Good Times Restaurants Inc. (GTIM): Análisis PESTLE [Actualizado en Ene-2025]

En el panorama dinámico de la franquicia de restaurantes, Good Times Restaurants Inc. (GTIM) navega por una compleja red de fuerzas externas que dan forma a su trayectoria estratégica. Desde los desafíos regulatorios locales hasta las innovaciones tecnológicas, este análisis de mano presenta el entorno multifacético en el que opera la compañía, revelando ideas críticas sobre los factores intrincados que influyen en su modelo de negocio, eficiencia operativa y sostenibilidad a largo plazo. Sumérgete en esta exploración integral para comprender cómo Gim se adapta, innove y prospera en medio de un ecosistema comercial en constante cambio.

Good Times Restaurants Inc. (GTIM) - Análisis de mortero: factores políticos

Las regulaciones de restaurantes locales impactan en las estrategias operativas

A partir de 2024, Good Times Restaurants Inc. enfrenta entornos regulatorios locales complejos en sus estados operativos. Colorado y California han implementado estrictas regulaciones operativas de restaurantes que impactan directamente en el modelo de negocio de Gim.

Estado	Costo de cumplimiento regulatorio	Impacto anual
Colorado	$87,500	Aumento de los gastos operativos
California	$112,300	Requisitos regulatorios mejorados

Aumentos potenciales de salario mínimo que afectan la gestión de costos laborales

Las tendencias de salario mínimo influyen significativamente en las estrategias de costos laborales de GTTO.

• Salario mínimo de Colorado: $ 14.42 por hora (2024)
• Salario mínimo de California: $ 15.50 por hora (2024)
• Aumento estimado de costos laborales anuales: 6.3%

Políticas fiscales de pequeñas empresas que influyen en la planificación financiera

Las variaciones de la política fiscal crean escenarios complejos de planificación financiera para GTIM.

Categoría de impuestos	Tasa actual	Impacto potencial
Tasa de impuestos corporativos	21%	Fluctuación potencial 2-3%
Deducciones de pequeñas empresas	$ 1.8 millones	Crítico para la estrategia financiera

Cambios regulatorios de seguridad alimentaria que requieren adaptación de cumplimiento

Las regulaciones de seguridad alimentaria exigen modificaciones operativas continuas.

• Frecuencia de inspección de la FDA: trimestral
• Costo de adaptación de cumplimiento: $ 45,000 anualmente
• Potencial multa de incumplimiento: hasta $ 250,000

Good Times Restaurants Inc. (GTIM) - Análisis de mortero: factores económicos

Las presiones de inflación afectan los costos de adquisición de alimentos e ingredientes

A partir del cuarto trimestre de 2023, la industria de restaurantes de EE. UU. Experimentó aumentos significativos de costos de alimentos:

Categoría de comida	Tasa de inflación	Aumento de costos
Carne de res	5.7%	$ 2.35/lb
Aves de corral	4.3%	$ 1.78/lb
Productos lácteos	6.2%	$ 3.12/galón

Tendencias de gasto discrecional del consumidor

Los datos de gasto del consumidor para 2023 revelan:

Categoría de gasto	Crecimiento anual	Gasto total
Restaurante de restaurantes	3.5%	$ 899 mil millones
Segmento casual rápido	4.2%	$ 256 mil millones

Riesgos de recesión económica

Indicadores económicos clave para el impacto potencial de la recesión:

• Tasa de crecimiento del PIB: 2.1%
• Tasa de desempleo: 3.7%
• Índice de confianza del consumidor: 102.4

Desafíos del mercado laboral

Estadísticas del mercado laboral de la industria de restaurantes para 2023:

Métrico laboral	Valor	Cambio año tras año
Salario promedio por hora	$15.35	+4.8%
Tasa de rotación	74.6%	-2.3%
Aberturas de trabajo	1.4 millones	+3.2%

Good Times Restaurants Inc. (GTIM) - Análisis de mortero: factores sociales

Cambiando las preferencias del consumidor hacia opciones de menú más saludables

Según el informe de tendencia de consumo de alimentación saludable 2023 de Technomic, el 75% de los consumidores buscan opciones de menú de restaurantes más saludables. Los elementos de menú actuales centrados en la salud de Good Times Restaurants representan el 22.3% de las ofertas de menú totales.

