IT’S the guilty pleasure of an Australia that has embraced superfoods, activewear and smashed avocado brunches.

Red Rooster, the roast chicken meal in a box that harks back to many a suburban childhood, is still going strong — so strong, the chain’s parent company is looking at a potential $500 million IPO.

Quick Service Restaurant Holdings, which also owns Oporto and the lesser-known Chicken Treat, this week changed its name to Craveable Brands as its management team talked up the company’s recent return to profitability and investor appeal.

But while chief executive Brett Houldin thinks the company can buck the pessimistic trend that saw Officeworks’ share market float shelved last month, retail analysts say Craveable’s chances of a successful IPO are slim.

“I think they’re going to struggle,” said Geoff Dart of DGC Advisory, saying Red Rooster’s product offering — “a bit of chicken with peas and mashed potato” — was tired and outdated.

The chain’s stores were not in premium locations, he said, and the retail landscape was awash with competitors who were doing fast food more successfully.

“I don’t think you will see them in five years, they will be gone,” Mr Dart predicted.

AUSTRALIANS LOVE CHICKEN AND CHIPS

If there’s one thing sure about Red Rooster, it’s that it remains a divisive fast food chain.

Ask around and you’ll find that people either love it, hate it — or are secretly wolfing it down in their cars when no one is looking.

“Perfect hangover gorging” and “best chips going ’round” were among the responses to a snap Facebook poll on the topic, while haters responded with: “puke”, “not in 20+ years” and “I don’t know how our local survives”.

With a menu that has barely changed in decades, Red Rooster has avoided the fancy, health-conscious upgrades that McDonalds has ushered in to soften the blow of consumers’ changing preferences.

While build-your-own burgers, kale salads and gourmet wraps have invaded the fast food giant’s menu, Red Rooster has stuck to what it does best: seriously basic chicken and chips, with sides that don’t pretend to be anything other than high-fat, salty fare.

Asked what innovations the chain was planning, chief executive Chris Green said Red Rooster would be unveiling new menu items including a chicken, chip and gravy roll, along with a roast dinner roll — and “irresistible” deep-fried mashed potato and gravy balls. They’ll go nicely with the fried pineapple slices.

THE ‘RED ROOSTER LINE’

What other fast food outlet can be used to measure the socio-economic and cultural divide?

Thanks to its association with drive-through restaurants in the outskirts of our major cities — and the no-frills nature of its roast chicken offering — Red Rooster’s brand has always had a whiff of ‘bogan’.

It’s no wonder the “Red Rooster line” has become the unofficial marker of where Western Sydney begins.

In Summer Hill, queues have been observed at the Red Rooster drive-through on Sundays.

Always debate about the exact definition of Western Sydney: I present the Red Rooster Line (S. Hill an obv. outlier) pic.twitter.com/J1DsvpB02h — Big Jez (@THE_REAL_BIGJEZ) February 7, 2016

But the chain plans to expand into more inner-city areas, and has a new store format aimed at luring a new type of customer.

While the traditional Red Rooster store is a large, red-roofed, freestanding building in the ’burbs, the chain recently unveiled a new shopfront-style store called a “Reggie”.

Named after the brand’s rooster mascot, the first round of Reggies opened last month at Ashgrove in inner-city Brisbane, Northbridge in Perth, Townsville’s North Ward and Goulburn, NSW.

CAN RED ROOSTER EVOLVE WITH THE TIMES?

Craveable brands chief executive Brett Houldin has promised “a new energy and direction” after changing the name of the business, with a focus on “menu innovation, digital execution and delivery” while rolling out new stores to grow its customer base.

Red Rooster launched its home delivery service in January, which Mr Green said had made the brand “more relevant and accessible to more people”.

Retail analyst Barry Urquhart said Red Rooster’s biggest challenges was figuring out how to differentiate itself from its rivals — especially now that Australians could buy roast chicken cheaper at Woolworths and Coles.

A whole chook at Red Rooster costs $16.99, while the major supermarkets sell them for half that price.

Investment bank Roy Morgan last year blamed a decline in visits to fast food chicken shops on the $8 roast chickens that have emerged from the supermarket price wars, while noting that millions of Australians still dined out on the stuff.

Red Rooster’s menu has expanded in recent years to include cheesy nuggets, crispy chicken wings and a glazed version of its staple roast chicken, cut up into slightly more photogenic pieces.

It has experimented with limited time menu offerings including lamb shanks, roast chicken pies and Sumo Salads, and added a range of “premium” pulled roast chicken wraps.

But despite attempts to connect with social media users with flat-lay photographs of Red Rooster meals laid out on fancy plates, the brand’s official Instagram has just 3545 followers — even after PR queen Roxy Jacenko posted an image of herself lining up for a chicken feed at the Gold Coast airport.

Mr Urquhart said Red Rooster was overdue for a product revamp, and that home delivery would not be enough to make it relevant again.

“The key question in the food business is ‘what is the mouth-watering proposition that you’re offering me? And it’s hard for customers to visualise,” he said.

Mr Green said Red Rooster was a trusted brand that represented “real, wholesome and delicious food”.

“We have real ingredients in our kitchens including fresh whole chickens, potato, pumpkins, carrot and peas,” he said.

“Roast chicken is one of Australia’s favourite meals and we’re confident we do it best.”

dana.mccauley@news.com.au