DiscoverNudgeThe Surprising Menu Psychology Behind Five Guys’ Success
The Surprising Menu Psychology Behind Five Guys’ Success

The Surprising Menu Psychology Behind Five Guys’ Success

Update: 2025-10-20
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Five Guys was the fastest-growing fast food chain in the world. 


And that’s partly due to one clever bit of menu psychology. 


Today on Nudge, Richard Shotton explains: 


- The psychology behind the Five Guys menu 


- How Kraft made a healthier Mac & Cheese (without losing customers) 


- Why 99% of marketers would have ruined Pumpkin Spice Latte


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Read Hacking The Human Mind: https://a.co/d/fEW7amQ


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Watch Nudge on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@nudgepodcast/ 


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Today’s sources


Lee, L., Frederick, S., & Ariely, D. (2006). Try it, you’ll like it: The influence of expectation, consumption, and revelation on preferences for beer. Psychological Science, 17(12), 1054–1058.


Nelson, L. D., & Meyvis, T. (2008). Interrupted consumption: Disrupting adaptation to hedonic experiences. Journal of Marketing Research, 45(6), 654–664.


Raghunathan, R., Naylor, R. W., & Hoyer, W. D. (2006). The unhealthy = tasty intuition and its effects on taste inferences, enjoyment, and choice of food products. Journal of Marketing, 70(4), 170–184.


Shu, S. B., & Gneezy, A. (2010). Procrastination of enjoyable experiences. Journal of Marketing Research, 47(5), 933–944.


Zhang, Y., Fishbach, A., & Kruglanski, A. W. (2007). The dilution model: How additional goals undermine the perceived instrumentality of a shared path. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 92(3), 389–401.

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The Surprising Menu Psychology Behind Five Guys’ Success

The Surprising Menu Psychology Behind Five Guys’ Success

Phill Agnew