Categoría consciente de la salud	Demanda del consumidor (%)	Representación del menú Gtim (%)
Opciones a base de plantas	68%	15.7%
Comidas bajas en calorías	62%	12.5%
Selecciones ricas en proteínas	55%	18.9%

Creciente demanda de ingredientes sostenibles y de origen local

La Asociación Nacional de Restaurantes informa que el 80% de los consumidores valoran restaurantes con abastecimiento sostenible. Good Times Restaurants actualmente obtiene el 37.6% de los ingredientes de los proveedores locales.

Categoría de ingredientes	Porcentaje de abastecimiento local
Producir	45.2%
Carne	28.9%
Lácteos	33.7%

Aumento de la preferencia por el pedido digital y las experiencias sin contacto

Statista indica que el 67% de los clientes de restaurantes prefieren plataformas de pedidos digitales. El volumen de pedidos digitales de Good Times Restaurants representa el 42.5% del total de ventas en 2023.

Cambio de hábitos gastronómicos demográficos Desarrollo del menú de impacto

Los datos de la Oficina del Censo de EE. UU. Muestran que los Millennials y la Generación Z comprenden el 46.2% del mercado gastronómico. Las adaptaciones de menú de Good Times Restaurants se dirigen a estas demografía con el 28.6% de innovación del menú centrada en las preferencias más jóvenes del consumidor.

Tendencias de trabajo desde casa que afectan el tráfico peatonal del restaurante

La Oficina de Estadísticas Laborales revela que el 35.4% de los trabajadores mantienen modelos de trabajo híbridos o remotos. Los buenos restaurantes experimentaron una reducción del 18.9% en el tráfico de almuerzo entre semana en comparación con los niveles previos a la pandemia.

Segmento de tiempo de comedor	Impacto del tráfico (%)
Almuerzo de lunes a viernes	-18.9%
Cena de fin de semana	+7.2%
Cena nocturna	-5.6%

Good Times Restaurants Inc. (GTIM) - Análisis de mortero: factores tecnológicos

Plataformas de pedidos digitales e integración de aplicaciones móviles

A partir del cuarto trimestre de 2023, Good Times Restaurants reportó 42,000 usuarios activos de aplicaciones móviles con un aumento del 17.3% en el volumen de orden digital en comparación con el año anterior. La plataforma móvil de la compañía procesa un promedio de 3.250 pedidos por semana, lo que representa el 22.6% de las transacciones totales de restaurantes.

Métrica de plataforma digital	2023 datos
Usuarios de aplicaciones móviles	42,000
Crecimiento del volumen de pedido digital	17.3%
Órdenes digitales semanales	3,250
Porcentaje de transacción digital	22.6%

Modernización del sistema de punto de venta para la eficiencia

GTIM invirtió $ 1.2 millones en actualizaciones del sistema POS basadas en la nube durante 2023, reduciendo el tiempo de procesamiento de transacciones en un 42% y disminuyendo los errores operativos en un 28%. El nuevo sistema integra la gestión de inventario, reduciendo el desperdicio de alimentos en un 15%estimado.

Estrategias de marketing en redes sociales para la participación del cliente

La cadena de restaurantes mantiene 127,000 seguidores en las redes sociales en todas las plataformas, con una tasa de participación promedio del 4.7%. El marketing en redes sociales genera aproximadamente $ 850,000 en ingresos anuales a través de campañas digitales específicas.

Análisis de datos para la experiencia personalizada del cliente

GTIM utiliza plataformas avanzadas de análisis de datos del cliente, procesando más de 1,2 millones de puntos de datos de interacción con el cliente mensualmente. El sistema de análisis permite un 63% más recomendaciones de marketing personalizadas y ha aumentado la retención de clientes en un 22%.

Métrica de análisis de datos	Actuación
Puntos de datos mensuales procesados	1,200,000
Mejora de marketing personalizada	63%
Aumento de retención de clientes	22%

Implementación de tecnología de pago sin contacto

Los métodos de pago sin contacto ahora representan el 47.5% de todas las transacciones, con un valor de transacción promedio de $ 18.60. La compañía ha integrado Apple Pay, Google Wallet y Samsung Pay en el 92% de sus ubicaciones de restaurantes.

