Cheesesteak Trends
We caught up with Chung Choe (head of R&D and with Charley’s since 1986) last week in between a test-kitchen session and some research she was doing. What a job, right? Make and test Phillys!? Talk about being ready for work on Mondays. She shared some interesting information on trends she’s seeing and what’s up next for Charley’s…
Charelys: Philly Cheesesteaks in 2010, or 2050 for that matter. Where do you see things?
Chung: You’ll see a lot more ethnic seasonings and ingredients. The speed of demand for these types of flavors is incredible – much faster than we’ve seen in the last 30 years. Philly Kimchi is not far off!
Charley’s: Why the demand for these flavors?
Chung: With the globalization of media and experiences, people want access and are more adventurous.  Food is exciting and interesting – it allows people to experiment and stimulate the senses through the palette. Now, you can travel through food.
Charley’s: What other trends are you seeing?
Chung: Charley’s is paying special attention to female customers. Cheesesteak was traditionally a ‘male product’. But guess what? WOMEN LIKE PHILLY CHEESESTEAKS TOO!! Salad for women is so 80s and 90s. Female tastes and preferences are considered as we develop our sandwiches and food. More women are going to college, are a part of the workforce and have significant spending power. They are also making meal decisions for their families. We’re definitely sure to develop taste profiles and great food for women!
Charley’s: Never cross a woman! :) OK, so what can we expect next from Charley’s?
Chung: We’re working on rolling out bold flavors and tastes – specifically layering flavors and textures. For instance, you might see something spicy combined with cool cucumber. We’re focusing on the progression of tastes across your palette.
We’re trying a lot of new things, always focused on the quality of our food while we come up with new flavor experiences.
Keep a heads up for new sandwiches wolfing out of our text kitchen. We’ll keep you updated on Twitter and Facebook. [links]

Cheesesteak TrendsWe caught up with Chung Choe (head of R&D and with Charley’s since 1986) last week in between a test-kitchen session and some research she was doing. What a job, right? Make and test Phillys!? Talk about being ready for work on Mondays. She shared some interesting information on trends she’s seeing and what’s up next for Charley’s…

Charely’s: Philly Cheesesteaks in 2010, or 2050 for that matter. Where do you see things?

Chung: You’ll see a lot more ethnic seasonings and ingredients. The speed of demand for these types of flavors is incredible – much faster than we’ve seen in the last 30 years. Philly Kimchi is not far off!

Charley’s: Why the demand for these flavors?

Chung: With the globalization of media and experiences, people want access and are more adventurous.  Food is exciting and interesting – it allows people to experiment and stimulate the senses through the palette. Now, you can travel through food.

Charley’s: What other trends are you seeing?

Chung: Charley’s is paying special attention to female customers. Cheesesteak was traditionally a ‘male product’. But guess what? WOMEN LIKE PHILLY CHEESESTEAKS TOO!! Salad for women is so 80s and 90s. Female tastes and preferences are considered as we develop our sandwiches and food. More women are going to college, are a part of the workforce and have significant spending power. They are also making meal decisions for their families. We’re definitely sure to develop taste profiles and great food for women!

Charley’s: Never cross a woman! :) OK, so what can we expect next from Charley’s?

Chung: We’re working on rolling out bold flavors and tastes – specifically layering flavors and textures. For instance, you might see something spicy combined with cool cucumber. We’re focusing on the progression of tastes across your palette.

We’re trying a lot of new things, always focused on the quality of our food while we come up with new flavor experiences.

Keep a heads up for new sandwiches wolfing out of our text kitchen. We’ll keep you updated on Twitter and Facebook.

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