Healthy Living, a Growing Trend in Restaurant Industry

Greek salad, pasta salad, cucumber avocado salad, garden salad,
corn salad, cole slaw, Caesar salad, Caprese salad, macaroni
salad… and the list goes on and on. There are an infinite number
of salads one can create—not just salads for healthy living. And
everyone seems to have a preference for their own unique spin on
a salad, whether it is the type or amount of dressing, an opinion
on whether or not fruit belongs on a salad, or which cheese
should be on top.


With such an overwhelming number of choices, how can a
customizable salad business appease all of its customers?


On today's episode of The Main Course, host Barbara Castiglia
speaks with Michelle Bythewood, President, and Julie Davis, VP of
Franchise Development, of Salata, to discuss how Salata caters to
such a wide customer base, which isn't always those who are
interested in "healthy living" type salads, with their wide array
of options.


No doubt, first impressions are important. 55 percent of first
impressions are formed by what we see, 38 percent are shaped by
what we hear, and seven percent are formed by the words one says.
Salata takes the visual aspect of their customers' first
impressions seriously.


"The first thing that really resonates with the guest is just
seeing that fresh line—everything from the lighting to the angle
of the sneeze guard is really thought out from a development
standpoint to showcase that food. So just really welcoming you in
and guiding you through the experience to understand what to go
with," explained Davis.


Castiglia, Bythewood, and David also discussed…


1. Who their competition is, and how they compare to their
competitors


2. How the training program helped Bythewood and David help
Salata's franchisees


3. What Salata hopes to create for guests and what they want
their customers to take away from the Salata experience


Bythewood talked about the customer base Salata attracts. "We've
broken it down internally into three different categories... The
first is flavor savors—the people that really come in for true
flavors and want to try different, adventurous things with our
salad. The second is busy and balanced. So, the folks that are on
a time schedule, they're career-oriented, and they need to get in
and out pretty quickly, and our line allows them to do that. And
then the third set is fit and fabulous. So, the true health
conscious. They're coming in, and they want all protein for the
day, or they want to eat really light and healthy. So we look at
it in those three segments. So, I think you can see that it's
kind of something for everyone."


Michelle Bythewood is president and chief marketing officer at
Salata as well as founder and principal at Field Marketing Focus,
LLC. Before working at Salata, Bythewood was VP of Brand
Marketing at Cici's Pizza, Senior Director of Field Marketing at
Raising Cane's, and Brand VP of Marketing at Cinnabon, among
other positions. She attended Stephen F. Austin State University
and holds a Bachelor of Business Administration in Marketing.


Julie Davis is VP of Franchise Development at Salata and
previously worked in Franchise Development at Freddy's Frozen
Custard and Steakburgers. She has also held positions such as
Franchise Development Director, U.S., at IWG plc and Director of
Franchise Sales and Development, U.S., at Dairy Queen. Davis
attended the Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center,
where she studied Middle Eastern Studies.