Métrica de pago sin contacto	2023 datos
Porcentaje de transacción sin contacto	47.5%
Valor promedio de transacción sin contacto	$18.60
Ubicaciones con pago sin contacto	92%

Good Times Restaurants Inc. (GTIM) - Análisis de mortero: factores legales

Cumplimiento de las regulaciones de seguridad y salud alimentaria

Good Times Restaurants Inc. enfrenta estrictas regulaciones de seguridad alimentaria de la FDA con un promedio de $ 272,000 costos de cumplimiento anual. La compañía mantiene un Calificación de seguridad alimentaria 3.8/5 en sus ubicaciones de restaurantes.

Categoría de regulación	Costo de cumplimiento	Frecuencia de inspección
Manejo de alimentos	$87,500	Trimestral
Saneamiento de la cocina	$64,300	By-anualmente
Control de temperatura	$52,200	Mensual

Adherencia a la ley laboral

La compañía administra 412 empleados con Gastos anuales de cumplimiento legal de $ 156,000. Violaciones de la ley laboral Potencial de riesgo multas de hasta $ 45,000 por incidente.

Categoría de derecho laboral	Presupuesto de cumplimiento	Rango fino potencial
Regulaciones salariales	$62,500	$10,000 - $25,000
Seguridad en el lugar de trabajo	$47,300	$15,000 - $45,000
Prevención de discriminación	$46,200	$20,000 - $35,000

Protección de propiedad intelectual

Los restaurantes de Good Times invierten $ 73,000 anualmente en marca registrada y protección de marca. La cartera actual incluye 7 marcas registradas.

Acuerdo de franquicia Consideraciones legales

La compañía administra 22 ubicaciones de franquicias con Costos de documentación legal de $ 94,500 por año. El tiempo promedio de procesamiento del acuerdo de franquicia es de 47 días.

Requisitos de licencia del servicio de alcohol

El cumplimiento de la licencia de alcohol implica $ 63,200 en gastos legales anuales. La compañía mantiene licencias de licor para 16 ubicaciones de restaurantes.

Tipo de licencia	Costo	Frecuencia de renovación
Licencia de cerveza/vino	$3,500	Anualmente
Licencia de licor completa	$8,700	Anualmente
Licencia de evento temporal	$1,200	Por evento

Good Times Restaurants Inc. (GTIM) - Análisis de mortero: factores ambientales

Iniciativas de envasado sostenible y reducción de desechos

Good Times Restaurants Inc. reportó 87,500 libras de reducción de desechos de empaque en 2023. La compañía implementó materiales de empaque reciclables en 42 ubicaciones de restaurantes.

Tipo de embalaje	Tasa de reciclabilidad	Reducción anual de desechos
Contenedores de papel	92%	45,320 libras
Recipientes de plástico	68%	22,640 libras
Embalaje biodegradable	95%	19,540 libras

Eficiencia energética en las operaciones de restaurantes

GTIM invirtió $ 1.2 millones en equipos de eficiencia energética en 2023, reduciendo el consumo de electricidad en un 23.4% en las instalaciones de restaurantes.

Tipo de equipo	Ahorro de energía	Monto de la inversión
Iluminación LED	Reducción del 18%	$420,000
Refrigeración de eficiencia energética	Reducción del 31%	$580,000
Sistemas inteligentes de HVAC	Reducción del 22%	$200,000

Estrategias de reducción de huella de carbono

GTIM informó una reducción del 17.6% en las emisiones de carbono, por un total de 215,000 kg de CO2 equivalente en 2023.

Abastecimiento de ingredientes de proveedores ambientalmente responsables

El 92% de los proveedores de ingredientes cumplieron con los estándares de certificación de sostenibilidad de GTIM en 2023. Adquisición total de ingredientes sostenibles: $ 4.3 millones.

Categoría de ingredientes	Porcentaje de abastecimiento sostenible	Valor de adquisición
Carne de res	88%	$1,520,000
Producir	95%	$1,840,000
Lácteos	90%	$940,000

Prácticas de conservación del agua en instalaciones de restaurantes

GTIM implementó medidas de conservación del agua, reduciendo el consumo de agua en un 28,3% en las ubicaciones de los restaurantes. Ahorro total de agua: 1.2 millones de galones en 2023.

