Yelp’s mission is to connect people with great businesses in their local communities. Sometimes those businesses are iconic mom and pop restaurants and other times they’re beloved local outposts of national restaurants for a midday coffee run or grocery stores for your weekly meal planning ingredients.
Today, Yelp is revealing its first-ever list of the 50 most loved restaurant, food and retail brands. According to the Yelp community, these brands demonstrate the qualities Yelpers value, like affordability, great customer service and consistent, high quality products. Topping the list is Trader Joe’s, the grocery retailer well-known for its creative private-label food products, Hawaiian-themed decor and accessible prices. Founded in 1967, Trader Joe’s now has over 500 stores across 42 states and Washington, D.C. Yelpers give the highest-rated Trader Joe’s store in Orem, Utah a perfect 5 stars, praising employees for their cheerful and quick service, and indicating they go out of their way to shop at that location.
Popular restaurants and bakery brands that made the list include specialty shop Nothing Bundt Cakes (no. 2), Queens, New York-based bubble tea spot Kung Fu Tea (no. 3) and the rapidly scaling Bradenton, Florida-based cafe First Watch (no. 4), known for its inventive made-to-order breakfast and brunch food.
While Yelpers love their restaurants and food, they also appreciate home decor and services brands as well, as indicated by flooring retailer Floor & Decor earning the number 5 spot on the list. Other retail brands on the list include: Costco Wholesale (no. 9), Marshalls (no. 38) and Michaels (no. 50).
Without further ado, here are Yelp’s 50 Most Loved Brands:
*The most loved brands are determined by looking at restaurant, food and retail brands with over 200 locations across 25+ states in the United States with 500+ reviews and at least one review for every two locations in 2022. To rank the most loved brands, we assigned each brand a loyalty score, which consists of the brands’ 2022 review rating along with the percentage of business page views by returning visitors.
A few major trends stand out among Yelpers and the brands they love, according to Kadecia Ber, advertising trends expert and director of enterprise solutions at Yelp. “Brands that focus on building local communities are well-represented on our list. Trader Joe’s and First Watch, for example, make their customers feel like they’re in a local grocery store or diner. The employees know the locals and often go out of their way to help customers—this is what consumers value and reward.”
Yelpers shared a few common threads in their reviews of these brands that demonstrate why they stand out:
They offer good value for the money. Many of these brands are known for their affordable prices, generous portions and quality ingredients. They appeal to customers who want to get more bang for their buck without compromising on taste or service. For example, Trader Joe’s offers unique products at low prices, Costco provides bulk discounts and free samples and Nothing Bundt Cakes sells delicious cakes at a reasonable cost, which Yelp user Melissa W. praised as “a good value compared to tinier cupcakes from other stores of similar price.”
They have loyal fans and communities. The brands on our list have extremely loyal fans and followings who support them both online and offline. Brands like Raising Cane’s Chicken Fingers (no. 25), Nike (no. 32) and Target (no. 33) have successfully taken over social media to create a new generation of chicken lovers, sneakerheads and deal-seekers. Fans will go to great lengths to share their love of these brands and encourage others to love them too.
Mapping the Most Loved Brands by State
To uncover how Yelpers’ preferences vary by region, we took a look at the most popular of the most loved brands and ranked them state-by-state. Smoothie King (no. 47 on the overall list), a brand that offers a variety of juice blends for energy, fitness and wellness, was the most regionally represented brand, earning the title as the most loved brand in six states, including Arizona, Kansas, New York, Pennsylvania and Tennessee. Fast-growing sandwich brand Jersey Mike’s Subs (no. 21) trailed close behind as the second most regionally represented restaurant brand, showing up as the most loved brand in four states, including Arkansas, Minnesota, Montana and Texas.
*To be included in the state breakout, brands must be included in the national ranking. We determined this list by looking at the brands’ loyalty score in each state related to the national level and filtered by number of locations per brand per state. Each brand had to have a minimum number of locations to be considered.
Looking to the coasts, while New York is on a health kick with Smoothie King, Californians prefer their food comfortable and their breadsticks unlimited at Olive Garden (no. 15), the brand du jour for the Golden State.
