Wingstop

A business on the move

When a business is growing as quickly as Wingstop, standing still isn't an option.

As one of the UK's fastest-growing quick-service restaurant brands, Wingstop continues to expand its footprint across the UK and Ireland, with more than 90 restaurants today and ambitious plans to grow to 200 locations over the next five years. Behind that growth is an operation that's constantly changing. Every new restaurant brings new suppliers, new contracts and new operational demands, all while maintaining the consistency customers expect.

As the estate expanded, so too did the amount of energy data, invoices and administration that sat behind it. Processes that work for a smaller estate don't always scale, and managing energy through manual processes was becoming increasingly time-consuming. For Wingstop, that meant finding an approach that could grow alongside the business, giving the team the confidence to focus on opening great restaurants and creating great customer experiences.

Supporting growth from day one

As the business continued to grow, Wingstop needed greater visibility across its energy portfolio and confidence that the systems supporting it could scale alongside the estate. The objective wasn't just to simplify the way energy was managed across the estate, but to create an approach that would make budgeting, forecasting and reporting easier as the business continued to expand.

"It's easy to focus on what a customer needs today, but that's only part of the picture. With Wingstop, we knew the business was growing quickly, so it was just as important to understand where they were heading and make sure the support around them was ready for what came next."
Noah Nelson, Account Director, Trident

A partnership that continues to evolve

The relationship began with Energy Procurement and Bureau services, before Pulse, Trident's energy management and carbon reporting platform, gave Wingstop a single place to access the information needed to manage its growing estate. Rather than relying on spreadsheets and multiple sources of information, the team could quickly access the data they needed for budgeting, forecasting and reporting through one platform.

As the business grew, so did the relationship, expanding to include Revenue Recovery, where Trident investigates historic energy accounts to identify overpayments and recover money owed, alongside Streamlined Energy and Carbon Reporting (SECR). These services created a more joined-up approach to managing energy across the portfolio, reducing manual administration and giving the team greater confidence in the information they relied on every day.

"Every new restaurant needs to be brought on board smoothly, but that's only the start. We work closely with the team throughout the onboarding process and continue supporting them day to day, so whether it's a new site, a question or an issue that needs resolving, they know we're there when they need us."
Samantha Gray, Account Manager

Creating lasting value

As Wingstop has grown, the partnership has continued to grow with it. What began with Energy Procurement has developed into broader support, helping the business manage energy purchasing, validate invoices through Bureau services, improve budgeting and forecasting, identify revenue recovery opportunities and provide the day-to-day operational support needed to support a rapidly expanding estate.

Today, Wingstop has greater confidence across budgeting, forecasting and day-to-day decision-making, while the business has also realised measurable commercial value. Revenue Recovery alone has identified c.£200,000 while Bureau services help validate invoices before they reach the business, reducing manual checking and helping ensure costs remain accurate as the estate continues to grow. 

What’s next

Wingstop's ambitions show no signs of slowing down. With plans to continue expanding across the UK and Ireland, the business remains firmly focused on growth. The manual processes that once supported a smaller estate have been replaced by an approach that's ready for what comes next, giving the team confidence that the business can continue to grow without adding unnecessary complexity. With the right foundations now in place, the team can stay focused on opening great restaurants and creating great customer experiences.