Dialsmith

As a follow-up to my Q&A with Laura Ries a couple of months ago I recently asked for her thoughts on a particular case of a company going to the extreme – Hardee’s and its Monster Thickburger with 1420 calories and 107 grams of fat.  Here is what she had to say:

I do believe that Hardee’s new burger is an example of the principle that nature favors the extremes. People either want to indulge in high-calorie, tasty food. Or restrict themselves with diet and lower calorie items. Items in the mushy middle are in trouble. Note the failure of C2 and Pepsi Edge, Coke and Pepsi’s mid-calorie line of drinks.

People shop the same way. High-end luxury stores like Neiman Marcus are doing well. And low-end stores like Dollar stores are doing well. The ones in the middle like Macy’s are in trouble.”

Thanks for the insight, Laura.