Naked Chicken Chalupa - Detail - © occomesstibles via Instagram

Fast Food Week: An Industry Review

Behold your weekly review of lesser-but-still-interesting Fast Food sector news roundup! As often happens, McDonald’s news overshadows some other stories, but that’s because their squeaky wheel has once again squealed the loudest. And there’s both good news and bad news for the Burger Giant…

Burger Family + Special Sauce - © 2017 McDOnald'sMcDonald’s Big Reveal: The new Mac Family and limited free Special Sauce giveaways!

Restaurant sector growth flat…

Figures for December and last year as a whole were released this past week, showing restaurant dining remained virtually flat month-to-month, year over year. Only a small up-tick in Fast Food patronage made an overall 0.7 per cent increase in sales possible. And this, of course, just throws gasoline to the competition fire blazing in the Fast Food industry. As we reported not long ago, Burger King is making a concerted effort to confront industry leader McDonald’s on it’s own ground with aggressive menu additions.

McD’s Big Reveal: The Big Mac Family! – and Bottled Secret Sauce!

McDonald’s has rolled out – or started rolling out – it’s Big Mac Family of vari-sized Macs and, to elevate the hype even further, is giving away of 10,000 bottles of Secret Sauce starting today at ‘selected locations’. The choice between the three new Macs – Jr., Mig Mac and Grand Mac – will be somewhat discombobulating to Mac devotées. Mac Jr. is a large single patty with Cheese, Pickles and Special Sauce. In other words, a jumbo Cheese Burger. The new Big Mac is pretty much your old Big Mac. Three Buns, Two Patties and all the toppings. The Grand Mac looks like a Big Mac, but it is bigger, as Business Insider described it, “the width of a Burger King Whopper, and the stack height of a Big Mac.” And it perpetuates the three-bun profile of the original Big Mac with all the toppings. McD’s says it subjected the new Burger Family to extensive test marketing and made the change to the Family with great confidence. Will McDiners really take to the new regime?

Meanwhile, back at the counter…

The backlash from allergy awareness advocates over McDonald’s decision to no longer operate as a Nut-free establishment continues to muddy the Big Reveal message. This kind of bad timing is something you don’t usually see from McD’s… Or, maybe, the brain trust in Oak Brook Il.simply underestimated the impact of it’s open-Nuts policy.

McD’s swamped by All-Day Breakfast demand…

McDonald’s says it’s restaurants have been ‘swamped’ by demand for their new All-Day Breakfast. That’s good news, one guesses, for McD’s whose growth has been virtually flat for the past 5 years, now. Recent financials released by the company showed that he Burger Giant registered a 2.7 per cent overall growth in sales last year, with a total revenue of (US)$5.03 billion, slightly higher than predictions. McD’s has been trying to re-invent itself over the past couple of years and a number of new ideas, both in menu and decor, have been tried and rolled out. It may take another year or so to see how the McDonald’s of the Future concept and the menu changes unveiled this week can put the company solidly out front in the Burger Market race again.

“Our efforts yielded a more streamlined and focused organization that generated solid fourth-quarter and full-year results, including our strongest annual global comparable sales growth since 2011 along with record franchisee cash flows in many of our major markets,” McCEO Steve Easterbrook said in a statement. “I am confident that we’re on the right path as we pursue our goal of being recognized by our customers as the modern, progressive burger company.”

We’ll see…

Taco Bell Naked Chicken Chalupa…

Taco Bell – long an also-ran in the Fast Food stakes – has come out with something truly creative and (by the looks of it, anyway) something compellingly tasty. It’s called the Naked Chicken Chalupa and it even out-Tacos Taco Bell’s own  Cheesy Gordita Crunch:

Naked Chicken Chalupa - © occomesstibles via InstagramThe remarkable Naked Chicken Chalupa…

It’s a Taco that uses a big, round, deep-fried Chicken disc as a shell! Inside, you’ll find shredded lettuce, diced tomatoes, cheddar cheese and a creamy avocado ranch dressing. I predict this one will entrance Fried Chicken fanciers!

KFC Georgia Gold Chicken…

KFC brought U.S. diners what it called Nashville Hot Chicken last year, just to stimulate demand for the old take-out favourite. This year, the chain is launching Georgia Gold Chicken. Look for it on Sunday, January 29 – just in time for weekly family dinner!

Georgia Gold Chicken - © 2017 KFCKFC’s new Georgia Gold Chicken…

Georgia Gold is described as boneless Chicken deep fried and tossed (Wing-like) in a ‘sweet and tangy’ Honey-Mustard Sauce and served in a basket with a side of Pickles. It will be available in a variety of formats including Extra Crispy Chicken Tenders, Chicken Littles, and Extra Crispy Chicken.

And that’s it from Fast Food Land for this week!

~ Maggie J.