A lot of things happened in the food sector this year which created news – a successful IPO by Shake Shacks, Peet’s acquisition of Intelligentsia and Stumptown, the horrible food poisoning at Chipotle and the amazing beginning of McDonald’s all-day breakfast. There is one thing common in all of these big news, they were all food chain restaurants.
While reports keep coming up about people looking for better alternatives, the food chains are still going strong. The customers are definitely looking for better quality food and they want healthier choices. They are also not afraid to pay more but, they still want their food quick.
Getting over burgers and fried chicken
This year saw McDonalds shift their strategy according to the new millennials who work during the night and wake up around noon. But whatever time they wake up at, they still want to eat breakfast. Previously, McDonalds offered their popular breakfast only till 10am in the morning. The breakfast has always been a contributing factor towards the company’s sales and it accounts for 25% of the total sales. After the all-day breakfast started, the company posted a 4% gain in sales.
This year also saw the fried chicken explosion with Eater’s Hillary Dixler backing Fuku, Shake Shack (who recently introduced their own fried chicken sandwich), and the many other smaller chains and restaurants who discovered the wonders of battering and frying.
The main problem with chain restaurants is the deliciousness-to-calorie ratio. But with chains like Shake Shack and Foku, this problem is getting resolved. Their ingredients are better, their recipes are more thoughtful, and their restaurants are more enjoyable to visit.
This year the chain restaurants also went out of their way to tout about the more humane treatment of the animals they serve and locally sourcing the ingredients. Taco Bell already announced last month that they will be serving cage-free eggs by the end of 2016 and Pizza Hut is also expected to follow.
Lifestyle chain restaurants are making a difference
This year was marked by another group of restaurants that focused on de-emphasizing meat and providing delicious vegetables with the same speed. It’s not just out of the goodness of their hearts: adding the adjective “healthy” before the phrase “fast food” makes investors and professional food scolds alike swoon with delight. Be it salad specialists Sweetgreens, vegetable specialists Tender Greens or California based Lyfe Kitchen.
But while these new chains got more attention for their messaging about food, chains like Chipotle suffered a lot. In the beginning of the year, they faced a big carnitas shortage because of a pork supplier that failed to meet unspecified “responsibly raised” standards. And then there was the E.coli outbreak because of which 43 restaurants of the company had to stay closed. The CEO of Chipotle did make a public apology only to have the CDC confirm five new cases of E. coli originating from the chain.
It’s hard to say what comes next for the food industry in 2016 but it will definitely be interesting to see which option customers choose this year.
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