Waffle House Case Analysis

Waffle house was founded in 1955, and is considered a family dining restaurant. The company has over 2100 locations in 25 states. Most locations are in the South. Headquarters is located in Norcross, Georgia. Waffle house caters to all different types of market segments, including: late night college student, truck drivers, and travelers. The company has a cost-effective menu which caters to price-sensitive consumers. Waffle House does not do any official advertising; they are a private company. They are a regional, cultural icon and the company usually attracts and maintains habitual costumers. Most food restaurants that are considered family dining restaurants would be Waffle House’s competitors, such as: Cracker Barrel, Denny’s, Huddle House, and DineEquity. Waffle …show more content…
It is considered the 5th largest in its market. The market statistics are shown below:

As noted above, IHOP, Denny’s and Cracker Barrel have the largest market share in the family dining chains (“FSR”). Reasons behind this could be that the restaurant units for the following three companies have a higher occupancy than Waffle House. Waffle House has a maximum occupancy of 44 per store. The top three chains are also public companies, whereas Waffle House is private. The top three in the industry also have pricier menus and are able to target less price sensitive costumers. Waffle House still has the stigma of serving cheap food and a lot of people picture Waffle House as a company that serves a less affluent demographic (college students, truck drivers, and travelers). Being a 24/7 diner also creates the stigma that Waffle House serves a less traditional demographic. Waffle House has many opportunities to attract new consumer segments. For instance, the company could start offering healthy food options for weight or health sensitive consumers. This is a huge market that Waffle House currently does not cater to. Waffle House could offer carry