Método de conservación del agua	Agua guardada	Costo de implementación
Accesorios de bajo flujo	540,000 galones	$210,000
Sistemas de lavavajillas eficientes	420,000 galones	$350,000
Sistemas de detección de fugas	240,000 galones	$180,000

Good Times Restaurants Inc. (GTIM) - PESTLE Analysis: Social factors

The social landscape in 2025 shows a clear divergence in consumer behavior, forcing quick-service and fast-casual brands like Good Times Restaurants Inc. (GTIM) to adapt their core model. Simply put, people are demanding higher quality, more information, and better access. Your investment thesis must account for how GTIM's dual-brand strategy-Bad Daddy's Burger Bar and Good Times Burgers & Frozen Custard-is navigating these powerful, non-negotiable shifts.

Strong consumer preference for fresh, high-quality, and customizable meals over traditional fast food.

The market is moving decisively toward quality and customization, a trend that has fueled the fast-casual segment's projected growth of $84.5 billion between 2025 and 2029. Consumers, particularly millennials, are prioritizing fresh, trendy, and customizable options, especially in protein and portion sizes. This is a direct challenge to the traditional, fixed-menu QSR model.

GTIM's two brands address this in different ways. Bad Daddy's Burger Bar, positioned as a full-service, chef-driven concept, is inherently aligned with this demand for gourmet, customizable burgers and chopped salads. The Good Times brand is attempting to bridge the gap by emphasizing its use of 100% all-natural burgers and chicken sandwiches and its new 'Colorado Native Burgers' campaign, which focuses on quality and local roots. They are even testing new processes, like smashing patties and shredding lettuce in-house, to signal freshness. The pressure is real, though; Good Times' same-store sales decreased 9.0% in the third fiscal quarter of 2025, suggesting the QSR brand is struggling more with the value-vs-quality equation.

Health-conscious diners are increasingly seeking transparent sourcing and nutritional information.

Transparency is no longer a niche marketing angle; it's a baseline expectation. As of 2023, 76% of consumers stated that transparency is important in their food purchasing decisions, and 43% of diners are willing to pay a premium for sustainable dishes. This demand covers everything from ingredient lists to ethical sourcing and food safety.

GTIM has a strong narrative here, which they need to amplify. Their menu features 'responsibly raised beef and chicken with no added hormones and no antibiotics.' This clean-label approach is a key defense against competitors. The table below outlines how GTIM's stated practices align with the core transparency demands of the 2025 consumer.

2025 Consumer Transparency Demand	GTIM's Alignment/Action	Strategic Impact
Willingness to pay more for sustainable/ethical food (43% of diners)	Use of responsibly raised beef and chicken (no added hormones/antibiotics)	Justifies menu price increases (Good Times Q3 2025 average menu price was 3.8% higher than 2024)
Demand for fresh/whole-food ingredients	In-house preparation, such as bringing in fresh whole produce and shredding lettuce by shift	Enhances product quality and counters the perception of traditional fast food.
Need for clear sourcing/nutritional data (76% prioritize transparency)	New brand campaign includes a fresh website and matching mobile app redesign	Provides a platform to communicate sourcing details and nutritional information clearly.

Younger demographics prioritize convenience, driving demand for efficient online ordering and delivery options.

The experience has to be seamless, or you lose the sale. Convenience is king for younger diners, with one in five consumers reporting they ordered restaurant delivery more often in 2025 than the year prior. For GTIM, this means their off-premise execution must be flawless.

The company is investing capital to meet this digital demand. They have updated all company-owned Good Times locations with digital menu boards and completed a system-wide update of point-of-sale (POS) systems. Furthermore, the new marketing push includes a fresh website and mobile app redesign, which is critical for streamlining the online ordering experience. This focus on digital infrastructure is a necessary response to declining same-store sales, which were down 4.4% year-to-date for the Good Times brand as of Q3 2025.

Growing public expectation for corporate social responsibility (CSR) and community engagement.

Consumers want to buy from brands that align with their values. For a regional player like GTIM, which operates 30 Good Times restaurants primarily in Colorado and 40 Bad Daddy's Burger Bar locations across its system, local community engagement is defintely a core asset.

GTIM's stated core value is 'Community,' focusing on supporting local charities and building strong neighborhood relationships. The new 'Colorado Native Burgers' campaign for the Good Times brand is a strategic move to lean into this social factor, emphasizing their Colorado roots to build deeper, more authentic local loyalty. This local-first approach is key to driving traffic in a competitive QSR environment where total revenues for the company were $143.40 million over the last twelve months ending July 1, 2025.

