Campaign Results
How a Fast-Food Chain Increased Beverage Incidence by 570% and Doubled Sales Growth in Just 8 Weeks
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Beverage sales were declining and overall performance had stalled. Eight weeks later: beverage incidence was up 570%, and sales growth outpaced the rest of the network by 124%.
Impact
The results significantly outperformed those of the locations that did not participate in the program.
Sales revenue at the pilot locations increased by 8.10%, compared with 3.61% across the rest of the network. In relative terms, this represented a 124% stronger performance.
Unit sales in the core product category grew by 13.80%, versus 6.98% in the rest of the network—almost double the growth rate.
The most striking impact, however, was seen in beverages.
While locations not participating in the program experienced a 1.7% decline in beverage incidence, participating locations achieved 8.0% growth, resulting in a 570% relative performance difference.
01
The Challenge
A franchised quick-service restaurant chain in Argentina was facing two challenges at the same time.
On one hand, sales of its core products were growing below expectations. On the other, beverages accounted for a relatively small share of the average ticket: many customers chose to purchase their drinks elsewhere, where they perceived a better offer or greater convenience.
The challenge was straightforward: how could the brand increase the value of each transaction without relying on direct discounts?
02
The Opportunity
One of the chain’s leading beverage suppliers had a marketing budget specifically allocated to increasing its share within the channel.
Rather than investing that budget in traditional promotions, we designed a campaign capable of addressing two challenges at once:
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Increasing sales of higher-value menu items.
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Driving beverage attachment rates across customer purchases.
This approach transformed a supplier-funded marketing investment into a growth engine for both the brand and the restaurant chain.
03
The Solution
A purchase-based rewards program was rolled out across 19 franchised locations over an eight-week period.
The campaign was designed to encourage two specific customer behaviors:
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Choosing larger or higher-value products within the core menu category.
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Adding a beverage to the purchase in exchange for additional rewards within the accumulation program.
The hypothesis was straightforward: by rewarding the desired behaviors, customers would shift their purchasing decisions without the need for price discounts.
To measure the true impact of the initiative, results were benchmarked against the rest of the chain, which continued operating without the program.
In Numbers
01
19
Participating restaurants
02
8
Implementation period
03
+8,10%
+8.10% revenue growth
04
+13,80%
+13.80% growth in units sold (vs. +6.98%)
05
+570%
relative improvement in beverage incidence
Conclusion
This case demonstrates a reality that repeats itself time and again across retail and franchised businesses: sustainable growth rarely comes from lowering prices.
The strongest results emerge when incentives are designed to change customer behavior.
When customers have a compelling reason to choose a higher-value option and add complementary categories to their purchase, average ticket size increases, profitability improves, and the behavior becomes repeatable over time.
The difference between a promotion and a growth strategy is not the reward being offered—it is the ability to change purchasing habits.