cracker barrel (CBRL) – Get Cracker Barrel Old Country Store Inc. paper it’s not a household name for many, but for others it’s their mainstay when it comes to good ol’ home cooking. Either way, Cracker Barrel is a business and wanted to expand its product and possibly its customer base by adding one more option to the menu, so it’s added a popular option in recent years: plant-based sausage.
Cracker Barrel Customers Don’t Like Change
cracker barrel The customer base has voiced their opinions, and they both don’t want to try the new plant-based sausage, and they don’t want anyone else to try it. Customers can order the regular sausage, which is always available at the restaurant, but they seem sad now that it’s an option for non-meat diners.
Cracker Barrel is known for old-fashioned home cooking, and the menu shows it – breakfast classic combinations are called “Old Timer’s Breakfast,” “Grandpa’s Country Fried Breakfast,” and “Cracker Barrel’s Country Boy Breakfast.”
Plant-based sausage is $3.89 and the chain’s original smoked sausage patty is $3.69, so they’re a little more expensive, but otherwise there isn’t much difference between the two options. However, it doesn’t seem like the part that upsets customers is the price.
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What Does This Change Mean for Cracker Barrel?
According to some of the restaurant’s customers who expressed their opinions on social media about the option added to the menu, they feel that making it an option for customers completely ruins their perception of the restaurant they are starting to love.
Cracker Barrel is not new to controversial issues as discrimination-related lawsuits have been filed and settled before. The lawsuit, filed by more than 40 people, claimed Black customers were subjected to racial slurs and were sitting far away from other White customers. He also claimed poor service and poorly prepared food. It left a black mark on the chain’s reputation, forcing it to consider making Cracker Barrel a more friendly place for all customers.
Today, Cracker Barrel takes small steps in its strategic journey towards diversity and inclusion. Customers may not realize it, but their favorite home cooking is made by a company trying to bring these concepts to its employees and now its customer base. Not a move to piss off, but a strategic move to help the business thrive.
All businesses suffered a steep decline in 2020 as the pandemic ravaged the economy. cracker barrel was no different, and the restaurant has been working to bring its business back ever since. The restaurant was back in 2021 and since then the stock price has dropped about 45% lower than before the pandemic.
Such declines raise alarm on the corporate side of Cracker Barrel, which has decided to reach a more health-conscious customer base. This is a sensible move, as the historical customer base has proven not to be sufficient to sustain the business in its current location. But one thing’s for sure: second people don’t care a bit about change.
