Shares for Restaurant Brands International moved higher Tuesday after releasing its first-quarter earnings results and one senior analyst says strong branding and business strategy can help amid a broader deceleration in the restaurant industry. 

“The entire market is becoming a little more discretionary with their dollars spent,” Danilo Gargiulo, senior analyst in restaurants at Bernstein, said in an interview with BNN Bloomberg on Tuesday. 

Danilo Gargiulo, a senior analyst in restaurants at Bernstein, said in an interview with BNN Bloomberg on Tuesday that consumers are becoming “more peculiar in how they’re spending their marginal dollars.” 

“And so in an environment where you’re starting to see some deceleration on same-store sales and definitely some compression in traffic, you are seeing some players, like McDonald’s, seeing some more deceleration versus others like Restaurant Brands International,” he said. 

Gargiulo added that chains such as Tim Hortons and Burger King are seeing positive momentum given the current environment. 

“I think Tim Hortons is the biggest in terms of our expectations versus what we hear from investors typically,” he said, adding that the restaurant chain is considered to be “a relatively strong brand but in a saturated market with limited upside.”

 “The company is proving over and over again that even if you are a more mature concept, if you are investing in strong value, great marketing, operational excellence, as well as if you are aligning your franchise system, you can get higher than expected same-store sales over longer periods of time.”

Gargiulo said he is excited about Tim Horton’s investment in beverages and their aim for operational improvements.

“They’re focusing very hard on speed of service,” he said.

“Now with a speed of service 33 seconds on average, which again, helps them through but also helps their margins on a labour side.”

To watch the rest of Gargiulo’s interview with BNN Bloomberg, watch the video above.