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Case Studies Cracker Barrel
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Cracker Barrel | Olo Case Study

Cracker Barrel Takes Catering From Holiday Tradition To Year-Round Revenue Generator

Cracker Barrel started using Olo’s platform to scale its catering business in 2018. Since then, catering has matured from a holiday-only service to a staple of everyday occasions and is now a key revenue driver for the brand’s nearly 660 locations. What’s helping drive its sustainable growth? A profitable direct ordering experience that catering guests love, capacity management strategies that prevent staff from becoming overwhelmed, and the flexibility to build supplementary solutions to meet Cracker Barrel’s unique needs.

LINKS

50%

YOY catering growth in fiscal 2023

$100M+

in annual catering sales

7x

higher average order value for catering vs. mealtime orders

99.68%

of catering orders are placed via Cracker Barrel’s website or app

Cracker Barrel | Olo Case Study

Background

Cracker Barrel has offered occasion-based catering—Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter, etc.—for many years. However, it wasn’t until 2016 that the brand began investing heavily in catering.

The turning point came when Cracker Barrel determined off-premise was one of the biggest growth opportunities for its restaurants and catering was the channel with the highest revenue potential. 

This drove the brand to prioritize its catering technology, optimize the ordering experience and menu, purchase delivery vans, assemble catering sales teams, and launch marketing campaigns to cultivate its B2B guest segment.

Olo’s platform was essential to Cracker Barrel’s strategy for scaling its catering business. Since 2018, the brand has used Olo’s technology to provide a consistent direct ordering experience for catering guests, streamline operations, and reliably manage high order volume.

Results with Olo

01 

EFFORTLESS CAPACITY MANAGEMENT AND SCALABILITY

Olo’s platform enables Cracker Barrel to manage high-volume seasons effortlessly by consolidating orders from multiple channels and allowing it to control how and when catering orders hit its restaurants. Using built-in capacity management tools like order throttling, the brand prevents staff from becoming overwhelmed and maximizes overall revenue—even splitting orders across stores to meet demand.

02 

MORE PROFITABLE DIRECT ORDERS

Cracker Barrel has made direct digital ordering the most convenient option for catering guests with the same design, process, and payment options as placing a mealtime order. Since 99% of catering guests order through the restaurant’s website or app, the brand has avoided most commission fees and retained nearly all catering profit.

By owning the catering guest relationship, Cracker Barrel can provide a consistent experience and leverage first-party data—favorite menu items, average order value, frequency, and more—to drive retention among some of its most valuable guests and inform business decisions.

03 

RELIABILITY AND FLEXIBILITY

Cracker Barrel can confidently expand its catering business, provide a positive end-to-end guest experience, and ensure stores stay on top of orders year-round using Olo’s enterprise-grade platform.

And, with Olo’s open API and extensive partner ecosystem, the brand can freely build and integrate supplementary tech solutions to meet its needs. For example, Cracker Barrel used the Ordering API to enable catering sales managers to track leads and sales in Salesforce. This helps the brand develop long-term relationships with universities, nonprofits, businesses, and other regular catering guests that generate recurring revenue. 
03

Olo has helped us grow from occasion-based catering to everyday catering by consolidating orders in one place and allowing us to throttle orders so stores aren’t overwhelmed. With Olo, we can meet our catering guests where they are, be the most convenient ordering option, and own the guest relationship.

Diana Lawson, IT Product Owner Online Ordering Systems

Cracker Barrel

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