(#11) 2000s: Fast Casual Dining Takes Off And Challenges Fast Food Restaurants
Fast food faced new competition in the 2000s with the growth of fast casual dining. In 2000, P.F. Chang's China Bistro kicked off the trend with its Pei Wei Asian Diner. The move came in response to growing takeout orders. Rather than opening a takeout-only location, P.F. Chang's created a fast casual chain.
Similar restaurants, like Panera Bread and Chipotle, promised fast service with fresher ingredients than typical fast food chains.
The 2004 premier of Super Size Me also drove people toward healthier fast food options - while pushing fast food chains to create new menu items to appeal to customers.
(#8) 1970s: Breakfast Items Were Introduced To Fast Food Menus
Chains like Dominos, Wendy's, and Jack in the Box focused on lunch and dinner menus until the 1970s, when many fast food chains expanded into breakfast.
In fact, Jack in the Box introduced the first breakfast sandwich in 1969, but it was McDonald's that revolutionized fast food breakfast.
In 1972, McDonald's created the first Egg McMuffin. Herb Peterson, a franchise owner, came up with the idea, which he shared with Ray Kroc. Peterson loved eggs benedict and wanted to expand the idea to fast food.
By 1977, McDonald's restaurants across the country were serving up Egg McMuffins and a complete breakfast menu, including hotcakes, sausage, and hash browns.
(#9) 1980s: Calories And Portion Sizes Increased Starting An Unhealthy Trend
Starting in the mid-1980s, fast food restaurants began increasing portion sizes. According to a study in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, between 1986-2016, the average calorie count per main item grew by 90 calories. For desserts, the calorie count rose by 186.
What changed in the 1980s? As the fast food industry grew more crowded, chains tried to appeal to customers with larger portion sizes and more calorie-dense options. Even the size of burgers grew as more and more chains expanded their menus.
(#10) 1990s: Value Menus Gain Traction At Burger King And Wendy’s
The 1990s brought a new innovation in fast food: value menus. Wendy's pioneered the idea of a value menu in 1989. As a growing number of chains competed for burger sales, Wendy's used the value menu to drive new customers. The value menu offered nine items sold at 99 cents, including hamburgers, fries, and drinks.
Burger King launched its first value menu in 1998, quickly followed by other chains, including McDonald's Dollar Menu, launched in 2003.
(#6) 1950s: Dunkin' Donuts, Baskin-Robbins, And Taco Bell Are Founded
The 1950s marked a new era in fast food history. Multiple brands that dominate the industry today trace their roots to the 1950s, including McDonald's, Dunkin' Donuts, Baskin-Robbins, and Taco Bell.
In 1954, a milkshake salesman named Ray Kroc visited a drive-up restaurant owned by Dick and Mac McDonald. Kroc instantly invested in the business and transformed McDonald's into a giant in the fast food industry.
That same year, Jim McLamore and Dave Edgerton opened Burger King, while Glenn Bell founded Taco Bell.
Streamlined assembly methods distinguished 1950s fast food. At McDonald's, line cooks using the "Speedee Service System" could make burgers in half the time, allowing McDonald's to charge just 15 cents a burger, or half the cost of a sit-down restaurant.
(#12) 2010s: Clean Eating Initiatives Spark Change In Fast Food Menus
In 2006, two years after Super Size Me, 75% of adults reported they were trying to eat healthier in restaurants. Three years later, a National Restaurant Association survey said the No. 1 food trend was increasing the use of local produce.
The clean eating movement changed the fast food industry - but not without challenges. In 2013, Burger King introduced a lower-calorie French fry, but it lasted less than a year. Still, fast food chains have increased their plant-based options, often incorporating vegan foods like the Impossible Burger.
In 2018, McDonald's also announced that it would remove all preservatives and artificial colors from seven burgers. The restaurant also offers carrots, apple slices, and salads.
However, the changes aren't always winning over customers. Although McDonald's now offers healthier sides, a recent study showed that the number of parents buying healthier sides with their kids' meals dropped between 2013 and 2016.
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Fast-food originated in the United States at the end of the 19th century, and the repaid development of the modern fast-food industry was in the 1950s. After the United States won the Second World War, people's work and life pace accelerated, people did not have the time and energy to engage in housework, children's meals became a concern for parents, and it is a great time for the development of the fast-food industry.
Over the decades, changes in consumption habits have promoted the rapid growth and innovation of the fast-food industry, and fast food items have changed significantly every decade since the 20th century, there is more information for you.
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