For retailers, Michaels rang in as the most loved brand in five states, including Connecticut, Maine, Nebraska, New Mexico and South Dakota, closely followed by HomeGoods (no. 22), which nabbed the top spot in four states, including Illinois, New Hampshire, Ohio and Oregon, and Marshalls, the top brand in Indiana, Kentucky, Rhode Island and Vermont.
Yelpers’ Most Loved Takeout Items
Yelpers have discerning tastes when it comes to their favorite takeaway dishes. We analyzed Yelp food order data to highlight the top 10 items that Yelpers just can’t seem to have enough of from their favorite restaurants. From Carrabba’s Italian Grill’s (no. 17) Fettuccine Carrabba, included in 12% of Carrabba’s orders on Yelp, to Red Lobster’s (no. 42) Cheddar Bay Biscuits, included in 17% of Red Lobster orders on Yelp, a broad range of different cuisines are represented.
Photo Credits: 1. Potbelly Sandwich Shop, New York, NY | 2. Five Guys – Andrew K., New York, NY | 3. Insomnia Cookies – Jason P., New Haven, CT | 4. Shake Shack – Michelle H., New York, NY | 5. MOD Super Fast Pizza – Sarah H., Orlando, FL | 6. Red Lobster – Magda N., City of Industry, CA | 7. McAlister’s Deli – Lauren L., Plantation, FL | 8. Carrabba’s – Nishanth J., Clearwater, FL | 9. Bonefish Grill – Lauren M., Atlanta, GA | 10. P.F. Chang’s – Momo R.,Tampa FL
*To determine the most loved food items on Yelp, we utilized Grubhub orders on Yelp and ranked the items using a number of factors, including frequency of order. Items had to have a minimum number of orders to be considered, and restaurants and food items were limited to one spot on the list. Restaurants must also have a relationship with Grubhub in order to be included in the analysis.
Ranking first on the Most Loved Food Items list is a traditional lunch combo known to fuel a productive afternoon – Potbelly Sandwich Works’ (no. 46) Skinny Sandwich and Cup of Soup, which was included in a whopping 75% of Potbelly orders. Closely following are Five Guys’ (no.48) cheeseburgers and Insomnia Cookies’ (no. 20) six-pack of cookies, two late night indulgences sure to please Yelpers’ taste buds. Shake Shack’s (no. 16) fries and MOD Pizza’s (no. 23) Create Your Own Pizza + Drink rounded out the top five.
The food items on our list run the gamut, but a few major trends emerge:
Customization is a key factor for Yelpers when they order food. Whether it’s choosing their preferred sandwich toppings and soup flavors at Potbelly or creating their own pizzas with various toppings and sauces at MOD Pizza, Yelp users love to customize their orders.
Challenger brands reign supreme. Yelp users look to newer, fast-scaling brands like Five Guys, Insomnia Cookies and Shake Shack to curb their appetites. These brands have successfully differentiated themselves from the established players in the market by offering high quality menu options, innovative food items and engaging customer experiences.
If you are interested in learning more about brands on Yelp, visit Yelp for Brands.
– Pavle Mihajlovic and Jenny Kao contributed to this report.
Methodology
Most Loved Brands Ranking
The most loved brands are determined by looking at restaurant, food and retail brands with over 200 locations across 25+ states in the United States with 500+ reviews and at least one review for every two locations in 2022. To rank the most loved brands, we assigned each brand a loyalty score, which consists of the brands’ 2022 review rating along with the percentage of business page views by returning visitors.
Most Loved Brands State Ranking
To be included in the state breakout, brands must be included in the national ranking. We determined this list by looking at the brands’ loyalty score in each state related to the national level and filtered by number of locations per brand per state. Each brand had to have a minimum number of locations to be considered.
Most Loved Food Items
To determine the most loved food items on Yelp, we leveraged our Grubhub partnership on Yelp and ranked the food items using a number of factors, including frequency of order. Items had to have a minimum number of orders to be considered, and restaurants and food items were limited to one spot on the list. For this part of the analysis, restaurants must also have a Grubhub integration in order to be included.
