And the Oscar goes to… the diner.

Brazil was rooting for it. A national film in the running for the biggest award in cinema. The Oscar didn't come here — but what happened after the ceremony deserves our attention.

Michael B. Jordan, the actor of the moment, just won one of the most coveted statuettes in the world. And where did he celebrate? At In-N-Out Burger.

Not in a Michelin-starred restaurant. Not at an exclusive dinner. At a roadside diner with a four-item menu.

That says it all about the power of a truly built brand.

A business lesson disguised as a hamburger

In 1948, Harry and Esther Snyder opened a small drive-thru in Baldwin Park, California. In-N-Out was born as the state's first hamburger drive-thru. Almost 80 years later, the logic remains the same: freshly made burgers, fresh fries, no messing around.

Today, the chain grosses approximately US$2.1 billion a year, according to the consulting firm Technomic — with just over 400 stores. To give you an idea of ​​what this means: each In-N-Out unit grosses an average of US$4.5 million per year, almost double that of a typical McDonald's store, which is around US$2.6 million.

With a profit margin of approximately 20%. Above Shake Shack (16%) and far above Chipotle (10.5%).

And all this without franchising. Without an investment fund. Without going public on the stock exchange.

The Woman Behind the Counter

The company is almost entirely owned by Lynsi Snyder, granddaughter of the founders. She has been president of the chain since 2010 and, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, has an estimated net worth of US$7.32 billion. Entrepreneur

Lynsi started working in the stores at age 17, became a manager at 24, and president at 27. She's not an heiress managing from a distance—she's an operator who knows every detail of the operation.

And even so, she doesn't relinquish control. Billion-dollar purchase offers arrive every year. The answer is always no. The logic is simple: when a franchisee comes in, they start cutting costs. And when you cut costs, you cut quality. And when you cut quality, you lose what makes the brand what it is.

The secret that isn't a secret: obsession with the product.

The official menu has four items: Hamburger, Cheeseburger, Double-Double, and French fries.

But there's a secret menu that's nowhere to be found. Customers have to discover it—and that's become part of the brand's culture. The famous "Animal Style," for example, is a hamburger with a special sauce, grilled onions, and patty brushed with mustard before going on the grill. Enjoy OC. It's not on the menu, but any employee knows how to make it.

That's the intelligence behind the simplicity: the closed menu frees up the operation to be obsessed with execution. The fries are never frozen. The meat never has been. That's why the network's geographic expansion respects a maximum radius from distribution centers—to ensure that ingredients always arrive fresh.

If you can't maintain the standard, you don't open a store. Simple as that.

The calculation most managers don't make

Here's the point that matters most to those who operate a restaurant.

In-N-Out pays above the market average. Well above. A store manager has, on average, 17 years of service and a salary close to US$183,000 annually.

In the short term, this seems like a cost. In In-N-Out's logic, it's an investment in consistency. Less turnover means a team that knows the product, defends the standard, and transmits the culture to newcomers.

The result? The company appears among the best companies to work for in Glassdoor rankings—and customers notice this in the service.

Happy employee. Consistent product. Loyal customer. Line at the door.

It's not magic. It's management.

What a restaurant in São Paulo can learn from this

You don't need 400 stores to apply this logic.

You need to know what you won't compromise on. What is your "fresh and never frozen"? What is your secret menu—that dish that regular customers order without needing to read the menu? What is the experience that makes someone drive longer than they should just to come to you?

Growing without losing your essence is not a contradiction. It's strategy.

In-N-Out has proven this for almost 80 years. With burgers, fries, and a family that's in no hurry to sell what it's built.

Want to understand how to apply this logic of positioning and brand authority to your restaurant's marketing? That's exactly what we do at Contágio. Let's talk.