Jack in the Box gets a makeover with new tech-forward store prototype

Jack in the Box is getting a facelift: The San Diego, Calif.-based quick-service chain not only looks different these days with a new purple and red color scheme and refreshed food packaging, but the brand is remixing its drive-thru façade with an upcoming Crave store prototype.

“Our new Crave store design brings these colors all to life and is a way modernize and reintroduce the brand to consumers that really will help us stand out in the marketplace,” Jack in the Box chief marketing officer Ryan Ostrom told Nation’s Restaurant News.

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The Jack in the Box Crave store prototype will be rolling out to new stores in 2023 and will feature a double drive-thru lane for traditional drive-thru guests and express pickups, digital menu boards and a smaller dining room.

If this sounds familiar, Ostrom said he knows a lot of Jack’s colleagues and competitors in the industry have already launched similar store prototypes in the wake of the pandemic. But for Jack in the Box, it’s not about trying to have the first or most unique tech-forward restaurant design out there: it’s about meeting growing customer expectations.

Related: Jack in the Box increases menu prices nearly 10% as traffic struggles continue

“It’s really about modernizing the speed at which people can pick up their food for delivery and online ordering,” Ostrom said. “Digital represents more than 10% of our business and continues to grow. […] As we start simplifying the drive-thru process and develop new smaller footprints that are built for drive-thrus as opposed to our traditional stores built for in-store dining, we’re going to appeal to this new pick-up-and-go customer.”

The Jack in the Box technology wave does not stop at the drive-thru: the quick-service chain is also partnering with Miso Robotics to test out Flippy the robot in its kitchens and is looking into the tech company’s automated drink dispensing solution, Sippy.

“We’re really trying to make it easier for the customer to get a more consistent product every time,” Ostrom said. “We’re currently rebuilding our entire website, app, as well as our loyalty program. We want to modernize our digital tech stack to make it integrate even more seamlessly with the in-store experience.”

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