• Actively support local initiatives and charities.
• Build strong relationships within the neighborhoods served.
• New marketing campaign leverages 'Colorado roots' for local appeal.

Good Times Restaurants Inc. (GTIM) - PESTLE Analysis: Technological factors

Technology is no longer a back-office expense for Good Times Restaurants Inc.; it is the primary tool for combating margin compression and declining traffic, especially at the Good Times brand, which saw a same-store sales decrease of 9.0% in the fiscal 2025 third quarter. The company is making targeted, strategic investments in customer-facing AI and core digital infrastructure to drive efficiency and improve the guest experience.

Industry-wide push to adopt AI for customer service and predictive analytics to manage inventory and waste.

The Quick-Service Restaurant (QSR) sector's push into Artificial Intelligence (AI) is a necessity, not a luxury, and Good Times is a significant early mover. The Good Times Burgers & Frozen Custard brand is pioneering the use of conversational AI by deploying the Valyant AI voice-activated order taker in its drive-thrus, a critical channel for QSRs. This AI system directly addresses the labor shortage and speed-of-service challenges, which are key drivers of customer satisfaction.

Initial results from this AI deployment are compelling, showing a reported 50% reduction in wait time for customers during high-traffic periods [cite: 3 from previous search]. This is a clear, quantifiable efficiency gain that translates directly into higher throughput and better traffic retention. While the company has not disclosed specific AI-driven inventory and waste management figures for 2025, the industry expectation is that AI-powered forecasting can reduce food waste by up to 20%.

Here's the quick math on AI's impact:

• Reduce drive-thru wait time by 50% (Valyant AI).
• Increase order accuracy, cutting remakes and food waste.
• Free up human labor to focus on food prep and customer service.

GTIM is actively reviewing and working to improve its online ordering experience to boost traffic.

Digital channels are the new frontline for customer acquisition, and GTIM is actively overhauling its digital presence in fiscal 2025. The company is launching a fresh website and mobile app as a core component of its new marketing strategy. This investment is crucial because a friction-free digital experience is directly correlated with higher average check sizes and increased customer loyalty.

The goal is to capture more direct-to-consumer orders, reducing reliance on high-commission third-party delivery marketplaces. The improved digital platform must integrate seamlessly with the newly updated Point-of-Sale (POS) systems to ensure operational efficiency from click to kitchen.

Accelerated investment in digital ordering channels and integrated Point of Sale (POS) systems is critical for efficiency.

The foundation for any modern restaurant operation is a unified digital infrastructure. Good Times has completed a system-wide update of its Point-of-Sale (POS) systems and installed digital menu boards across all company-owned locations [cite: 9 from previous search]. This modernization is the necessary plumbing to support the new mobile app and website, ensuring orders flow instantly and accurately to the kitchen.

What this investment hides is the long-term cost-saving potential. An integrated POS system reduces order errors, simplifies end-of-day reconciliation, and provides the granular data needed for predictive analytics. The total depreciation and amortization cost for the fiscal 2025 third quarter was $982 thousand, reflecting the ongoing capital deployment into these foundational assets, including remodels and equipment.

Automation of back-of-house tasks like inventory and scheduling is necessary to mitigate high labor costs.

The most significant pressure point for GTIM remains labor cost. For the Good Times brand, payroll and employee benefit costs rose to 34.2% of sales in the fiscal 2025 third quarter, up from 32.7% in the prior year quarter. This cost inflation makes back-of-house automation an imperative, not an option.

The AI drive-thru is a clear front-of-house automation win, but the next phase must focus on kitchen and inventory. Automated scheduling software (Workforce Management) and predictive inventory systems are essential to: 1) reduce the time managers spend on non-customer-facing tasks, and 2) eliminate food waste by accurately forecasting demand. The company's commitment to 'taking swift action to reduce restaurant-level costs' confirms this focus on operational efficiency is a top priority.

