Smashburger cofounder shares how he created hits like the McGriddle and Stuffed Crust Pizza— and why generational trends don't factor into R&D

Business Insider

a day ago

Don't expect to find a Labubu -themed promotion at Smashburger anytime soon.
The Denver-based chain is preparing to launch its "Summer of Smash" menu on July 22, featuring the return of its Smoked Brisket Bacon Smash and a new lineup of offerings under $4.99. But while Smashburger's new items do include a slate of hot dogs — which are, no doubt, having a cultural moment, particularly among younger fans — the chain's cofounder, Tom Ryan, says his research and development process doesn't hinge upon generational trends.
"It drives me crazy when you hear people, usually young guys who are probably 28, saying, 'Oh yeah, we're focused on Gen Z people and millennials,' and it's like, what's gonna happen when they grow up?" Ryan told Business Insider. "At some point in time, their lives are gonna change."
Ryan is known for his work creating iconic fast food classics, such as McDonald's McGriddle and Pizza Hut's Stuffed Crust Pizza. Over his nearly four decades as a food scientist for major brands, he says he's watched as chains trap themselves by chasing younger audiences with fleeting food trends, rather than prioritizing creating timeless staples that fans return to for years.
"When my kids were small, obviously, I worked there, but we went to McDonald's all the time — as soon as my kids got old, we never went to McDonald's again," Ryan said. "And now my kids, who now have kids of their own, are going back to McDonald's. Guess why? Because it's the kids who take them there. And so, to me, I didn't want to be on that teeter totter or swinging pendulum of being relevant and then not being relevant."
He added: "In my past life at McDonald's, I could point to data there, so that when those things happened, it showed up in their overall kind of seven-year swings, between doing really well and not doing well."
Set your target audience and stick to it
It's not that Ryan doesn't take the average age of the chain's customers into account at all — just that the 68-year-old fast food veteran takes a longer view of history when forming his menus than simply trying to cater to the latest whim of Gen Z — or whoever the trendiest generation is at the time.
"All product development has to start with that: Who are you appealing to, and how are you going to be talking about it?" Ryan said. "My goal in putting Smashburger together in 2007 and keeping it vital in 2025 is to basically address what's on our menu and how we talk about what's on our menu with a tonal target: the mindset of an aspirational 32-year-old."
To Ryan, consumers in their early 30s are cool, tuned in to culture without being driven by it, and have a bit of expendable income. Making food for them, no matter what generation they're from, forces him to create products with a certain level of modernity that also resonate with the next generation of consumers, because whether you're 23 or 45, Ryan says the goal is to have the energy of a 32-year-old.
This strategy also prevents him from reinventing the wheel each time a new generational cohort passes through his doors. Instead of keeping tabs on what's most trendy, he focuses on making the food taste good and keeping it modern without being pegged to a specific era.
"In the case of hot dogs, we've had them on our menu before, but we brought them back in with all the glizz and glamour that the current market is looking for in these things," Ryan said.
Smashburger's new Big Dog lineup includes an "Americana" version with ketchup, mustard, sweet relish, and diced red onions, as well as "Bacon Cheese" and "Chili Cheese" variations. The quarter-pound Angus beef dogs, while they're "not your grandfather's hot dog," Ryan said, are intended to get "all the favorites in there."
"Some things change, and a lot of it is the appearance and architecture, but the flavors stay fairly traditional," Ryan said.
So, while hot dogs may be trending, Ryan's not banking on virality — he's betting on flavor that outlasts the algorithm.