From personal experience: 50/50. If a brand has solid OPs, then consulting firms do wonders; Menu is only part of the equation.
If a brand has spotty OPs (poor service, lack of "energy", employees who are not engaged) then a new menu will not help them.
McDonalds, Panda Express, and Subway did not win because they had the best food; They won because they had predictable food with good OPs and understanding of trends.
A real word example: Panda Express makes sure that when their orange chicken is coming out of the kitchen, it's always in a sizzling wok. That "experience" is trained (by their OPs) from the beginning to embody the story of "hot & fresh right off the stove" feeling (from the guest).
Chipotle attempted to simulate a similar feeling with their open kitchens: sounds of knives chopping and grill sizzling provides an atmosphere that their food is fresh, regardless if its mass produced.
This wasn't by chance but heavily researched, including the sound (in decibels) of the sizzle from the guest's side.
OPs is Operations. Kinda like DevOps for development, they keep the wheels turning.
OPs are usually everything after the GM (General Manager) so the area manager (would have multiple stores), then regional manager (would have several areas) and above.
Operations also include anything that has to deal with getting product into the store like Research & Development, supply chain, or commissary.
If a brand has spotty OPs (poor service, lack of "energy", employees who are not engaged) then a new menu will not help them.
McDonalds, Panda Express, and Subway did not win because they had the best food; They won because they had predictable food with good OPs and understanding of trends.
A real word example: Panda Express makes sure that when their orange chicken is coming out of the kitchen, it's always in a sizzling wok. That "experience" is trained (by their OPs) from the beginning to embody the story of "hot & fresh right off the stove" feeling (from the guest).
Chipotle attempted to simulate a similar feeling with their open kitchens: sounds of knives chopping and grill sizzling provides an atmosphere that their food is fresh, regardless if its mass produced.
This wasn't by chance but heavily researched, including the sound (in decibels) of the sizzle from the guest's side.