C S P September 2011 121

Pull up to any of the more than

250 In-N-Out Burger restau-

rants, and you’ll see a striking

resemblance to another fast-food chain—

but in color only.

The chain’s red-and-white motif, with

a signature yellow boomerang arrow, may

look like a McDonald’s restaurant, but

the company has a much different appeal.

Anchored in the nation’s Western region,

In-N-Out Burger basks not in Happy

Meals or Big Macs, but in food char-

acterized by purity on its menu: 100%

vegetable oil, 100% ice cream and 100%

pure beef.

There is a certain curiosity, if not mys-

tery, about this 63-year-old family-owned

company that shuns the press (includ-

ing this one) and yet two years ago was

named the country’s best quick-serve

restaurant in a survey of 94,000 users.

Here are just a few of the ingredients

that distinguish In-N-Out:

▶ Customization: From inventory

to retail, a sense of exclusivity pervades.

Tomatoes are grown specifically for the

company’s burgers, and buns are baked

just for them. Potatoes are pared and

sliced at each location.

▶ Freshness: In-N-Out does not use

microwaves or freezers. No meal is pre-

pared until the customer places an order.

What’s Red and White and Sizzles?‘Secret’ menu, devoted fans make In-N-Out Burger a cult favorite

By Jim Romeo

At a GlanceIn-N-Out Burger

Founded: 1948

Headquarters: Irvine, Calif.

Locations: 260 locations, mostly in

California; scattered locations in other

Western states including Utah, Wash-

ington, Texas, Arizona and Nevada.

Revenues: Private corporation, though

Orange County Business Journal esti-

mated its 2010 revenues at $465 million.

Phot

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y Br

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[special foodservice section]

C S P September 2011122

▶ Family Control: The eatery refuses

to franchise and has not expanded too far

East of its original Southern California

base. With few exceptions, the menu has

not varied in more than 60 years. And

many of its employees have worked the

counters for two decades.

In a word, the company is about one

thing: culture.

“This is as much a part of the In-

N-Out brand as are the palm trees out

front,” says James Sinclair, a principal

with Los Angeles-based OnSite Consult-

ing, a national hospitality and restaurant

consulting company with a focus on food

and beverage and fast-food restaurants.

“Their growth model has to include new

distribution plants so that their loyal

customers don’t ever question the fact

that the product is fresh and not frozen.

This also gives In-N-Out control over

the raw goods; they are never in a posi-

tion to hope that the stores are ordering

from the right company or that the local

store manager understands what the fresh

product should look and/or taste like.”

In-N-Out Burger is a study in no-

nonsense food, served up with a hard-

to-explain appeal.

Happy CuStomeRS, Happy WoRKeRSA visit to In-N-Out feels like an outtake

from the movie “American Graffiti”: a

trip down memory lane with traditional

burgers, fries and shakes, from which a

devout customer loyalty emerges.

In some Western states, for example,

locals have launched signature drives to

petition bringing an In-N-Out to their

town. When one opened in north Texas,

customers camped out the night before

to be among the fi rst to order.

From its red festooned palm trees on

its cups and fry trays to the online store’s

fries and burger Christmas tree orna-

ments and In-N-Out golf balls, some-

thing about the whole In-N-Out package

creates a built-in network of fans who

promote the brand, unsolicited.

When an In-N-Out was about to open

in Arroyo Grande, Calif., a fan posted the

following on an online forum in anticipa-

tion, a sentiment resembling that of a

heavy-metal groupie:

“I am pumped to have In-N-Out open

here in [Arroyo Grande]. … As for the

line, it took me 30 minutes total to stand

in line and receive my food. I went about

12:45 p.m. opening day, so I didn’t expect

to wait any less, and there was a line just

to get into the parking lot being blocked

off by all the drive-thru-ers. I’m sure it

will be busy for a long, long time, though.

But always worth the wait.”

Not only do customers want to

patronize the food offering, but they also

wouldn’t mind working for the company.

In 2008, when In-N-Out announced it

would be hiring about 50 people for a

In-N-Out’s Menu LexiconIf you’ve been to an In-N-Out, you already

know the slang. If you haven’t and don’t

want to come across as a newbie, here’s

your quick guide:

Animal Style: Refers to extra spread, onions and pickles

fried into the burgers as they’re cooked.

Double-Double: Double meat, double cheese.

3 by 3 selection: Three patties stacked high with or

without certain fi xings.

4 by 4: Same as 3 by 3 but with four patties.

Protein Style: Your favorite burger wrapped in lettuce

instead of a bun.

C S P September 2011124

new location to open in west Sacramento,

approximately 500 circled around the

block to place their application. The same

episode played out in Utah the following

year and in Santa Rosa, Calif., the year

after that. It happens all the time. Folks

are eager and anxious to be a part of the

In-N-Out staff.

It makes one ask, seriously: What is the

story behind this excitement and success?

Dennis Lombardi, executive vice presi-

dent of foodservice strategies for Dublin,

Ohio-based WD Partners, believes much

of it can be attributed to a controlled geo-

graphical West Coast presence, a limited

menu and “offering the theater of fresh

food,” he says. “Customers love to watch

them hand-cut the french fries.” To watch

the brigade of red pants, white shirts, black

bowties and white aprons slice and dice

potatoes is a spectacle in itself and part of

the pageantry of fast-food served up with

a smile. It complements the freshness in

its food.

“Does freshness and quality matter?”

