McDonald's (USA) serves 27 million people every day, 1 million more every year since 2003. Since 2002 McDonald's (USA) have experienced 45 consecutive months of sales increases. In a recent Business Week column, McDonald's CEO James Skinner claims "We've learned. We've evolved. We believe we've cracked the code in the United States."What is the code? Americans like to eat all day long. Most outlets are open 18 hours a day. Others are 24/7. McDonald's essentially want you to stuff yourself from dawn 'till dusk. It seems that many customers are only too happy to oblige. After all, McDonald's have kids play areas, they have McCafe's, they have wide-screen TV's. So it is safe to say that this is a place that knows how to do business.
Taco Bell is also a very successful place of business that is a unit of Louisville, Kentucky-based Yum Brands Inc., made its name promoting its menu to Americans as something straight out of Mexico. But it's a very different dynamic south of the border. Here, the company is projecting a more "American" fast-food image by adding French fries — some topped with cheese, cream, ground meat and tomatoes — to the menu at its first store, which opened in late September in the northern city of Monterrey. Taco Bell has taken pains to say that it's not trying to masquerade as a Mexican tradition."One look alone is enough to tell that Taco Bell is not a 'taqueria'," the company said in a half-page newspaper ad. "It is a new fast-food alternative that does not pretend to be Mexican food."It's still a mixed message for Mexicans like Marco Fragoso, a 39-year-old office worker sitting down for lunch at a traditional taqueria in Mexico City, because the U.S. chain uses traditional Mexican names for its burritos, gorditas, and chalupas. I know it sounds good, thats because it is.
Subway is also a company that many love that has been very successful in this particular niche market. The owner and founder says that "They embraced the idea of educating the convenience-store environment on why branded fast food makes sense there—not Subway in particular, but fast food in general.
Growing up with McDonald 's, many watched McDonald 's advertise themselves. A considerable amount of children along with adults have either gone or continue to go to an establishment. Have you ever stopped and wondered the reason why people crave fast food so much? Could it be that the food is deliciously intriguing or could it be that fast food has been drilled into the heads of an abundant amount of people? A mass of people grew up with each advertisement every fast food restaurant released, whether the advertisement was on television, on the radio, or printed? Has the craving for McDonalds has been caused by the physiology that goes behind each advertisement?
Firstly, one aspect that is both Mexican and American is the cuisine. The original food for Mexico is very spicy and most of the time very colorful as well. Mexicans use spices, peppers, tomatoes, and cheese in many of the native dishes. They use an assortment of meat: pork, beef, lamb, and chicken. When Mexican restaurants spring up in the United States the food is toned down to appeal to Americans. The Mexican Americans use less spices to make the dishes milder rather than the hot, spicy native food. The food, still Mexican, takes on the likeness of American food. This is shown in the United States by all of the Mexican American restaurants such as Taco Bell. Therefore Mexicans have Americanized their food. “For Hispanics live on this side of the border, where Kraft manufactures Mexican-style Velveeta, and where Jack in the Box serves Fajita Pita.” (Rodriguez 131). Americans complement the Mexican style and the inverse.
McDonalds restaurants are very much embraced by Americans and seen as part of their cultural identity. McDonalds symbolizes the youthful energy, ingenuity, and modern efficiency of America. They have become immensely popular since their opening in 1940 in San Bernardino, California, the popular stop with the big bright yellow M sign that almost everyone can recognize at first sight. As the popularity of McDonalds grows, it becomes indirectly a national identity for America and a natural part to the American culture. It would not be strange to see someone hold a McDonalds meal in their hand on their way to work or anywhere. Every day in many cities and towns all across North America, and indeed the world, people line up for McDonald’s meals and burgers as if it were groceries
A world without the Big Mac, Happy Meals, Chicken McNuggets, and the phrase “I’m lovin’ it,” is almost inconceivable. People around the globe have become accustomed to the high gleaming golden arches that make up the famous emblem for McDonald’s. McDonald’s has grasped the concept that culture flows from power. In this case, the American culture flows through the veins of this fast-food giant and the more that is supplied, the greater the demand. It is no secret that McDonald’s has become one of the world’s largest fast-food retailers. It has become a well known icon that has played a huge part in globalization, with chains located in many different countries… transforming the meaning of fast-food all around the world.
In 1962, Glen Bell created Taco Bell, with 6,500 restaurants in the U.S. and with annual revenue in the billions. Glen Bell “became rich not through technological improvements but rather by franchising ethnic exoticism for consumers outside the Mexican community.” Therefore, he globalized the taco by catering it to Anglo-Americans that were curious about Mexican food, but did not want to enter Mexican communities. For this reason, he advertised “Mexican food” to non-Mexicans that were unaware of the cuisine and created a false image of Mexican food by presenting hard shell tacos as “Mexican food” to assimilate it into the Anglo-American diet. As a matter of fact, as these images of authentic Mexican food are invented so are the stereotypes that surround Mexicans. According to Pilcher, the image of the taco as “cheap, hot and dangerous reinforces racist images of Mexico” and “corporate advertisements are using demeaning images like Mexicans as outlaws or animals.” These stereotypes are denigrating the status of Mexican food and its people, and shows how a single food like tacos can incite these stereotypes and create a label for Mexicans. On the other hand, scholars show how Mexicans view the fast-food taco as a distortion of their cuisine presenting
Subway, one of the present leaders in the fast food industry was set up in 1965 in Bridgeport, Connecticut by Fred DeLuca. A family friend of him suggested this idea to help him pay for his education to fulfill his dream of becoming a doctor. Dr. Peter Buck, one of Fred’s friends agreed to be his partner with a loan of $1,000. There was a huge growth in the business relationship that changed the landscape of the fast food industry.
