McDonald’s is one of the most recognized global brands that has been part and parcel of the consumer’s lifestyle worldwide on a daily basis since the companies launch in 1955 and ever since, the consumers are just lovin’ it.
The success of McDonald’s is based on the superior marketing tactics to create demand and most importantly the response with respect to consumer demand in every era, with most recently the emphasis on healthy food.
McDonald’s as a brand has been able to connect with the cultural and consumers behavioral changes in a successful manner to not only sustain the consumer relationship, but grow significantly by creating new products and services.
The brand has been subject to quite vehement criticism in relation to the part of fast food in the rise of multiple health issues on a global level (McDonald’s History).
Food as a brand is affected a great deal by the trends that are followed in a particular time period and consumer behavior is greatly affected in relation to a positive or negative perception of the brand due to a trend.
Living in a highly digitized and globalized world and with the focus on health and wellness, McDonald’s has had its work cut out in terms of being the superior brand in the fast food sector.
The competition launch of various brands positioned on health and wellness has created significant behavioral changes in the consumers’ consumption patterns.
Following the trend, McDonald’s launched the trial of kale in the breakfast meals that accounts for 25% of the total sales of the company , besides, the milk will be without artificial hormones and human antibiotics free chicken as announced by McDonald’s recently (Will).
The major trends that McDonald’s as an entity is following is based on low price products, tactical discounts to connect with the consumers, the introduction of healthy alternatives both in products and the process as mentioned above.
McDonald’s, as mentioned in the first paragraph, is quite savvy in terms of getting connected with the pulse of the consumers in view of the trends that connects them to a product or service.
The launch of MaCafe as a standalone brand has been proven a quite successful and vital strategy in connecting with the café trend, enabling consumers to visit the café and have a convenient café experience, in a surrounding area that also included MacDonald’s signature products.
This strategy has a significant behavioral impact on the visiting consumers that starts with, subliminally creating a need for signature products that would have not been there in the consumer’s mind if the café was not connected with the restaurant.
McDonald’s has had its share of critics, that blame the company for the obese culture that have hampered the children predominantly on a global level, all the products are under intense scrutiny and the consumers living in an age of the internet are more aware and in control of what they eat.
A case in point is the article written in the medical daily (Baulkman), the article elaborates and comments on the company’s new line of presumed healthy Kale salads in Canada, that is supposed to have more calories than its burgers.
Such articles when circulated in the social media and other channels create a negative impact in the minds of the consumers due to the viral effects of such news.
The challenge of being able to connect with the consumer trend is to be able to satisfy the needs and wants of the primary target market of this generation, i.e. Millennials.
The age group of consumers comprising 20’s and 30’s, look for quality, customization and ethics, the factors that are not to be found in a fast food chain like McDonald’s (Lutz).
The health based trend, has impacted the menu and with the focus to connect with the millennial consumer to make them lifelong patrons.
The addition of gourmet sandwiches, smoothies and salads is with the intent to flow with the consumer trend and be part of the popular lifestyle culture of the millennial consumer.
The most vital consumer behavior trend indicated by Lutz is at the heart of the business plans of McDonald’s, i.e., low price food.
In spite of Millennials insistence on quality and healthy food options, they lack both time and money thus, making McDonald’s and alike companies the primary staple for a quick bite.
The consumer trend is heavily in favor of health based products and with an array of competitive brands in fast food and fast casual on the rise, McDonalds foray into newer markets to achieve new revenue streams will be limited.
The focus of millennial segment will help the brand, sustain a consumer segment, besides; the McCafe is a key trend setter for McDonalds to keep attracting consumers in the restaurants.
The breakfast needs to be taken care of in terms of creating new products and attracting newer segments, since it is the bread or rather ‘burger’ winner for the company in sales, as evidenced by the fourth quarter earnings of 2015, that had the stock opened at $122 which is an all time high (Filloon).
Works Cited
Baulkman, J. McDonald’s New Kale Salad Boasts Greater Calorie Count Than Double Big Mac. Medical Daily, 2016. Web 08 April, 2016.
Filloon, W. McDonald's Sales Are Up, Thanks to All-Day Breakfast. Chains. Eater, 2016. Web 08 April, 2016.
Lutz, A. Millennials are lying about what they want to eat and it’s causing huge problems for McDonald’s and Pizza Hut. Retail. Business Insider Singapore, 2015. Web 08 April, 2016.
McDonald’s History. About McDonald’s, 2016. Web 08 April, 2016.
Will, G. McDonald’s, the ‘progressive burger company’. Japan Times, 2015. Web 08 April, 2016.
