Starbird
New Concept Creation / Whitespace Identification / Menu Strategy & Creative
What happens when industry-leading restaurant consultants reimagine fast food to meet the needs of a new America? The answer: Positively delicious chicken.
+33%
SSS GROWTH
450k
EBITDA
+45%
COC RETURN
After years of putting strategic thinking and culinary talent to work for our clients, the team members at The Culinary Edge endeavored to create their own restaurant concept. As a group of hardworking creatives and chefs with a keen eye on the F&B landscape, we recognized that a gap was forming in the marketplace.
Chicken was -and still is- the most consumed protein in America and the chicken restaurant marketplace was plentiful with concepts that offered highly craveable products. They had approachable offerings that spoke to a wide spectrum of needs and occasions and capitalized on chicken’s universal appeal and health halo. But, there was an overwhelming sea of sameness.
At the same time, the restaurant landscape itself was changing, with consumers increasingly eating on the go, demanding convenient and accessible options. In this, The Culinary Edge team saw an opportunity to create a uniquely bold, chef-driven chicken concept that could execute with top efficiency.
The Opportunity.
Our Insights.
The previous years were marked by a craft burger movement that had redefined the burger landscape. But - the same changes had yet to dawn on the crispy chicken landscape. The key was identifying the best “first moves” to take in this space, and these decisions rested on a few key insights that came from researching the chicken marketplace.
First, we found that the Southern nostalgia trend in fried chicken was heavily played out and something had yet to take its place. In particular global flavors were largely missing. There was very little form variation that existed - with chicken platters, bone-in buckets, and wings pervading the space.
Competitive menus largely failed to address contemporary eating styles, with health being addressed in the subtractive - using language like “low fat” and “low calorie”.
Crispy chicken was due for a culinary makeover. It was time to bring premium quality, craft, and chef-driven techniques to the mainstream.
The fast-food world was ready for new flavors and new forms that addressed contemporary eating sensibilities and styles. Convenience need not equate to sacrificing flavor and quality.
Our results.
Today, Starbird Chicken is built upon pillars of culinary innovation, a frictionless service model, and operational excellence. It has successfully established itself as a brand to watch out for within the $34 billion US chicken marketplace. By merging the strongest elements of QSR and Fast Casual, Starbird has defined a new market segment: Super Premium Fast Food.
At 20 Corporate-owned units, and a market-leading AUV of $4.1m, Starbird is also the winner of Nation's Restaurant News' Chicken Showdown. In 2024, Starbird signed franchising deals for over 40 units across three states, with the first of these units opening in 2025.
