Closing the Value Gap Through Quality & Experience
CHICAGO — As menu prices rise and consumers scrutinize the idea of value more than ever, the topic of value itself is both timely and timeless, according to The Coca-Cola Co.'s Eric Blumenthal, senior vice president, foodservice commercial leadership and growth.
The difference between brands that consumers overlook and brands that are beloved can be "an unstoppable, cult-like army of raving fans obsessed with telling others about their experience," Blumenthal said during a 2025 National Restaurant Association (NRA) Show session entitled "Closing the Value Gap: Winning Consumers through Quality and Experience."
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Fans come more often, spend more money and bring their friends, he noted. "How do you build this following for your business?"
He encouraged attendees to think about the value equation; essentially, value is what you get divided by what you pay.
Most of the time, operators consider the financial side of the value equation. "There's nothing wrong with that, but we have over-rotated to the financial side of the value equation and customers are feeling that," Blumenthal said. He pointed to data showing that menu prices are up more than 20% from January 2020 to now. "I'm pretty confident saying the experiential side has not increased at that same right."
Additionally, 70% of customers would pay more if they knew they would receive a convenient experience. Great experiences also contribute to perceived value — customers also reported they would be willing to pay a 16% price premium on products and services.
This also increases loyalty, Blumenthal noted. "Experience matters," he added.
The Power of Experience
Blumenthal pointed to the "paradox of scale" as a common problem. In general, all businesses want to scale up, but when operators think about growing, they think about designing for the masses. "We've got to get back to thinking about designing for the one," he said.
The three key value drivers beyond product are quality, experience for care. Designing for equality should come first and foremost as it establishes an element of trust that gets people to come back.
When designing for experience, Blumenthal advised operators to "create one moment per visit worth sharing." As an example, he described a family trip to Walt Disney World. While any trip will have low-rated moments, families will remember moments like meeting princesses and favorite characters most strongly.
Principles of a high-quality experience include:
- Build anticipation
- Deliver personalization
- Evoke emotion
- Craft shareable moments
- Drive action and habit
- Make it last
Finally, designing for care means remembering that "people don't just want to be served, they want to be seen," he advised.
The 2025 NRA Show took place May 17-20 at Chicago's McCormick Place.
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