How Steak ’n Shake Is Betting Big on MAHA — and Why Its Sales Are Rising
In recent years, competition in the fast-food industry has become about more than price, portion size, and speed of service. Some restaurant chains are fighting a different battle: What exactly is in the food? How are the ingredients produced? And what kind of story can a brand tell about the food it sells?
Steak ’n Shake is one of the clearest examples of this shift. The American restaurant chain has been rebuilding part of its identity around ingredients such as grass-fed and grass-finished beef, beef tallow for frying, real butter, and cane-sugar Coca-Cola.
A widely shared image on social media claims that Steak ’n Shake has “gone all-in on MAHA” and that sales are “soaring,” with same-store sales up 13%.
There is a real business story behind that claim, although the numbers require some context.
In the second quarter of 2026, Steak ’n Shake reported that domestic same-store sales increased 13.8% when company-operated restaurants and franchise-partner restaurants were combined. Company-operated restaurants recorded an increase of 11.9%, while franchise-partner restaurants increased by approximately 14.5%.
So the 13% figure circulating online is broadly consistent with the company’s reported results, but the actual figure for the combined group was 13.8%.
The bigger question is this: What is driving the growth?
Is it the new ingredients? The MAHA branding? Better marketing? Changes in restaurant operations? Pricing? Or a combination of several factors?
From a Traditional Burger Chain to a Brand With a New Identity
Steak ’n Shake was founded in the 1930s and became known for its Steakburgers and milkshakes. Like many traditional fast-food chains, however, the company faced significant challenges in a highly competitive market.
That pushed the company to rethink not only its food but also its operating model and overall brand identity.
The transformation goes far beyond simply changing the cooking oil.
Steak ’n Shake has promoted the use of 100% beef tallow for frying products such as fries, tots, onion rings, and chicken items. The company has also promoted the use of real Wisconsin butter in certain products rather than previous butter blends containing vegetable oils.
Another major part of the strategy is beef.
Steak ’n Shake has promoted beef that it describes as grass-fed and grass-finished, positioning it as a more traditional alternative to conventional beef.
The chain has also promoted Coca-Cola made with cane sugar as an alternative to drinks made with high-fructose corn syrup.
On the surface, these may look like simple ingredient changes.
But from a marketing perspective, they represent something much bigger.
The message is essentially:
We are bringing back ingredients and preparation methods that consumers associate with traditional food.
And that is where the company’s strategy intersects with the MAHA movement.
What Does MAHA Have to Do With Steak ’n Shake?
MAHA stands for “Make America Healthy Again.”
The movement has become associated with discussions about the American food system, ultra-processed foods, nutrition, agriculture, food additives, seed oils, and public health.
Steak ’n Shake has gone beyond simply making ingredient changes and has explicitly connected its branding to the MAHA trend.
In 2026, the company appointed Michael Boz to the newly created position of Chief MAHA Officer, a role designed to connect the company's strategy with the broader movement.
The company has therefore positioned itself as more than a restaurant that happens to use different cooking ingredients.
It is presenting a particular philosophy about food.
That is an important marketing decision.
The company is effectively telling consumers:
“If you care about where your food comes from and how it is made, our restaurant represents those values.”
This approach can create a strong connection between the customer and the brand.
What Do the Sales Numbers Actually Show?
The most important part of the story is making sure the numbers are interpreted correctly.
In 2025, Steak ’n Shake experienced significant growth in same-store sales. According to Biglari Holdings' annual report, same-store sales at company-operated Steak ’n Shake restaurants increased by 10.5% during 2025.
When company-operated restaurants and franchise restaurants were considered together, same-store sales increased by approximately 10.2%.
The growth continued into 2026.
During the first quarter of 2026, domestic same-store sales at company-operated restaurants increased by approximately 10%, while franchise-partner restaurants recorded growth of around 13%.
Then, in the second quarter, the numbers became even stronger.
Company-operated restaurants recorded same-store sales growth of 11.9%, while franchise-partner restaurants recorded approximately 14.5% growth.
Combined, the increase was 13.8%.
That is a substantial increase.
However, there is an important distinction between saying:
“Sales increased after the company changed its strategy.”
and saying:
“Sales increased because the company changed its ingredients.”
The first statement describes a sequence of events.
The second claims causation.
The available numbers do not prove that one specific ingredient caused the increase.
There Was More Than One Change Happening
One reason it is difficult to attribute the sales increase to MAHA or beef tallow alone is that Steak ’n Shake has been making several changes at the same time.
The company has modified its restaurant operations, increased the use of kiosks, changed aspects of the customer experience, adjusted marketing, changed ingredients, and invested in its overall brand identity.
All of these things can influence sales.
The restaurant industry is particularly complicated because sales can increase for several reasons at once.
For example, a restaurant might sell more because:
More customers are visiting.
Customers are visiting more frequently.
Customers are spending more per visit.
Menu prices have increased.
Marketing has become more effective.
The customer experience has improved.
The restaurant has attracted a new demographic.
Competitors have become less attractive.
Therefore, the 13.8% figure is evidence that the business is experiencing strong sales growth, but it does not tell us exactly which part of the strategy deserves the credit.
The Cost of Better or Different Ingredients
There is another side to this strategy that receives less attention: cost.
Changing ingredients can be expensive.
In the second quarter of 2026, food costs at Steak ’n Shake’s company-operated restaurants represented 33.3% of net sales, compared with 30.2% during the same period of 2025.
The company attributed the increase primarily to improvements in the quality of its food ingredients.
That is a significant point.
If a restaurant chooses more expensive ingredients, it has to find a way to absorb those costs.
There are several possibilities.
The company can raise prices.
It can sell more food.
It can reduce other operating expenses.
It can improve efficiency.
Or it can accept lower margins.
