Does Shake Shack Really Still Use Frozen Fries?

In the world of fast food, fresh ingredients are usually a huge selling point. Made-to-order burgers topped with crispy lettuce and juicy tomatoes will often show a commitment to quality and value. So when Shake Shack decided to move away from its frozen fries to hand-cut, in-house spuds in 2013, you might think this would be a well-received change. Well, think again. Despite its enormous success, the self-proclaimed "fine-casual" chain (its origins are actually in the fine dining world) swung and missed with this french fry debacle.

In an interview with Fast Company, Shake Shack CEO Randy Garutti said, "everything we stand for is freshness, quality, doing things the harder way. We truly believed the product could be better." But once feedback started rolling in and overall sales dropped, the restaurant chain had to cut its losses and move back to the popular frozen crinkle cut fries that had been so successful in the past.

When Shake Shack introduced its new house-made fries in 2013, the chain used hand-cut russet potatoes that were double-fried. The company believed this process would be more in line with what would be expected of a fine-casual chain. This process, though, proved to be more laborious for staff.

While that was a major problem, the biggest issue was that customers just didn't like the fries. Eventually, Shake Shack leadership admitted it messed up and brought back the beloved, highly rated frozen fries (which are one of the chain's most popular menu items) – with one caveat. Randy Garutti was determined to keep these fries free from artificial ingredients and preservatives, unlike Shake Shack's previous version of frozen crinkles. This approach seemed much more consistent with the chain's "Stand for Something Good" value statement, which includes using better, quality ingredients.

While Shake Shack has been overwhelmingly successful since it opened in 2001 as a hot dog stand in New York City's Madison Square Park, it is not immune from failure. That said, you have to give Shake Shack props for listening to its customers, seeing its mistake, and making a change. Maybe it's true that the customer is always right.