Everything stays the same - and that is political

Cracker Barrel actually just wanted to dust itself off a bit: less decoration, clearer colors, a slimmed-down logo. Four restaurants in the USA have already been modernized - and a wave of outrage immediately swept through conservative circles. "Too woke!", "too slick!", "too little home!" - These were the reactions of many. The management caved in: Logo back, conversions stopped. Of course, you could say that Cracker Barrel thrives on rusticity, on the feeling of sitting at grandma's kitchen table on Sundays. But the withdrawal also shows how great the pressure has become when a brand dares to make the slightest hint of change. In the Trump era, the suspicion that "tradition" is being sacrificed is often enough to politically charge modernization. This turns a design issue into a culture war. And Cracker Barrel is not alone in this. Bud Light was hit with a boycott in 2023 because the brand collaborated with a transgender influencer - the result was a historic slump in sales and a panicked row back. Target also had to experience how a harmless Pride collection became a political issue and parts of the range eventually disappeared from the shelves. The problem: if you only focus on the loudest clientele, you risk gambling away your future in the long term. This is because the regular clientele is ageing, while younger people don't have much use for "museum restaurants". Cracker Barrel has therefore won peace and quiet - but at the price of remaining stuck in the "same old, same old". The question is: Is this really smart brand management? Or just another example of how companies in the US are currently freezing under the pressure of a conservative outrage machine? What do you think?

Here is the link: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/cracker-barrel-cancels-plans-remodel-restaurants-conservative-backlash-rcna230091