Why We’re Winning

Wienerschnitzel is overachieving in the QSR industry

2021 is not only the 60th anniversary of Wienerschnitzel’s founding, it also marks our best year in business ever.

At a time when the rest of the QSR industry struggles to recover from the global pandemic, Wienerschnitzel is having the opposite experience. Our brand is thriving, with many of our franchise owners experiencing their highest sales on record.

Wienerschnitzel has a profitable business model with low food costs, simple operations and a unique and delicious menu you can’t get anywhere else.

“Our brand is over 60-years old and we’re doing better than ever,” says Cindy Galardi Culpepper, CEO of Wienerschnitzel. “The pandemic has really showcased the resiliency and the versatility of the brand. Throughout the crisis, our leadership team focused on supporting our franchise owners, helping them to reduce food and labor costs, implementing procedures to keep customers and our teams safe, and introduced marketing campaigns that were successful in winning over a large new audience as well as bringing our legacy customers back. It’s such an exciting time to be a part of Wienerschnitzel.”

Improved Drive-Thru Experience Benefiting Franchise Owners

In many ways, Wienerschnitzel was more prepared for the pandemic and changing customer behavior than many brands in the QSR space. Drive thru has always been a dominant point of sale, but never quite like the last two years.  We’ve continued to improve efficiencies while maintaining a safe environment for in-store crews.  Customer buying behaviors have evolved and the drive thru experience is the clear winner.

“When the coronavirus hit and everyone had to immediately shut down dining rooms, it obviously impacted some of the bigger brands a lot more dramatically than us,” says Rusty Bills, VP of Operations. “We didn’t have to panic and create new systems because our brand has always been associated with the drive-thru experience.”

The brand is now focusing on developing a mobile ordering platform that will make ordering from Wienerschnitzel easier than ever before and continuing to drive sales for franchise owners.

“We’ve always had big sales increases, but this year has been phenomenal,” says Doug Koegeboehn. “The fact that we have a drive-thru and a menu that actually tastes good is a big differentiator over our competition. Now, we’re working on mobile ordering. The technology has gotten so much better and we’re in a position to capitalize on it. We’re developing it so that it integrates with our POS system and allows our franchise owners to make an easy transition, and reap the benefits as well.”

Driving New and More Repeat Customers

One of the biggest silver linings of the national crisis was Wienerschnitzel’s ability to win over new fans and bring back legacy customers. The brand has always been an industry leader in terms of marketing and product development, appealing to every generation of customers, from baby boomers to the coveted millennial demographic. Even foodies love Wienerschnitzel, as our products deliver an experience that they simply cannot get anywhere else.

“You can’t be sad eating a hot dog,” Galardi Culpepper says. “We’ve introduced a whole new group of millennials, Gen Xers, and baby boomers to our fantastic products. That’s exciting because we have confidence in our ability to keep these new customers as long-term customers.”

And these new customers aren’t chasing bargains or affordable prices, Wienerschnitzel delivers both value and an exceptional product that resonates with customers.

“Our increased sales have been phenomenal, but we’re most proud of them being primarily full-priced, highly-profitable transactions,” Rusty Bills, VP of Operations, says.