Summer is right around the corner and cravings for ice cream are likely to increase. However, despite the winter season, traffic increased at Dairy Queen throughout 2024. The reason behind this sweet growth; viral “cake” related items. DQ benefited from one product launch in the first quarter as well as an overnight, unrelated, success on TikTok.
The chain introduced its seasonal cone dip flavor sometime in February, the DQ Confetti Cake Dipped Cone. Almost overnight, this limited offering started appearing all over social media, and its virality and taste drove higher levels of visits year-over-year. The second viral product began to take shape in March, this time as a result of user generated content instead of a product launch. The “Cupcake in a Cup” trending item on TikTok has spurred tons of videos, views, and likes, creating an almost “secret menu”-like cult following.
These two viral sensations drove visitors into DQ restaurants, with every week showing growth in visits year-over-year since the debut of the Confetti Cone in mid-February, with the exception of Easter week. February and March traffic combined increased almost 27% year-over-year, a true sign of success in driving visits during slower winter months. Dairy Queen’s traffic grew faster than competitors Cold Stone Creamery and Baskin-Robbins during February and March, despite having the shortest dwell time of the three chains.
Viral products have become demand generators over the past few years, but the growth in DQ’s traffic proves that TikTok doesn’t just influence digital retail trends, but physical retail trends as well. QSR restaurants have been a notable beneficiary of social media virality, prompting visitors to try new chains or return to their favorites more frequently. Hopefully DQ can harness the power of its cake-related fanfare to help continue to drive visits throughout the summer months.
