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Heinz Introduces New “Dip & Squeeze” Ketchup

Sep20

Are you a ketchup head like me? I absolutely NEED ketchup with my fries or chicken nuggets, it just adds the perfect zing that makes my tastebuds sing! =) I always wondered why all dipping sauces like honey mustard, bbq and ranch were in containers and ketchup was the only one packaged in a flimsy sleeve! Well, things have changed my kids! You are now allowed to Dip and Squeeze!

Apparently the days of the traditional rip and squeeze ketchup packets are falling by the wayside. Heinz is now working to make their “Dip & Squeeze” ketchup packets available everywhere. The new packets, which are the first redesigned packets by Heinz in 42 years, will give ketchup lovers the option to dip their fries or squeeze the ketchup out as before.

Heinz says the new “Dip and Squeeze” packets will begin replacing the traditional rectangular ketchup packets later this year at Continue reading →

Today Only, April 12th: Free Ice Cream Cones @ Ben & Jerry’s

Apr12

As we’re starting to slowly feel the summer heat, we stumble upon Ben & Jerry’s Free Cone Day! Today only, the ice creamery opens its doors, welcomes you in and sends you away with a well-worth-it free scoop of your choosing.

Ben & Jerry’s is celebrating their 33rd year of scooping out the wackiest of flavors. Some new ones to try include Late Night Snack (a swirl of vanilla with salted caramel and fudge covered potato chips), Bonnaroo Buzz (coffee and malt ice cream with a whiskey caramel swirl and pieces of toffee) and Clusterfluff (peanut butter ice cream with swirls of peanut butter and marshmallow, studded with caramel clusters). Or you can always stick with a tried and true flavor like Cherry Garcia or Chubby Hubby.

The offer lasts from noon to 8pm. To find your nearest Ben & Jerry’s, visit the website or, of course, there’s an app for that. Ben & Jerry’s Scoop of Happiness, is an app for the Droid or iPhone that acts like an ice cream crazed map, guiding you to the closest Ben & Jerry’s scoopery. You may need that if the lines are as long as last year.

FREE PANCAKES Today!

Mar1

It’s National Pancake Day! At least according to IHOP, which has brought back its popular national day of free pancakes it’s held annually since 2006.

IHOP customers will receive a short stack of three pancakes for free while the promotion lasts from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. today.

Use the IHOP locator to find an IHOP location near you!

 

IHOP says it has raised more than $5.65 million since it started its National Pancake Day promotion. Its goal for this year is to raise $2.3 million for Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals and other local charities.

Wendy’s Revised Fries

Nov10

Guess what?  Wendy’s is remaking its fries with Russett potatoes, leaving the skin on and sprinkling sea salt on top as it changes its menu to focus on “real” ingredients to win more fans.

The fries, which first appear on Thursday and roll out over the next two weeks. This is the first major overhaul of the 41-year-old company’s fries, although it has adjusted the recipe in the past.

The new fries are slightly slimmer than the old ones, and crispier because they’re smaller. The selling price will not change, ranging from 99 cents to about $2. The fries will still come to stores frozen.

Wendy’s is planning a marketing push, including national television ads airing later this month, to highlight the changes.

“We want every ingredient to be a simple ingredient, to be one you can pronounce and one your grandmother would recognize in her pantry,” said Chief Marketing Officer Ken Calwell, who declined to say what the Dublin, Ohio, company was spending on the effort.

Fries are very important to restaurant chains because they’re a staple, but they’ve never been a major part of Wendy’s business, said Joscelyn MacKay, a securities analyst with Morningstar. The company has been known more for its beef, which is fresh, not frozen. Fries are more of an afterthought to Wendy’s, so it’s not likely this will drive new business.

“It’s very consistent with their positioning but at the end of the day, it’s going to be down to taste,” she said.

I’ve always liked the way Wendy’s fries tasted. Although I understand the chain’s strategy in identifying with more natural ingredients by leaving the skin on the fries to remind consumers – this is a REAL potato. I have to go check ‘em out soon.

Free Coffee Fridays at BK for November

Nov4

Burger King is looking to put some pep into its new breakfast push by giving out free cups of coffee every Friday morning this month. The goal is to promote the company’s new breakfast menu, which rolled out in September. 

Coffee, including specialty coffee drinks like mochas, has been a major driver of business for McDonald’s. Now Burger King is highlighting its Seattle’s Best Coffee, which it started selling earlier this year, to drive more breakfast business its way.

The company will give out free 12-ounce cups of the coffee, which sells for $1 each. No purchase is necessary. Guests can receive the coffee during breakfast hours, until about 10:30 a.m.

Burger King expects to give away between 2 million and 4 million free cups throughout the promotion. The chain will also give away coupons for free iced Seattle’s Best Coffee for a future visit. Those drinks, in either vanilla or mocha flavors, were among nine new breakfast items the company introduced earlier this fall.

