From Coast to Coast: The Analytics Behind In-N-Out’s Move to the East

In-N-Out has been a West Coast staple and now is going to try its hand at moving East. We looked at why they chose this path and the opportunity in front of them.

Photo by Andrew Weibert on Unsplash

The much loved In-N-Out burger recently announced their plans to expand the brand east. Today, the majority of stores are in California and others are scattered throughout Texas and the West coast. Moving east is a big step outside of the company’s comfort zone.

We looked at the data to understand:

• How the company thinks about markets and location selection
• How they’ve grown geographically
• The target customer and location profile
• Why Tennessee was an attractive market to choose as a hub for east coast expansion

In-N-Out’s Location Footprint Today

Heatmap of all In-N-Out locations

In-N-Out operates ~358 stores primarily located in the West coast.