How to keep from being Cracker Barreled

Some mornings, you just want somebody to serve you breakfast.

And on those days, I would drive to Cracker Barrel. Despite the fluffy eggs and smoky sausage, I never felt like I quite belonged in this place of silver-haired “old timers” and boxed sets of The Beverly Hillbillies. But it was close to my house, and I was hungry.

Then a new place opened — First Watch. This restaurant was clean and bright. It offered healthy alternatives as well as creative new options such as lavender pancakes, breakfast cocktails, and the GenZ signature dish, avocado toast. And, there were no Patsy Cline CD collections.

I have not stepped foot inside a Cracker Barrel since.

Apparently, millions of other people made the same choice. Traffic to Cracker Barrel declined by 16% in the last five years.

Something had to change for this brand, and fast. It was time for a refresh … and you probably know what happened next. Chaos.

What can we learn from this fiasco?

I won’t re-hash the debate, but as this unfolded, I couldn’t help but wonder … could a social media brand backlash like this happen to me? Could it happen to you and your company?

What do we need to do so that our own marketing efforts aren’t Cracker Barreled?