To find out, the Better Buying Lab teamed up with food companies in the U.K. and U.S., including fast-casual chain Panera Bread. The company had a Vegetarian Black Bean Soup on the menu that was originally labeled as low-fat. Customers who tried the soup seemed to like it, but the name didnt seem to encourage a lot of new customers to try it, says Sara Burnett, Paneras vice president for wellness and food policy.
Vegetarian the word in and of itself to a lot of folks doesnt sound highly craveable, Burnett says.
So Panera tried out a couple of options to see if it could make that soup sound more scrumptious. When it rebranded the dish as Cuban black bean soup in a test at 18 stores in Los Angeles and Californias Central Valley, sales went up by 13 percent.
Cuban, in a lot of folks minds, when they react to that they think of a flavor profile, says Burnett. They think of a little bit of heat, a little bit of spice, and that makes people hungry.
