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I am going to go head and admit to the world that I eat fast food on a regular basis. My meals quite frequently consist of the following keywords: Double cheese, Nuggets, Soft taco, Crispy Chicken, and 6 inch turkey on wheat (when I’m feeling conservative). I’ve brought a salad to work for lunch. But make no mistake; the salad is just a façade. A feeble attempt to fit in with some of my health conscious colleagues. But I am not ashamed anymore. I love processed foods, ketchup, and sesame seed buns.
I consider myself to be somewhat of a connoisseur to the fast food/delivery food industry. I’ve witnessed several trends that have swept across my favorite fast food brands.
• First, I saw the emergence of what I like to call “the holy grail” of brand strategies or “the old two-in-one”. Two fast food establishments in one building. Yum! Brands® is a pioneer behind this tactic. You have probably seen KFC®/Taco Bell® in one building, and a Taco Bell/ Pizza hut® in one building. Double occupancy is a solution for families with one kid who hates chicken, and one kid that won’t eat tacos. Some people might call these places strange, I call them Mecca.
• When the health craze hit, I saw healthy options quickly added to the menus of all my favorite restaurants. Side Salads, apples, wheat bread, yogurt, granola, baked chips— complete anarchy! Some fast food enthusiasts were weakened by the innovative alternatives. I was not. I stayed loyal to the grease. Lettuce and tomatoes on a fried chicken sandwich covers the ‘healthy’ base for me.
• Late night business hours. Simply genius, and very popular with the college crowd. Nothing cures insomnia like French fries.
• The dollar menu trend is economical for those of us who have just enough quarters in our change cup for an entrée and plenty of soda at home.
The latest fast food trend I have seen is what I refer to as the “One of these things is not like the other menu items” trend. Inspired by the popular children’s song. Let’s play:
Subway®: Turkey Sub, Tuna Sub, Pizza?
Pizza Hut®: Supreme Pizza, Pepperoni Pizza, Pasta?
Wendy’s®: Frosty, Hamburger, French toast sticks?
Domino’s®: Cheese Pizza, Sausage pizza, Oven baked sandwiches?
I wonder if ‘the more, the merrier’ philosophy applies here. Or does this over extend the brand? Does it challenge positioning?
I’m not sure. Fast food menus are constantly evolving these days. But their staples will always remain the same. You will never walk into McDonald’s® and not be able to get a hamburger. But I can’t promise they won’t add shish kabobs to the menu one day. And even if they did, you should try everything at least once!
What trend do you predict happening next in the fast food industry?
Contributed by Laine Beyerl