Technological Initiative	2025 Status/Action	Quantifiable Impact/Metric
AI Customer Service	Deployment of Valyant AI voice order taker in drive-thrus (Good Times brand).	50% reduction in customer wait time during peak hours [cite: 3 from previous search].
Digital Ordering Channel	Launch of fresh website and mobile app in fiscal 2025.	Aims to increase direct digital sales and reduce third-party commission costs.
Core Infrastructure	System-wide update of Point-of-Sale (POS) systems and installation of digital menu boards completed [cite: 9 from previous search].	Q3 2025 Depreciation & Amortization of $982 thousand reflects ongoing capital investment.
Labor Cost Mitigation	Focus on reducing restaurant-level costs.	Good Times brand Q3 2025 Payroll/Benefits Cost: 34.2% of sales (Up from 32.7% in prior year).

Good Times Restaurants Inc. (GTIM) - PESTLE Analysis: Legal factors

Increasing state and local minimum wage laws directly pressure GTIM's labor costs, which were 34.3% of sales in Q2 2025.

The patchwork of state and local wage laws creates a significant, quantifiable headwind for Good Times Restaurants Inc., particularly since labor is one of the largest operational expenses. You are seeing this play out directly in your financials: the company's consolidated payroll and benefits costs for fiscal Q2 2025 stood at an impactful 34.3% of total revenues. That is a huge chunk of your sales, and any mandated increase hits the bottom line hard.

The core of the pressure comes from the local level. While the Colorado statewide minimum wage rose to $14.81 per hour on January 1, 2025, the real shockwave is in key metropolitan areas. For instance, in Denver, where the Good Times brand is heavily concentrated, the non-tipped minimum wage jumped to $18.81 per hour. This forces a wage floor increase for nearly all employees, not just those at the minimum, as you must maintain internal pay equity.

Here's the quick math on the wage floor shift in a primary operating area:

Jurisdiction	Effective Date	Non-Tipped Minimum Wage	Tipped Minimum Wage (Employer Base)
Colorado (Statewide)	Jan 1, 2025	$14.81/hour	$11.79/hour
Denver, CO (Local)	Jan 1, 2025	$18.81/hour	$15.79/hour

New state laws, like Illinois's $15.00 per hour minimum wage for 18+ starting January 1, 2025, raise the operating floor.

Even if Good Times Restaurants Inc. doesn't operate a store in every state with a high minimum wage, these laws set a national expectation for QSR (Quick Service Restaurant) labor. The Illinois statewide minimum wage for workers 18 and older reached $15.00 per hour on January 1, 2025. This final step in a multi-year phase-in serves as a benchmark for the minimum operating cost in any new market the company might consider for its Bad Daddy's Burger Bar expansion.

The key takeaway is that the days of relying on the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour are long gone. Every new lease negotiation and every quarterly forecast must account for a local minimum wage that is often more than double the federal rate, which is defintely a challenge for margin control.

Stricter food safety and allergen disclosure regulations require continuous staff training and procedural updates.

The legal risk from food safety is shifting from simply preventing contamination to mandatory consumer disclosure. A major trend is the push for detailed allergen labeling, exemplified by California's Allergen Disclosure for Dining Experiences Act (SB 68), signed in October 2025. This law, effective July 1, 2026, requires chain restaurants with 20 or more locations (which includes the Bad Daddy's brand) to disclose the presence of the nine major food allergens on their menus.

Compliance here means a massive operational overhaul, not just a menu reprint. You need to ensure:

• Sourcing data on all nine major allergens (milk, eggs, peanuts, tree nuts, fish, shellfish, wheat, soy, and sesame) for every ingredient.
• Implementing new back-of-house procedures to prevent cross-contact.
• Mandatory, continuous staff training to manage customer inquiries and prep procedures.

This is a compliance cost that will spread beyond California, as other states often adopt similar legislation after a major market like California leads the way.

Compliance with evolving data privacy laws is crucial for their digital ordering platforms.

As Good Times Restaurants Inc. expands its digital footprint-including a fresh website and mobile app redesign for the Good Times brand in late 2025-it significantly increases its exposure to data privacy regulations. Laws like the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) and its amendments mean the company is collecting and processing personal information (PI) on a large scale, especially through digital ordering and loyalty programs.

The legal focus is on consumer rights, including the right to know what data is collected and the right to request deletion (the 'right to be forgotten'). Failure to comply with these evolving standards carries severe financial penalties. The cost of a data breach in the hospitality industry is estimated to average $2.94 million, making proactive investment in secure, compliant digital platforms a non-negotiable legal requirement.

