Crunch Yo’ Burger
Practice this intermediate profitability case interview question in the Retail sector. Includes detailed problem prompt, clarifying questions, structured framework, and expert recommendation. Part of ProHub's 835+ consulting case library.
This case tests the candidate's ability to diagnose profitability issues through financial analysis and cost structure decomposition. The case progresses from high-level strategic analysis (examining revenue and profit margins across competitors) to operational problem-solving (identifying non-food variable costs as the culprit) and finally to quantitative modeling (calculating savings from a napkin dispensing machine). The inclusion of optional estimations (number of Subway restaurants and sit-in customers per location) allows flexibility in case length and tests market sizing capabilities.
Clarifying Information
- Your company sells fast food that is cooked onsite (similar price point to McDonald’s/Subway)
- Crunch Yo’ Burger operates all its own stores (i.e. no franchises)
- There are four major players in the market, differentiated only by the type of food they offer (prices are the same) - Crunch Yo’ Burger makes hamburgers, TacoCo sells tacos and other Mexican food, NoodleCo is focused on different varieties of noodles, PizzaCo sells pizzas
- We are concerned only with the US operations of Crunch Yo’ Burger and its competitors
- Our customers can be either takeout or eat-in customers