Fast Food’s Healthier Trends

Even if you only eat out at fast food restaurants occasionally, you have likely noticed that even the most notorious places have decided to include a few healthier menu items recently, and some have even massively redesigned their themes and brands to look and seem healthier.

The biggest chains such as McDonalds are certainly going through such health transformations, although whether or not this trend will last is uncertain.

Increasing Awareness

One of the potential reasons for the increased focus on healthy marketing is that a larger percent of American consumers’ diets are coming from fast, casual and quick serve restaurants, according to one analysis.

While one might think this speaks to the power of the traditional menu, in fact this trend has increased the focus of healthcare professionals who seek to improve the diets of all Americans. As fast-food becomes an increasing staple, health advocates take closer aim.

In reaction, franchises themselves struggle to maintain their traditional menus, while also appeasing the public-welfare advocates by offering healthier food choices. as they compete to market themselves as offering healthy options, because choosing to eat at a fast food restaurant is happening more and more often, and people are also becoming increasingly aware of their health and the way their diets affect weight changes and overall health trends.

In addition, it is possible that consumers are just becoming more aware of what goes into the food we eat at these chains, and when people know what is happening, they are more likely to sign petitions, participate in boycotts, and spread the word over social media outlets such as Twitter, Facebook, and Yelp.

With the recent news of “Pink Slime” in mass produced chicken products, news of Mansanto’s monopoly on genetically modified seeds for a large percentage of the world’s food, factory farm horror stories, e-coli breakouts, contaminated spinach and bagged lettuce, and a host of other news clips coming out in a constant stream in recent years, food is beginning to become a bit scary.

Many people can find out about these atrocities in the blink of an eye because of the internet, and the news spreads fast, threatening to damage the reputations of even established companies with millions of loyal customers.

Follow The Leader

With all of that fear of manufactured food, or at the very least an increased awareness of the dangers that come from lazy food corporate production, some of the biggest buyers such as McDonalds, have gotten pressured from the public and from activists to change their purchasing trends, and to be more mindful of the ingredients they put into our children’s Happy Meals.

Subway has been a franchise that has been on the healthy marketing train for years, starting with the massive weight loss of Jarod the “Subway guy,” who lost weight by eating a diet primarily of Subway sandwiches and increasing his exercise.

Apparently, this strategy has really worked for Subway, and they now have the monopoly on healthy fast food, which franchise’s like McDonalds struggling to keep up and improve their image.

One of the most drastic changes from a company formerly known as very unhealthy has been seen from the chain McDonalds, which now offers apple slices and juice boxes with their happy meals, uses lime green and yellow colors in their menus and dining rooms, and has more of a focus on highlighting healthy and low calorie options.

They have also been on the Weight Watchers points list for years, although there is not much on the menu that is both satiating and low in points.

Even though they are offering more healthy options in recent years, analysis shows that they are still focusing the brunt of their marketing on children and lower socioeconomic classes, and that their advertising fallback is largely towards unhealthy food options such as shakes, fries, and burgers.

In other words, it is unlikely that most people will intentionally go to McDonalds for their primary healthy food fix. We’ll see how this healthy marketing trend plays out in the future, but it may not be sustainable.