Good Times Restaurants Inc. (GTIM) - PESTLE Analysis: Environmental factors

Customer Loyalty Can Increase by 10-15% for Restaurants with Strong Sustainability Practices

The environmental factor is no longer a 'nice-to-have' for Quick Service Restaurants (QSRs) and casual dining; it's a primary driver of customer choice and, crucially, loyalty. You need to see this as a revenue opportunity, not just a cost center. Data from 2025 shows that 67% of customers prefer dining at restaurants committed to sustainability. This preference translates directly to your bottom line.

For Good Times Restaurants Inc., with its Good Times Burgers & Frozen Custard and Bad Daddy's Burger Bar brands, adopting clear, visible sustainability practices can drive a significant lift. We project that a successful, well-communicated program could boost customer loyalty and repeat visits by the target range of 10% to 15%. Furthermore, 72% of consumers are willing to pay more at sustainable restaurants, with 18% prepared to pay an additional 6-10% for a meal that aligns with their eco-friendly values. Honestly, this is free money if you execute well.

Industry Trend Toward Smarter Waste Management, Including Composting and Waste-Tracking Software

The biggest environmental win you can capture right now is waste reduction, especially food waste. It's a 1,300% ROI opportunity, so pay attention. The US food waste management market is projected to reach $28.15 billion in 2025, driven by technology and regulation.

For every $1 a company dedicates to combating food waste, it can anticipate a substantial $14 return on investment (ROI). This massive return comes from lower purchasing costs, reduced disposal fees, and operational efficiency gains. Good Times Restaurants Inc. should immediately implement waste-tracking software (like Winnow or Leanpath) to identify where the waste is happening-prep, spoilage, or plate scrapings.

Waste Management Action	2025 Industry Trend/Benefit	GTIM Financial Impact
AI-Driven Waste Tracking	Enhanced operational efficiency; real-time reduction at source.	Potential 1,300% ROI on initial investment in waste reduction.
Composting Programs	Growing regulatory pressure in states like Colorado; diverts organic waste from landfills.	Reduces waste disposal fees (which can be a significant restaurant-level cost).
Surplus Food Donation	Enforced by dining restaurants and supermarkets; leverages donation platforms.	Tax benefits for donations and reduced disposal volume.

Growing Regulatory and Consumer Pressure to Phase Out Single-Use Plastics for Compostable or Reusable Packaging

The regulatory landscape for single-use plastics is changing fast, and the pressure is moving from a few coastal cities to entire states, including those where Good Times Restaurants Inc. operates. The shift to compostable packaging is no longer optional; it's a matter of compliance and brand reputation.

States like California and New York have already enacted bans on items like polystyrene food containers and plastic cutlery, with similar restrictions coming into force across multiple US regions in 2025. Your packaging strategy must be future-proofed against these bans.

• 60% of US consumers are willing to pay more for eco-friendly disposable plates.
• New regulations in 2025 mandate the use of sustainable materials like biodegradable plastics or compostable alternatives.
• Bans specifically target single-use items like plastic straws, cutlery, and polystyrene foam containers.

Switching to certified compostable tableware made from materials like bagasse (sugarcane fiber) or cornstarch is the clear action. This change will defintely increase your packaging costs in the near term, but it mitigates the far greater risk of non-compliance fines and customer backlash.

Need for Energy-Efficient Kitchen Equipment to Lower Utility Costs and Reduce the Carbon Footprint

Utility costs are a major component of restaurant-level operating expenses, often accounting for up to 10% of total operating expenses. Commercial kitchens are energy hogs, using 2.5 to 3 times more energy per square foot than other commercial spaces. The opportunity here is immediate cost savings.

By investing in ENERGY STAR®-certified equipment, Good Times Restaurants Inc. can cut overall energy costs by up to 20%. For instance, upgrading to commercial induction cooktops is a smart move; they use up to 70% less energy than traditional cooking methods and also reduce kitchen heat, improving staff comfort and cutting HVAC (heating, ventilation, and air conditioning) costs.

This isn't just about saving money; it's about operational resilience. Energy-efficient equipment experiences fewer breakdowns, reducing maintenance costs and downtime, plus it hedges against future energy price volatility.

Finance: draft a 5-year CapEx plan for replacing all non-ENERGY STAR® fryers and refrigeration units by Q4 2026.