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Inspire Brands CEO is ‘pleasantly surprised' about the resiliency of consumers

Inspire Foods CEO is ‘pleasantly surprised’ about the resiliency of consumers
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  • Despite the ongoing pressures of inflation, Inspire Brands CEO Paul Brown told CNBC's Jim Cramer on Tuesday he's seen that consumers have been resilient.
  • Inspire Brands owns numerous well-known restaurant chains including Dunkin', Baskin-Robins, Buffalo Wild Wings, Arby's, Jimmy John's and Sonic.

Despite the ongoing pressures of inflation, Inspire Brands CEO Paul Brown told CNBC's Jim Cramer on Tuesday he's seen that consumers have been resilient.

Inspire Brands owns numerous well-known restaurant chains including Dunkin', Baskin-Robins, Buffalo Wild Wings, Arby's, Jimmy John's and Sonic.

"We see about 75% of Americans every year in one of our restaurants, given the breadth of our brands," Brown said. "So we do see the nation, and we have been pleasantly surprised about the resiliency. There are differences based on income level, but that's the beautiful thing about have a broad, diverse brand with multiple price points."

Brown said some of his company's strength lies in the way its brands are "integrated around a set of shared capabilities," so each brand can benefit from investments in another. He said this model may resemble business in the hotel sector as opposed to the restaurant sector.

He highlighted the strength of two brands in particular, Sonic and Dunkin'. Sonic's order ahead business boomed during the pandemic, Brown said, and continues to grow. According to Brown, Dunkin' is "on fire," in part because the company replaced coffee and beverage equipment across franchises which helped build up iced drink offerings.

"We're selling more iced beverages than we are hot," he said. "A franchisee in Rhode Island about 30 years ago got the bright idea of pouring coffee over ice and then everybody liked it, and so, we went with it."

Correction: A previous version of this story mischaracterized the name of Inspire Brands.

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