How Chipotle, Pinkberry, and others win big by doing just a few things well

How Chipotle, Pinkberry, and others win big by doing just a few things well
37signals.com

Everyone is trying to do less and what we end up with is a million little apps that do one thing really well, which is great, but you're still dealing with a million separate apps. The iPhone wasn't just a really great phone, it was a phone, an iPod, and an 'Internet Communicator' but because those things were combined in such a great package it really spoke to people and made it something they would want. Of course the App Store is what is driving the popularity now but that is still because customers can come to one place, the iPhone, and get tons of different uses out of their one device.

I think we're starting to enter an era where users are more interested in packages of functionality that are easy to use and work really well over a bunch of tiny solutions.

Maybe I'm wrong, but I know that I prefer products/applications that let me do lots of things reasonably well in one place instead of getting the 'perfect' thing for each problem I have.

What do you think?

Okay, In-N-Out does a great job. But a Taco Bell kitchen is about the same size, yet produces a substantially larger menu.

How do they pull it off? Middleware. At In-N-Out, they make food out of potatoes, buns and refrigerated beef. At Taco Bell, they make food out of ingredient bags which are processed and packaged off-site. In-N-Out is something that a chef can respect -- Taco Bell is not.

But it's worth pointing out that In-N-Out can thrive only because their market doesn't demand a wide-ranging product. Sometimes markets move in that direction, and the artisans -- who cannot abide using middleware, who want to make everything to their high standards -- have a hard time competing.

Very simple menus seems to be a hot trend recently.