TGI Fridays™ Taps Beanstalk to Grow Brand’s Retail Offerings
Brand Extension Agency to Take Fridays™ to New Categories in Mass, Grocery, Convenience Store and Club Channels
July 7, 2014, New York, NY., - Leading global brand extension agency, Beanstalk, has been hired by TGI Fridays™ to extend the iconic Fridays™ brand into additional food, beverage and other complementary categories in mass, grocery, convenience store and club channels. Beanstalk will also work with existing licensees, Heinz and Inventure, to assist in the development of their Fridays branded food products.
Fridays currently offers a wide variety of frozen snacks, including Beer-Battered Onion Rings, Buffalo Popcorn Chicken, Honey BBQ Wings and Cheeseburger Sliders with Sweet & Smokey BBQ. The brand also offers a variety of packaged snacks, including many varieties of the chain’s popular potato skins such as Cheddar & Sour Cream, Jalapeno Cheddar, Chili Cheese, Sour Cream & Onion and Cheddar & Bacon.
In 1965, Fridays opened its first location in New York City. Today, there are over 900 restaurants in 60 countries which offer high quality, hand-crafted food and innovative drinks in a social, welcoming atmosphere. The chain will soon celebrate its 50th anniversary as the world’s favorite gathering place and an environment that stays true to its brand promise: “In Here, It’s Always Friday®.”
“Partnering with Beanstalk will contribute to our incremental growth at retail both domestically and internationally,” said Carl Robie, Vice President of Fridays Global Strategic Sourcing and Brand Licensing. “It will also ensure that we can achieve our mission of being the leader in quality and innovation across all categories in which our branded products live. Beanstalk’s strategic and tactical approach will continue to propel the expansion of the Fridays brand in purposeful and meaningful ways, allowing consumers to further engage with their favorite restaurant in the comfort of their own homes.”
“Not only is Fridays known for its personalized service and authentic food and drinks, but it is also a place of firsts – first loaded potato skins, first Long Island iced teas, and first restaurant loyalty program,” Allison Ames, President of Beanstalk commented. “Beanstalk plans to leverage Fridays’ recognition as America’s most iconic bar and grill with strategic extensions that align closely with the brand’s equities. We also look forward to working with industry leaders such as Heinz and Inventure to further expand and refresh the Fridays offerings that are already in market.”
About TGI Friday’s As the original casual dining bar and grill, TGI Fridays offers authentic American food and legendary drinks, served with genuine personal service. Bringing people together to socialize and celebrate the freeing and liberating spirit of “Friday” was the concept’s founding premise, from which the brand promise “In Here, It’s Always Friday®” was born. To share that social Fridays experience all over the world, TGI Fridays proudly serves guests with over 900 restaurants in more than 60 countries.
TGI Fridays believes in having a good time, but also in the importance of drinking responsibly. Additionally, its Responsible Business Program is focused on positively impacting the communities it serves. For more information, visit www.fridays.com.
About Beanstalk
Beanstalk, a global brand extension agency, works closely with our clients to unlock brand equity and create many of the world’s most recognizable products and services. We help leading brands, celebrities, media properties, manufacturers and retailers creatively find ways to strengthen their relationship with their most important stakeholder – the consumer.
Beanstalk offers a breadth of services including brand licensing, direct-to-retail program management, license acquisition for manufacturers, and royalty auditing. Blueprint – Powered by Beanstalk, our consulting division, advises clients through four key practice areas: brand extension + retail development, research + insights, design + identity, and operations + governance. Tinderbox, our digital division, works with new media properties to realize their potential in the world of consumer products.
The company is headquartered in New York, with offices in London, Los Angeles, Miami, and Cincinnati, and affiliates throughout the world. For more information, please visit www.beanstalk.com. Beanstalk is a part of the DAS Group of Companies, a division of Omnicom Group Inc.
About The DAS Group of Companies
The DAS Group of Companies, a division of Omnicom Group Inc. (NYSE: OMC) (www.omnicomgroup.com), is a global group of marketing services companies. DAS includes over 200 companies in the following marketing disciplines: specialty, PR, healthcare, CRM, events, promotional marketing, branding and research. Operating through a combination of networks and regional organizations, DAS serves international, regional, national and local clients through more than 700 offices in 71 countries.