Burger King North America Chief Marketing Officer Mike Kappitt said the company is seeing a significant increase in breakfast sales and traffic. He said the new line of breakfast platters are among the more popular items.

Source:  Chicago Breaking News

First Chicago-Area Chick-fil-A Opens

Sep16

Employees in crisp red shirts performed a variety of final tasks as the legendary chicken chain prepared to debut its first Chicago-area outlet at 6 a.m. Thursday at the Westfield Fox Valley Mall property on Aurora’s far east side.

An unofficial pre-opening on Wednesday drew dozens of Chick-fil-A fans from the Chicago area and beyond, lured by the prospect of free once-a-week meals for a year. The firm traditionally gives away coupons to the first 100 customers.

I’m one of the Chicago Fans of Chick-Fil-A =) Aurora is still far, but it’s closer than going to Indiana for a bite of that juicy, tender chicken! Those of you who have had Chick-Fil-A I’m sure can relate to me, but if you haven’t tried it – it’s definitely a piece of memorable chicken.

Burger King is Introducing 9 New Breakfast Items

Sep7

Chief Marketing Officer Mike Kappitt said the company has dabbled in breakfast for years since Burger King introduced breakfast in 1979 but is now making it a major focus.

The rollout includes a marketing campaign featuring six new television ads highlighting the menu overhaul. The campaign will last about twice as long as most other Burger King campaigns.

“We’ve almost abdicated it to McDonald’s,” Kappitt said of Burger King’s breakfast, “and we feel that it’s time to take it back, or at least our fair share of it. That’s our ambition.”

The move comes just as Burger King receives an expected infusion of capital from a new owner. Last week the nation’s perennially No. 2 hamburger chain said it is selling itself to New York-based 3G Capital in a deal valued at $3.26 billion.

When unemployment rises, breakfast sales suffer because that’s an easy meal for people to skip, Kappitt said. People’s habits are entrenched when it comes to breakfast, so the campaign’s ads aim to shift those habits to Burger King locations.

The campaign will be on national television and satellite and national radio.

Breakfast accounts for about 12 percent of Burger King revenue, while McDonald’s gets one-fourth of its revenue from breakfast, Kappitt said.

The new offerings include platters of pancakes, eggs, sausage and other breakfast items ranging from $2.29 to $4.29 and a ciabatta sandwich with eggs, ham, bacon, tomatoes and cheese for $2.89.

Mini-blueberry biscuits — complete with icing dipping sauce — will take the place of the ham omelet sandwich on the $1 value menu.

The popular Crossan’Wich will remain =)

To read the full story, click here.

I personally love BK Breakfast. They have a great selection already so these new additions can only benefit them. We just need more people eating breakfast. Only if they served breakfast 24/7, I think they would see a great jump in breakfast sales compared to the company’s total sales.

How to Get Free Tickets to 3rd Annual Chicago Gourmet

Aug30

The third annual Chicago Gourmet (this year with Bon Appetit as major sponsor) will take place Sept. 24-26. Guests will enjoy food, wine, spirits and beer tastings, celebrity chef demos, educational seminars, book signings and more. A one-day admission ticket costs $150, but there’s a way to get one free.

Just dine at five restaurants participating in the Chicago Gourmet Dine Around, which begins today, and bring your receipts, in the official Dine Around receipt holder, to the Chicago Gourmet registration table for your free admission.

Actually, you don’t need to visit five different restaurants; your receipts can all be from the same restaurant, as far as the promotion is concerned. And though many of the participating restaurants are featuring special Chicago Gourmet menus (three courses for $33 or $55), you need not order those menus for your receipt to qualify.

There are more than 50 participating restaurants, including Branch 27, Courtright’s, Harry Caray’s, L20, NoMI, Riva, Spring, Sunda and Vie.

View a complete list of participants, here.

You’ve got 27 days to make five restaurant visits. Shouldn’t be too tough.

Source:  Chicago Tribune

Say Goodbye to the Following Baskin-Robbins Flavors …

Jul16

Baskin-Robbins, which has thousands of outlets around the globe, is replacing Caramel Praline Cheesecake, Campfire S’mores, Apple Pie a La Mode and Superfudge Truffle. French Vanilla, a staple since 1945, is out, too.

Srinivas Kumar, chief brand officer at the company, said “over the decades we have retired some of our iconic flavors into our deep freeze — like ‘Miami Ice’ from the 1980s and ‘Beatlenut’ in the 1960s — but never before have five flavors gone into the deep freeze at one time.”

The Illinois-based National Ice Cream Retailer’s Association says the U.S is the world’s top ice cream-consuming nation.

The U.S. ice cream industry generates more than $21 billion in annual sales, and about 9 percenet of all the milk produced by U.S. dairy farmers is used to produce ice cream, according to the International Dairy Foods Association.

There’s no word yet on what the new Baskin-Robbins flavors will be. And as for the old ones, they’ll only be available through the end of July.

I’m most upset about the replacement of Apple Pie a La Mode! That was seriously my favorite :-’( *tear*