The Challenge
The brand had a winning concept, healthy, quick, and affordable meals — but struggled to identify which new markets could sustain long-term growth. Traditional expansion methods based on intuition, basic demographics, or franchise inquiries often led to uneven performance across new sites.
They needed a smarter, scalable, and data-backed approach to expansion, one that could pinpoint where new stores would thrive, predict sales potential, and align brand presence with real consumer demand.
MapZot.AI’s Solution
Using MapZot’s AI-driven location intelligence, the brand’s leadership team gained a 360-degree view of the U.S. market landscape.
MapZot delivered:
- Predictive Growth Models — Forecasting revenue potential and cannibalization risk for every prospective site.
- Customer Behavior Mapping — Identifying where high-value customer segments live, work, and dine.
- Competitor Insights — Assessing market saturation and whitespace opportunities across regions.
- Market Prioritization Tools — Ranking metro areas by growth potential, disposable income, and traffic drivers.
By combining these insights, the team could launch in high-performing markets faster and avoid costly underperforming locations.
Results
In just a few years, the restaurant’s expansion strategy transformed from reactive to predictive driving measurable, scalable growth:
- Grew from 2 to 15,000+ locations nationwide
- Achieved consistent year-over-year growth in new market openings
- Improved average unit volume (AUV) through smarter site selection
- Reduced site underperformance risk by leveraging location intelligence
MapZot’s data-first approach empowered the brand to grow strategically, not just widely.