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Combo Meals a Hit for Burger Brands. Can Other Franchise Concepts Capitalize on This Trend?
McDonald's, Wendy's and Burger King have recently seen a jump in sales for combo meals
Combo meals are starting to pay off again for burger franchises. A report from research firm The NPD Group, as reported by the Chicago Tribune, found McDonald’s, Burger King and Wendy’s saw an increase in sales for combo meals, which comes as a relief after the brands saw a decline in their sales. Combo meal purchases for lunch and dinner increased one percent for the three brands combined during the 12 month period ending in March 2016.
While one percent may seem like a lackluster figure to tout, it equates to 2.5 billion combo meals purchased. Consumers have been avoiding combo meals over the past few years because of their lack of variety and standard offering of a sandwich, side and drink. NPD Restaurant Industry Analyst Bonnie Riggs told the Chicago Tribune the spike in sales is due to burger brands offering guests the ability to customize their combo meals.
"Consumers want choices, and they want to be able to mix and match," Riggs said. "Burger chains, in large part, still haven't addressed that need, but they are certainly addressing the value need."
McDonald’s has seen success with its McPick 2 combo meal option, while Wendy’s introduced its 4 for $4 meal last fall. These popular fast food burger brands hope that customizability will help them make up some of the ground they've been losing to fast-casual restaurants over the last few years.
To read the original Chicago Tribune Article, click here.
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About the Author
Nick Powills
FollowNick 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.
