What Does The Future of Menu Labeling Hold for the Franchise Industry?

The state of menu labeling has been a hotly debated topic the last few years. Since the passage of the Affordable Care Act in 2010, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has been pushing to require restaurants and establishments that serve prepared food to provide calorie and other nutritional information for standard menu items. The nutritional content would not just be hidden in the fine print of a menu - it would have to be clearly and conspicuously marked on menus, menu boards and displays. The rule would affect not only restaurants, but also grocery stores, delis and convenience stores.

The enforcement was planned to go into effect by the end of 2016, but the FDA delayed the enforcement until 2017. What is interesting about the delay is that the FDA is receiving significant pushback from supermarkets and convenience stores, which believe the regulations may hinder their ability to serve prepared foods. Major franchised brands, such as Dominos, have opposed the rule because many of their orders are received online or over the phone, making it harder to provide nutritional and caloric information, according to the Associated Press.

But many in the restaurant industry understand the FDA’s decision and several brands are already providing consumers with nutritional information. The rationale from those that support the initiative is that they would prefer federal menu labeling standards as opposed to leaving the decision up to the states or communities in which they operate. Davis Jaeger, food scientist and product development manager for Smoothie King, said the new rule implementation could be great for restaurants as it could open the door to their potential.

“I think what is going on is great, as it is allows companies to provide healthier items for consumers and pushes them develop the same great tasting items, but with better ingredients,” Jaeger said. “To provide that knowledge to consumers will help give more transparency for brands and consumers will be reaping the benefits.”

A number of brands have already begun to list calorie information on their menus. Panera Bread began this practice in 2010 and McDonald’s did as well in 2012. Subway announced that all of its 27,000 stores in the U.S. would have calorie counts available this year.

Jaeger went on to say that the future of menu labeling could even cause some businesses to rethink how they make food. Brands that rely heavily on preservatives to extend shelf life may have to rethink their strategy. Jaeger also mentioned that while some healthier ingredients can be more expensive, consumers are now gravitating towards higher quality ingredients, which could result in higher sales.

Consumers today are keeping even a more watchful eye on the food they eat and sentiment shows that they welcome changes to food labeling. They not only want to know the amount of fat or cholesterol in their food, but the exact ingredients that go into everything they are eating. It’s not just a select group of health-conscious consumers that are doing this, as three-fourths of consumers in the U.S. claim to read nutritional and ingredient labels on food products according to Food Business News. Jaeger said this is an exciting time for the industry and it may take some time for brands to adjust, but in the end it will benefit all parties.

“I think the future of food labeling is going to be good for the industry as a whole,” Jaeger said. “It’s going to force companies to be more creative with their menu items, but at the end of the day, doing this is really helping the consumer.”

Nick Powills, CFE, founded No Limit Agency in 2008 and serves as Chief Brand Strategist for the Chicago-based firm. No Limit is a full-service communications agency that establishes and elevates brands by bridging Public Relations, Social Media, Marketing, Advertising, Digital, and a lot of creativity, to best strategize well-rounded and successful campaigns for 50+ global franchise brands. By presenting visionary ideas and building real relationships, No Limit is able to create effective media branding strategies to help companies grow. Nick currently leads a staff of writers, media strategists, designers, social media experts and digital producers in an office think-tank where brands are humanized for strong, compelling media stories. Prior to starting No Limit at the age of 27, Nick spent four years working at a franchise PR agency where he mastered the art of building rapport with media outlets and creating newsworthy pitches for earned media placements. He holds a Bachelor of Journalism from Drake University in Iowa.

What Does The Future of Menu Labeling Hold for the Franchise Industry?

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