The Royals’ offensive performance has started to improve after a slow beginning to the season. Increased scoring has not only resulted in more victories, but also satisfied fans. The team has teamed up with the fast casual restaurant chain Hawaiian Bros this year.“Plates for Plates” promotion– For each game where the Royals score six or more runs at home, patrons in the restaurant’s loyalty program receive a free classic plate lunch the next day.
As reported by the Kansas City Star, the restaurant planned to offer free meals after roughly 20 percent of home games. After 17 home games, the Royals have scored more than six runs on eight occasions. This has led to long lines at lunchtime at Hawaiian Bros in the region.
A representative from Hawaiian Bros states that it has provided more than 42,000 meals and gained over 24,000 reward members since the promotion started. Therefore, it is likely to be beneficial for the chain in the long term, even though staff might have difficulty managing the increased customer traffic.
The contest adds an extra level of thrill for supporters – they are cheering for the team to reach six runs. Hey, do you remember theTaco Bell “Steal a Base, Steal a Taco”promotion throughout the World Series?Fans in different sports have become extremely excitedfor comparable food distributions. Who claims there’s no such thing as a free lunch?
Certainly, this isn’t the Royals’ first effort to engage their supporters. Such collaborations offer fans an additional incentive to visit the stadium, while also providing restaurants with fresh clientele. However, these partnerships can occasionally lead to negative outcomes, as witnessed in previous campaigns. Here is a look at the Royals’ history of food promotions.
Krispy Kreme (2003-2006)
By the early 2000s, the Royals had struggled for multiple seasons, prompting the team to attract fans with the promise of free doughnuts. In 2003, they launched a promotion where if the Royals recorded 12 hits in a home game, spectators could exchange their ticket the following day at any local Krispy Kreme for a dozen free donuts.
The 2003 squad proved to be…solid. Not exceptional, but solid enough to remain competitive throughout the season. As the team started attracting fans, they would become wild when the team recorded 11 hits in a game, shouting “WE WANT DONUTS! WE WANT DONUTS!”
The Royals exceeded expectations during a high-scoring period and were attracting larger crowds than usual. As a result, many free donuts were given out.A Krispy Kreme spokespersonexposed the company had been somewhat taken by surprise.
We were unaware that the Royals would become so successful this season. … It’s been like an actual wildfire — it has spread more than we could have ever anticipated.
In 2003, the Royals recorded 27 home games with a minimum of twelve hits, ranking as the second-highest total in team history (only the 2000 squad performed worse regarding Krispy Kreme). The redemption rate was approximately 1 percent, yet there were just three Krispy Kreme stores in the area, resulting in extended wait times.
After the 2006 campaign, theKrispy Kreme’s promotion has been stopped.:
[Dan Glass] mentioned that the doughnut maker’s corporate philosophy had shifted and the company no longer wished to keep the promotion going. However, Glass added humorously, “We’ll all end up losing a lot of weight.” He also joked that Krispy Kreme executives were so surprised by the team’s second-half performance last season that they were concerned about how often this year’s giveaway would occur if the hit total wasn’t increased to 24 for a dozen.
What about the team’s progress? That 2006 squad lost 100 games! Think about it—if the Royals had actually improved during that time! Perhaps Krispy Kreme was compensating Angel Berroa to lose matches?
Panera (2007)
Krispy Kreme was no longer present, but the following year, Panera took their place with a comparable promotion. If the Royals recorded 13 hits during a home game, fans could exchange the ticket for 13 free bagels. I suppose they believed that achieving 13 hits is a more challenging target for the team compared to 12 hits.
On April 20, the Royals achieved the milestone with a victory against the Twins. The following day, Royals supporters crowded Panera cafes to claim their bagels. Panera was swamped. As Jeffery Flanagan noted in the Star on April 29, 2007, more than 8,500 fans attempted to exchange their tickets for bagels. Frank Williamswrote about the bagel mistakeand the challenges workers faced in meeting the demand.
All bread produced at any of the Panera locations in the Kansas City area (such as Wichita, Lawrence, Topeka, Manhattan, and St. Joe’s) was made using a decades-old levain known as the Mother Bread. The mentioned bagels are prepared one day in KC, allowed to rise in a truck and walk-in coolers the next day, and then baked on the third day. It goes without saying that a sudden increase in demand can create challenges for this extended supply chain.
Looking back, it feels like an excessively generous promotion. Perhaps suggest a few bagels? A free sandwich? I’m not sure what I’d do with 13 bagels, and I have three sons who consume a lot of food.
Once was sufficient for Panera, they wanted to leave.
“we are definitely shutting it down,” said Eric Cole, vice president of operations for the Kansas City Panera locations…
It was simply overwhelming,” Cole said. “We were led to expect a redemption rate of around 15 percent, so we assumed it would be no more than 20 percent. I believe it ended up being approximately 26.7 percent from that single game. Preparing a bagel the way we want takes about six minutes. As a result, we found ourselves unable to keep up at certain locations due to the number of fans wanting them.
The Royals achieved 13 hits in 13 additional home games during that season, which might have forced Panera to close permanently.
Papa John’s (2016-2018)
In 2016, the Royals partnered with Papa John’s so that if the team scored five or more runs, spectators could use a coupon to receive 50 percent off a pizza the following day. I suppose high-carb treats are the only thing the Royals can offer as a reward. MLB also had a citywide promotion, allowing fans to get 40 percent off a pizza if any player hit a grand slam.
However, both promotions were suddenly halted during the 2018 season.because of Papa John’s founder John Schnatter.
Following reports of Schnatter using the N-word during a training call, Major League Baseball suspended its Papa Slam promotion with Papa John’s indefinitely, according to Yahoo Sports.
Oh yeah, that. The Royals lost interest in Papa John’s and quickly ended the promotion.
McDonald’s (2017-2019) and Subway (2018)
I don’t recall these promotions, but I came across them in an article discussing the Papa John’s promotion. It turns out that in 2017, McDonald’s also ran a promotion where if the Royals made a double play, customers could get $1 off a McDouble. The following year, they improved the deal by offering “buy one, get one” on any sandwich from the menu the next day. In 2019, it was restricted to Egg McMuffins only.
Subway also ran a promotion during that period. In 2018, during a home game where the Royals recorded nine hits, fans were able to receive a free 6-inch sub sandwich if they bought a 30-ounce drink. You can observe the promotions becoming somewhat more strategic. It’s acceptable to slightly reduce the requirement if the reward is less substantial. Additionally, it encourages customers to make a purchase. The Royals achieved the nine-hit milestone in 36 home games, but I haven’t come across any reports of local Subway locations being swamped by hungry Royals fans.
The Royals might not consistently come out on top, but they are still managing to provide you with something.
