By John Ramsay, Vice President of Franchise Sales, Noodles & Company
Noodles & Company, the national fast-casual chain known for spreading Uncommon Goodness with its globally inspired noodle bowls, best-in-class service, and values-centric culture, has seen strong sales and unit growth in recent years. What’s the secret sauce to their success? With over 450 locations across 29 states, the Colorado-based restaurant is leading the way in the fast-casual space offering an innovative menu, affordable investment, and a strong guest base.
In the midst of the pandemic, John Ramsay joined Noodles & Company as the Vice President of Franchise Development to lead the brand’s franchise growth. With over 30 years of background in the restaurant franchise industry, he immediately got to work bolstering the brand’s franchisee portfolio.
The fan-favorite fast-casual noodles brand first announced its multi-unit franchise growth initiative in 2021 and despite the economic-challenging environment, Noodles & Company has proven the strength of its differentiated concept, menu innovations, franchise business model, and digital capabilities. Today, Noodles & Company is a category leader in digital sales and has successfully signed multiple franchise agreements while marking the company’s most successful new restaurant class in history.
With attractive unit economics, Noodles & Company continues to focus on accelerating new unit growth in the years to come. Noodles & Company is on target to open more than 20 new locations in 2022 and has made significant progress towards a strong 2023 pipeline.
Uncommon Goodness
With a strong company culture that drives business success, Noodles & Company announced the launch of its new brand platform, Uncommon Goodness, earlier this year. Through Uncommon Goodness, Noodles is bringing its purpose to life by elevating the truly uncommon goodness that has been core to its brand for more than 25 years. From how the company treats its team members and creates a unique guest experience, to how it carefully selects ingredients and positively impacts the communities it serves, Noodles infuses Uncommon Goodness into everything it does.
As a result, Noodles & Company has shown strong franchise growth within the past two years from both current and new franchisees and continues its strong performance this year. In addition to securing franchise agreements to expand Noodles & Company’s presence in California, West Texas, and New Mexico, Noodles & Company has opened in two new markets this year, making our debut in Las Vegas, NV, and Myrtle Beach, SC.
Menu Innovations
Delivering convenient made-to-order dishes with fresh ingredients, Noodles & Company serves a customizable menu that easily allows guests to swap in their favorite noodles or protein or add extra of their favorite toppings to any dish. And with a menu that the whole family will enjoy, no matter the dietary preference, Noodles t brings a new twist to traditional pasta. From indulgent Wisconsin Mac & Cheese to better-for-you LEANguini, Zoodles, Cauliflower Noodles, and stuffed Tortelloni, Noodles & Company introduces exciting new concepts and experiences that help consumers ‘travel with their taste buds’.
In 2022 alone, Noodles & Company launched the following menu innovations:
- 7 Delicious Dishes: Offering a brand-new tailored menu that launched in June 2022 featuring seven fresh and flavorful Noodles dishes starting at $7. This new value menu brings a satisfying combination of flavors that guests cannot find at other fast-casual dining spots. The seven classic and fan-favorite dishes featured on the new menu include Noodles’ best-selling Wisconsin Mac & Cheese, Japanese Pan Noodles, Pesto Cavatappi, Med Salad, Pasta Fresca, Spaghetti and Butter Noodles.
- LEANguini: Despite the new challenges in today’s restaurant industry from inflation to the rising cost of chicken and more, Noodles & Company continues to listen to guest sentiments and deliver on menu innovation. Noodles & Company continues to bring new exciting innovative dishes guests can’t get at any other fast-casual restaurant including the proprietary, first-of-its-kind LEANguini noodle that was created in-house by Noodles’ culinary team to have the same satisfying taste and texture as a regular noodle but with 56% fewer net carbs and 44% higher protein than traditional pasta.
- Fresh Salads: After an overwhelming approval by guests in the summer of 2021, Noodles & Company officially launched two new flavor-packed fresh salads to its menu this summer: Asian Apple Citrus Salad and Mexican Street Corn Salad. The introduction of the new craveable salads joined Noodles’ existing salad line-up, which included Grilled Chicken Caesar and The Med Salad with Chicken.
- Impossible Chicken: In Q4 2022, Noodles & Company is launching Impossible Panko Chicken nationally which includes Impossible Foods’ plant-based meat following a successful menu test in Q2 2022. The new Asian-style Impossible Panko Chicken dish is delicious, made from plants and is an excellent source of protein.
Noodles Loyalty Program
The growth of Noodles’ loyalty program is one of the brand’s most powerful indicators of success. With over 4.2 million users, the Noodles Rewards program is designed to provide a dynamic guest experience by personalizing rewards, delivering offers tailored to their preferences, and providing the convenience of mobile ordering all in the palm of their hands. In addition to the enhanced off-premise capabilities, the brand can interact directly with its reward members and provide an omnichannel experience for both in-person dining and takeout.
Additionally, by using a data-driven approach, Noodles & Company has first-party data to make strategic business decisions that improve guest satisfaction, deliver a seamless and convenient experience for its guests, motivate its team and drive traffic to support its franchisees. From exclusive digital experiences via the Noodles Rewards app to diverse menu options for guests, Noodles & Company continues to be at the forefront of innovation.
As a category of one, Noodles & Company has a few direct competitors. The national fast-casual chain will continue to thrive and expand across the U.S. looking for experienced multi-unit, multi-concept franchise partners.
To learn more about franchising with Noodles & Company, visit https://noodlesfranchising.com.