An Exploratory Study of Quick Service Restaurants' Changing Menus

The literature suggests that consumers are expecting additional healthy menu items from quick service restaurants due to the increasing rates at which people are becoming overweight and obese. The current exploratory study analyzes the menu items of ten quick service restaurant chains to determine how many new “healthy” items have been added to menus in 2004 in comparison to 2003. Further analysis, through the use of surveys, determined the types of new menu items, the nutrition/ health claim for each, and how these new healthy menu items have been promoted by five of the ten quick service restaurant chains. Based on the analysis, it was found that on average these chains added 5.3 new healthy menu items in 2004 when compared to 2003. It was also determined that the majority of the new menu items introduced were low calorie and low fat, and that internal promotional techniques were the primary method of marketing. Implications for practitioners and for future research are discussed.