Data Shows Oklahoma City Pours Lower Priced Wine and Spirits Versus Other Markets.

Intellaprice Publishes In-Depth Study to Help the Restaurant Industry Price Food and Beverages Competitively

BOSTON -- It costs less to consume alcoholic beverages in Oklahoma City than in most other areas of the country, according to research published by Intellaprice([R]) (www.intella-price.com), a Boston-based pricing intelligence firm. While the results determined that Oklahoma City has the least expensive bar beverages for more than half of the selections, Washington D.C. fell on the high end of the spectrum with the most expensive beverages. This is just one of several key findings from this unique pricing study conducted by Intellaprice.

The study included an audit of 16 different bar beverages in various bar and restaurant chains across the country. Beverages studied included beer, vodka and tonics, cosmopolitans and margaritas. These types of studies are difficult for restaurant operators and beverage companies to conduct on their own.

"Clients are increasingly requesting our assistance in providing comprehensive pricing intelligence as they grapple with rising fuel costs and minimum wage changes," said Leslie Kerr, President of Intellaprice. "They are continuously analyzing profit and revenue in light of consumer reaction to macroeconomic trends. It's not just the companies, but consumers, too, who are impacted by these factors."

Intellaprice unloads this burden and provides organizations with key information that enables them to take a closer look at their pricing strategies and determine what changes need to be made, if any. This type of data can help ensure companies are pricing competitively, optimizing customer frequency, and are turning profits to continue to increase overall revenue.

Other interesting findings from this study include the following:

* Beer price ranges are narrower than those for hard alcoholic beverages, regardless of market, with some prices identical within a restaurant brand for a bottle of Budweiser. It is most common to see a range of $.75 to $1.50 from the low to high price within a chain.

* It costs on average $1.18 to upgrade from a bar brand of Vodka/Tonic to an Absolut/Tonic and this can vary greatly by market. For example, in Philadelphia the up charge is $.88 and in Dallas it is a whopping $1.65.

* When it comes to the most expensive markets for drinks, Washington D.C. ranks highest on average for five of the 16 beverages. A bar brand of vodka and tonic, which averages $4.57 among all markets, costs $4.02 in Oklahoma City, and $5.05 in D.C.

Intellaprice also surveys dining establishments to uncover significant patterns for food items. As part of the study, Intellaprice surveyed thousands of food items at 187 casual dining chains such as Chili's, Macaroni Grill, and Outback Steakhouse during July, 2007 in 21 markets to ascertain how prices stack up. Some of the findings indicated that food prices are most reasonable in Cleveland, while Seattle's prices are at the higher end for common menu items. For example, the national average for a "premium salad," which includes proteins such as chicken or steak, is $9.48. Premium salad prices in Cleveland average $8.94 and in Seattle average $10.68.

"We recognized a strong need for restaurant operators and beverage companies to obtain this information to make profitable decisions," said Kerr. "Frankly, it's a huge headache for them because many prices do not appear on the menu, so they can look to us as a source of pricing intelligence."

About Intellaprice([R])

Intellaprice is a full-service pricing intelligence firm serving the restaurant and beverage industries. Intellaprice publishes The Intellaprice([R])Report, which is syndicated pricing intelligence on quick service and casual dining segments. Intellaprice specializes in pricing, profitability, and marketing analysis, to help organizations increase sales, grow profit, and reduce competitive intelligence costs. Intellaprice was founded by restaurant industry veteran Leslie Kerr and is based in Boston. For more information visit www.intella-price.com.