Shake Shack’s Korean-style chicken sandwich is at the forefront of the “We Really Cook” campaign. | Photo courtesy of Shake Shack.
Shake Shack is inviting the fast-food industry to learn how to cook.
In a campaign launched Thursday called “We Really Cook,” the fast-casual chain is attempting to draw attention to the in-restaurant food preparation that goes on in its units.
The campaign spotlights its recent Korean-style menu promotion, which features the K-Shack Fried Chicken Sandwich, which is made to order and topped with freshly chopped scallions, Choi’s Napa Cabbage Kimchi and a spicy-sweet gochujang glaze.
The ad even reveals the sandwich recipe, for anyone willing to stop each frame to read it.
Shake Shack CEO Rob Lynch, in a full-page ad in The New York Times and a social media video, also invited everyone—even competitors—to a culinary training session at the chain’s new Atlanta Support Center. Classes begin March 12 (and the class can also be watched for free on March 17 on YouTube).
“No experience required,” the company said. “No secrets, no egos, just cooks helping cooks.”
The move appears to be a nod (or clap back) to fast-casual competitor Chipotle, which has long emphasized the cooking that goes on in restaurants and the resulting quality of its food, especially compared with fast-food chains that use pre-cooked and frozen proteins, fries and sauces designed for speed and consistency.
Chipotle on Sunday for example, launched an ad campaign dubbed “Choices,” that contrasts the vegetables and chicken being cooked in its restaurants on the plancha and avocados being mashed by hand into guacamole, with frozen fast-food nuggets being dumped into a fry basket and pre-formed burger patties cooked on an assembly line.
“In an environment where consumers are more discerning than ever about the ingredients in their food, ‘Choices’ visually communicates Chipotle’s value—in a fun and engaging way,” said Stephanie Perdue, Chipotle’s interim chief marketing officer, in a statement.
Both campaigns also tap into a growing push toward “real food,” or less-processed ingredients without preservatives and additives. That positioning has long defined the fast-casual segment, and some quick-service brands.
Quick-service chain In-N-Out Burger, for example, uses never-frozen ground chuck produced in the brand’s meat processing facilities, and burgers are cooked to order in restaurants. Fries are also cut from whole potatoes in units.
(Shake Shack, meanwhile, in 2013 attempted a switch to house-made, hand-cut fries. But customers reportedly objected, so the chain switched back to a frozen crinkle-cut fry.)
The focus on fresh cooking is also a value play. Both Shake Shack and Chipotle are working to communicate the value of their better-quality offerings as worth paying a bit more for.
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