The term Tex-Mex refers to food that originated in Southern Texas and Arizona, and is most often used to describe the combination of American food products with the cuisine of Mexican-Americans who immigrated to this country. Some purists dismiss Tex-Mex as simply “really bad Mexican food,” while others say that it’s unfair to make that comparison—Tex-Mex is a cuisine all its own. Although the debate will probably never truly end, an understanding of how this type of food came to be and what makes it Tex-Mex is helpful in understanding why it’s different from Mexican food.
Have you ever wondered how the business empire of McDonalds was started? With over ninety nine billion served, it was started in 1940 in San Bernardino, California. It was started off as just a Bar-B-Q that served just twenty items. Its first mascot was named “Speedee” They eventually realized that by setting up their kitchen like an assembly line that they could be much more productive and get their food done faster, with every employee doing a specified job; the restaurants production rate became much higher. A milkshake machine vendor came into their small restaurant one day, his name was Ray Kroc. He saw how much potential the restaurant has, so he bought it out and opened one of the first franchises. Within the first year of Ray Kroc buying it, there were one hundred and two locations all around the world. McDonalds currently is one of the largest fast food restaurants in the world and currently has served over sixty four million customers through one of their thirty two thousand sites. It has almost become a way of life for America. Though, McDonalds started off as a small business between two brothers, it grew into one of the largest restaurant franchises in the world and greatly affects our society and how we eat our food.
McDonald’s has proven over time that the business practices they utilize work well and have led them to obtaining the title of the largest food retailer in the world. The founder of the company made a tactical decision in franchising the idea of providing fast food at a cheap price. Today, fast food has become a staple of not only American life but a viable food option all over the world. For McDonald’s a critical factor in them reaching the level of growth they currently experience has been franchising. It can be assured that McDonald’s will continue to grow through the usage of the franchising techniques as new food markets continue to develop all over the world.
Competition Among Fast Food Chains MARKETING INFORMATION NEEDED FOR THE FAST FOOD INDUSTRY. To begin with, for the fast food industry around the world, the leading fast food chains marketing information is wrapped around convenience location, changing preferences, quality of food, pricing of fast food, potential customers, age of the customers, menu selection and diversification and last of all superior service. From a marketing perspective, location for the fast food service to the potential customers is most important, according to Maritz Marketing Research. A recent study showed the location has to be convenient. The analysis said that adults under the age of 65 prefer a convenient location for their fast food.
Is Mcdonaldization Inevitable? George Ritzer’s, Mcdonaldization of Society, is a critical analysis of the impact on social structural change on human interaction and identity. According to Ritzer, Mcdonaldization “is the process by which the principles of the fast-food restaurant are coming to dominate more and more sectors of American society as well as rest of the world” (Ritzer, 1). Ritzer focuses on four foundations of Mcdonaldization: efficiency, calculability, predictability, and control. These are the commandments of any rationalized corporation. However, they are not carried out from the point of view of the consumer. Efficiency, for example, may entail the placing of great inconveniences upon a consumer for the sake of efficient management. Calculability may involve hiding certain information from the consumer. Predictability and control may involve a company's ability to predict and control consumer behavior, not the consumer's ability to predict what kind of product or control what kind of service he gets. Ritzer calls such breakdowns "the irrationality of rationalization." Ritzer points out the irrationality of rationality, as all of the supposed benefits of Mcdonaldized systems backfire: waiting in long lines, suspect quality, little or no customer service, little or no customer service, the illusion of large quantities for low prices, and severely limited selection of choice. Throughout Mcdonaldization of Society, Ritzer describes Mcdonaldization as largely negative and often destructive. While Mcdonaldization is rapidly taking over American society and spreading to the rest of the globe, it is not something unjustly imposed on the American people. The consumerist culture of America has groomed the public to seek efficiency, calculability, predictability, and control. These principles grow in importance and value in contemporary America. Even when given the choice to avoid a Mcdonaldized establishment or product, people will flock to it. I agree with Ritzer’s analysis of a Mcdonaldized society, but I feel that Ritzer has failed to provide any real solutions to the Mcdonaldization process. I will support Ritzer’s analysis of the Mcdonaldization process, but also show that it is inevitable and essential in the American society to have a rationalized system. Ritzer stresses that “Mcdonaldization” does not just refer to robotlike assemb...
Subway effectively competes with burger chains and others that are in the fast-casual segment of the market. Including healthier meals into its menu and giving much attention to obesity and diabetes have supported consumers' choice for Subway (Tarantino, 2005). However, Subway has not been satisfied thus far; instead, more intensified efforts have been made to improve business during the dinner hour. Additional menu options have also been added to answer competitors' trends and to place more focus on the children's segment.
In today’s market, McDonalds faces numerous challenges such as fierce competition, a more health conscious customer, and the continual need for improved customer satisfaction and menu. McDonalds needs to go through some changes in order to remain ahead in the fast-food industry.
Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) is a very well known restaurant in the world. It is rated at number 60 as the world most well known brand by BusinessWeek (McDonalds at number 9 and Nescafe, 23).
There has been exponential rise in the number of eateries in most of the towns worldwide. This is partly brought about by the ballooning urban population, as well as the emergence of working middle class population who find themselves tied up by work in the cities they reside.