Steak ’n Shake appears to be betting that customers will see enough value in the new ingredients and brand positioning to continue spending at the restaurants.
That makes the strategy both interesting and risky from a business perspective.
What About Beef Tallow?
Beef tallow has become one of the most recognizable symbols of Steak ’n Shake’s new strategy.
The company says that several fried menu items are cooked in beef tallow and that it worked with its potato supplier to remove vegetable oil from the initial frying process used before the potatoes are frozen and shipped to restaurants.
From a branding perspective, this is powerful.
“Fried in beef tallow” is a simple message that customers can immediately understand.
But there is an important distinction between marketing a traditional ingredient and claiming that the ingredient automatically makes a food healthy.
The nutritional value of a meal depends on many factors, including total calories, fat, sodium, portion size, preparation method, and the person's overall diet.
Therefore, replacing one cooking oil with beef tallow does not automatically transform a fast-food meal into a healthy meal.
The change is better understood as part of a broader ingredient and branding strategy.
Cane Sugar Does Not Automatically Mean Less Sugar
Steak ’n Shake has also promoted Coca-Cola made with cane sugar.
This appeals to consumers who prefer traditional ingredient lists and who specifically want to avoid high-fructose corn syrup.
But there is an important nutritional distinction.
The source of the sugar and the amount of sugar are two different questions.
A beverage made with cane sugar can still contain a significant amount of added sugar.
Therefore, changing the sweetener does not automatically mean the drink is low in sugar or low in calories.
This illustrates an important feature of modern food marketing: a product can change an ingredient that matters to consumers without necessarily changing every nutritional characteristic of the product.
Why Could This Marketing Strategy Work?
There is a powerful psychological component to food marketing.
Consumers do not buy food only because of its nutritional composition.
They also buy stories.
When a restaurant says that its fries are cooked in beef tallow, its beef comes from grass-fed and grass-finished cattle, its butter is real Wisconsin butter, and its soda is made with cane sugar, the company is giving customers a story they can associate with the meal.
That story becomes even more powerful when it connects to a broader cultural identity.
This is one reason Steak ’n Shake's MAHA strategy is notable.
The company is not simply saying:
“Here is a different burger.”
It is increasingly saying:
“Here is a different philosophy about food.”
That can create strong customer loyalty among people who identify with that philosophy.
Should Every Food Company Do the Same Thing?
The question in the original image asks whether every food company should be doing this.
The answer depends on what “this” means.
If it means that every restaurant should switch to beef tallow, grass-fed beef, and cane sugar, there is no universal business reason why every company should make those choices.
Different customers want different things.
Some consumers prioritize low prices.
Others care about organic ingredients.
Some prioritize plant-based foods.
Others want locally sourced products.
Some customers care about reducing sugar or sodium.
Others care primarily about taste, convenience, or portion size.
There is no single ingredient strategy that works for every restaurant.
But there is a broader lesson that many food companies can take from Steak ’n Shake:
Consumers want to understand what they are buying.
Transparency about ingredients, sourcing, preparation, and food quality can become a powerful part of a brand.
The Bigger Business Lesson
Perhaps the biggest lesson from Steak ’n Shake is not “every restaurant should use beef tallow.”
The bigger lesson is that a company can build a coherent identity around a specific customer audience.
Steak ’n Shake has made several changes that reinforce one another:
Grass-fed and grass-finished beef.
Beef tallow for frying.
Real butter.
Traditional-style ingredients.
Cane-sugar Coca-Cola.
A stronger connection to the MAHA movement.
Changes to restaurant operations.
New marketing and branding.
When all of these decisions point in the same direction, the result is much larger than a menu change.
It becomes a brand repositioning strategy.
And the current sales figures suggest that this repositioning has coincided with strong sales growth.
However, that does not prove that one particular ingredient or one political movement caused the increase.
The company has changed many things at the same time.
What Should We Watch Next?
If Steak ’n Shake wants to demonstrate that this strategy represents more than a temporary marketing trend, several indicators will be worth watching.
First, will same-store sales continue to grow over multiple quarters?
Second, will sales remain strong after accounting for price increases?
Third, can the company maintain healthy profit margins while ingredient costs are higher?
Fourth, will franchise operators continue to see enough demand to support expansion?
And finally, can the company attract customers who are not particularly interested in MAHA or politics but simply want a good burger at a reasonable price?
That last question may be especially important.
A highly specific cultural identity can create strong loyalty among one group of customers, but it can also make a brand less appealing to consumers who do not identify with that message.
Conclusion
The Steak ’n Shake story is an interesting example of how food, politics, health, marketing, and business strategy are increasingly overlapping in the fast-food industry.
The social-media image is based on real developments, but it simplifies a much more complicated story.
Steak ’n Shake has clearly embraced a number of changes associated with the MAHA conversation, including beef tallow, grass-fed and grass-finished beef, real butter, and cane-sugar beverages.
At the same time, the company's same-store sales have grown significantly, reaching 13.8% growth in the second quarter of 2026 when company-operated and franchise-partner restaurants were combined.
But the most important point is that correlation is not the same as causation.
The sales increase does not prove that beef tallow, grass-fed beef, or MAHA branding alone caused the growth.
The company has changed its ingredients, marketing, restaurant operations, customer experience, and brand identity at the same time.
What Steak ’n Shake has demonstrated is that food can be sold as more than a product.
It can be sold as a story, an identity, and a set of values.
Whether this strategy produces sustainable long-term growth will depend on whether customers continue returning, whether the economics remain attractive, and whether the company can maintain the balance between ingredient quality, price, profitability, and broad customer appeal.
For the fast-food industry, however, the message is already clear: the battle for customers is increasingly taking place not only over what food tastes like, but also over what consumers believe that food represents.
0 commentaires:
Enregistrer un commentaire