Lombardi asks rhetorically. “Yes, they

absolutely do. And the rise of ‘fast casual’

has increased the focus on higher-

quality menu offerings, products and

In-N-Out Burger is a study in no-nonsense food, served up with a hard-to-explain appeal.

C S P September 2011126

ingredients. But it’s not the only consideration for customers.

Value, cleanliness, speed of service and a convenient location

are also very important attributes when people are choosing

where they will eat.”

“The founders, Harry and Esther Snyder, held the exception-

ally strong belief that to be successful, you served the freshest,

highest-quality burgers and fries; treated your employees well;

and [treated] your customers even better,” says organizational

psychologist Billie Blair, president and CEO of Change Strategists

Inc., Los Angeles.

Simple FoRmula WinSIn-N-Out doesn’t doesn’t seek out fame and glamour, but it

seems to get it anyway because of an unspoken dedication to

ordinary people wanting good traditional American burgers

and fries. Sinclair of OnSite Consulting says In-N-Out is a

classic offering of quality and service coupled with nostalgia

and ambiance.

“In-N-Out does not misstep,” says Sinclair. “They know

what works for them and they do not get tempted to change

due to greed. You don’t see them in amusement parks or on

Hollywood Boulevard. They are on highways and major bou-

levards. They have always gone after the ‘everyman’ consumer.”

In some ways, its branding strategy seems easy: Make

the ordinary extraordinary, and think like a customer. “This

company shows the power of a strong brand,” says branding

expert Scott Creamer, CEO and founder of The Screamer Co.,

Austin, Texas. “Burgers are commodities and competitors are

everywhere. But In-N-Out Burger made itself special.”

The chain hasn’t spent much on advertising over the years,

Creamer says; it prefers instead to build its brand through old-

school word-of-mouth marketing. The company capitalized

on that in the early ’80s, when it gave away bumper stickers

and used them to initiate a sweepstakes, which turned into a

popular promotion with little investment.

“The company motto is, ‘Quality you can taste,’ ” says

Creamer. “Sure, they’re serving up burgers, fries and shakes,

basic stuff, but it tastes healthier than the usual fare.

“Consumers felt a connection with In-N-Out’s simple,

almost quaint brand, and it was clear that Rich knew the value

in preserving that,” Creamer continues, referring to the son

of Harry Snyder, In-N-Out president since 1974. “I think the

brand harkening back to an earlier time when food was simple

and not laden with the overprocessed additives, etc., is another

smart aspect of this campaign. It’s a great visual/psychological

marketing strategy. The same is true of its limited menu. It’s

what we were used to before we became the nation of choices.”

Another interesting component of its branding strategy is

that less hype means more demand. Rob Frankel, an indepen-

dent branding expert, says In-N-Out’s approach underscores

the trademarks of a successful brand: authority, credibility and

clarity. “It chooses to keep its executions basic and free of slick

overhype,” Frankel says. “As a result, the public understands

and can articulate why they prefer In-N-Out to other brands.”

menu modeStyIn-N-Out’s menu is something of a lesson in the grandeur of

simplicity. There’s nothing sophisticated about its offering: burg-

“Any private equity firm that I know would love to own In-N-Out. It’s an excellent brand with an excellent reputation.”

C S P September 2011128

ers, fries, and shakes—common choices for a classic burger joint.

But there’s a unique parlance in what one asks for in an order.

The company ironically refers to it as its “not-so-secret”

menu, developed by customer preference. For example, “Ani-

mal Style” refers to extra spread, onions and pickles fried into

the burgers as they’re cooked. A “Double-Double” is double

meat, double cheese. The “3 by 3” selection is simply three

patties stacked high with or without certain fixings. “4 by 4” is

the same with four—yes, four—patties.

There are no menu gimmicks at In-N-Out Burger. “Their

‘secret’ menu,” says Lombardi of WD Partners, “was created

by their own loyal customer base (hence, not-so-secret),

and predicated on the fact that In-N-Out will happily create

custom orders. It was never any marketing campaign, but it

certainly helped them build word-of-mouth buzz.”

Lombardi likens this “insider” culture to Starbucks’ early

growth period. “Their ‘super customers’ took pride in know-

ing the brand’s coffee vocabulary, and being able to order

coffee beverages using the baristas’ lingo,” he says. “Menu

gimmicks can never take the place of offering good food and

good service. And no one in the foodservice industry considers

In-N-Out Burger a ‘ho-hum’ restaurant choice.

“Any private equity firm that I know would love to own

In-N-Out. It’s an excellent brand with an excellent reputation.”

not Ray KRoCIn-N-Out developed as a company at about the same time that

McDonald’s did.

“The Snyders made the personal decision not to expand

for expansion’s sake,” says Blair of Change Strategists. “In fact,

they were actually opposed to expansion but were talked into

branching out by their employees. In other words, they were

actually opposed to the ‘fast food’ that Ray Kroc of McDonald’s

espoused. Their philosophy has stood the company in good

stead through the years—it’s been hugely successful in Cali-

fornia, and customer demand was the reason for expansion to

other states.”

Perhaps author Stacy Perman sums up the company best

in the prologue of her book “In-N-Out Burger: A Behind-

the-Counter Look at the Fast-Food Chain That Breaks All

the Rules”: “Not a mere burger joint, In-N-Out was an iconic

institution that obviously stood apart. As I worked on the book,

I grew to believe that the story behind its success had something

to do with the way the chain evoked the kind of passionate fol-

lowing that could only be described as a cult phenomenon.” n