That was one fast week, that just went by! But it wasn’t short on news from the Fast Food universe. Wendy’s and DQ are bringing back seasonal favourites to usher-in Fall, Pepsico is buying out a major Sparkling Water niche competitor, and those 48-Nugget McBuckets you may have heard about – aren’t coming…
The official McDonald’s product mugshot of the 48-Nugget McBucket
offered by McD’s Japan in 2015 as part of a promo partnership…
Nugget McBuckets not really coming back
A tantalizing story circulated earlier this month on the Food News wires, that McDonald’s was bringing back a 48-McNugget Bucket in a promo partnership with a Japanese Animé band. If that sounded too good to be true, that’s because it was. Somehow, usually-reliable media outlet joyscribe.com got information that seemed plausible about the promo program, from no less a news authority than Forbes magazine. I’ve been in a position, more than once before, when researching my stories for this blog, when I’ve come across what looked like a new story from a trusted source, only to discover, on closer examination, that it was really old news with a hard-to-find ‘posted date’. I’m always extra-cautious if I think I’ve seen something ‘new’ before.The last time Forbes reported on a McD’s Nugget McBucket was back in 2015!
Unlike me, an old journalistic war horse with 45 years of reporting under my ever-lengthening belt, journalists at a number of big sites picked up the story from joyscribe.com and re-posted it, including Daily Mail, The Daily Meal, Nerdist, OK! Magazine, and AOL, among others. Performing due diligence on your stories means never having to blog you’re sorry…
Papa John’s founder launches counter-attack!
‘Papa’ John Schnatter, recently elbowed out of the action at the Pizza chain he founded, has launched a counter-attack against the Board that force him first to resign as CEO, then as Chairman of the Board. Schnatter’s attempt to tell his side of the story is now enshrined on the net at SavePapaJohns.com.
“I built Papa John’s from the ground up and remain its largest shareholder. I love my Company, its employees, franchisees and customers,” Schnatter begins, at the top of his home page.
He then goes on to detail developments in his legal battle with his own company over his ouster. You’ll recall that Schnatter got Papa John’s ‘fired’ as the official Pizza of the NFL after he complained about negative effects on his sales which he claimed were a result of the player’s dispute over taking a knee. Papa John’s stock price took a beating and the Board took what it considered appropriate action.
Pepsi buys out major competitor
Pepsico Inc. has bought out Sparkling Water competitor SodaStream for a whopping (US)$3.2 billion. It’s seen as a way for Pepsi to tap into the at-home Soda-making market and eliminate a competitor at the same time. Observers also note the the buyout plays nicely into Pepsi’s current campaign to take a smaller environmental footprint, educing plastics in its packaging. Look for Pepsi to trumpet its acquisition of SodaStream as another step in its environmental responsibility drive. Look for new products engineered to work with the SodaStream siphon system starting sometime next year, after the deal is completed.
Olive Garden selling VIP passes
That’s my name for them, because, in this case, ‘VIP’ could stand for ‘Virtually Inexhaustible Pasta’. For (US)$300 a year, you get a pass that entitles you to a full year of all-you-can-eat Pasta like they serve it during Neverending Pasta promotion, which incidentally, is just beginning again. For (US)$100, you can get a pass good for 8 weeks of free Pasta under the same rules. There are a limited number of these passes available and The Garden expects them to sell out fast, so visit www.pastapass.com ASAP.
Fifty-cent Frosties are back at Wendy’s
It’s that time again – for a limited time, of course – to get your fave Wendy’s Frosty (small size) for just half a buck, at participating locations. That’s half price. The promo has become an-end-of-summer tradition at Wendy’s and we know a number of fans who’d have been disappointed if they didn’t run it as usual this year!
DQ’s popular Pumpkin Pie Blizzard is back for Fall
The iconic confection is simply White Soft Serve mixed with Pumpkin Pie Spices, with a squirt of Whipped Topping and a sprinkle of Nutmeg. It’s at participating DQ locations across the land starting September 3.
And that’s the skinny…
…on what will and won’t (48-Nugget Buckets) be making us fatter this coming week. See you back here in seven for another Fast Food Roundup!
~ Maggie J.