes good."

Developmental challenges included defining what types of low-carb foods the company's vendors were able to supply while keeping the menu in line with current pricing. Check averages are in the $10-to-$12 range, even with the new menu.

"It was a learning experience for us and for some of our vendors because this is really new — fiber technology," Reid says.

Nevertheless, the Phase I menu was the first systemwide rollout in years that the company did not test, Johnson notes. Two reasons explain why it did not.

"We felt like we knew there was a tremendous amount of consumer demand, and we wanted to get to market and provide our guests with something they were asking for," he says. "Second, we felt confident about what we were adding because we weren't replacing popular items."

It was a low-risk decision, he concluded. Besides, "we had tasted [the new menu items], and we knew they met great nutritional analysis."

Sales trends since the launch have been good, Johnson says, with about a 4-percent increase in same-store sales for each of the last two quarters.

Some 18 percent of menu items ordered are Smart Eating items, which works out to one in every five customers ordering a Smart Eating choice, Johnson says.

It takes a team to deliver an award-winning menu. Working alongside Reid in menu development is corporate chef Bob Eberhardt, whose input is "instrumental," Johnson says.

Right now they're concentrating on the switch to canola oil for frying, which Reid notes is the most heart-healthful oil. "It has the best ration of Omega 3s and 6s and no trans fats," she says.

After the success of the low-carb initiative, Reid and Eberhardt were longing to do more. Hence Phase II evolved, and it has been in test since February.

"We went back and asked, How can we not only enhance the low carb but also do lower fat and lower calories?" Reid says. They decided to bring nutritional information to the menu: listing the calories, fat, net carbs and fiber. "Then virtually anyone on any eating plan can make choices from our menu. We felt like, Let's not make it difficult for them; let's make it user-friendly.' "

Phase II menu additions include two new vegetable sides, which give the chain enough items to create two new veggie dishes, an appetizer and an entrée; brown rice instead of white rice; two new salad dressings, two new roast turkey dishes; and two new salmon dishes.

"Because of the popularity of the [low-carb] cheesecake, we've added another dessert," Reid says. "It's not low-carb, but it has reduced calories and fat, vanilla yogurt and blueberries, topped with toasted almonds."

Response to the new Phase II menu in test has been "huge," she adds.

"I can't think of anything that we rolled out in November that we're taking off for April," she notes. Usually with a reprint, a couple of slow sellers don't make the next cut. "Instead, we're adding more and then doing the calories and fat issue as well," Reid says.

Johnson says the company is proud of its new reputation as a trendsetter, although that's not the real impetus behind the Smart Eating initiative. It's just routine business, trying to please the customer.

"We weren't trying to pioneer anything," Reid says, agreeing. "We were just being responsive to our guests."