QSR, Restaurant and Food Service Trends from the United States

September 29, 2008

Triarc and Wendy's Complete Merger Transaction. New company will be Named Wendy's/Arby's Group, Inc.

Triarc Companies, Inc. (NYSE: TRY;TRY.B), the parent company of Arby's Restaurant Group, Inc., which is the franchisor of the Arby's(R) restaurant system, and Wendy's International, Inc. (NYSE: WEN), announced today that they have completed their merg...

September 26, 2008

Restaurant growth may suffer as GE slows new lending

GE Capital Solutions, Franchise Finance, the largest restaurant lender by assets and clients, confirmed Friday it would be “much more selective” and defer rate quotes on new deals as the credit chill that began last year becomes a freeze in the face of...

September 24, 2008

Burger King 'Have it Your Way' campaign linked to Presidential Election

Burger King is breaking a national TV and social-networking campaign on Facebook and MySpace today that plays off the Nov. 4 presidential election. BK says the campaign’s aim is to encourage its customers to vote. The TV spot is a montage of real Burg...

September 23, 2008

McDonald's Says Bank of America Won't Boost Loans

McDonald's Corp. told some U.S. franchisees to seek other ways to finance store improvements after Bank of America Corp. declined to increase lending. Store owners have exhausted financing used to pay for upgrades and equipment to make lattes and espr...

McDonalds French Fries produced in Lamb Weston's Hermiston factory

September 18, 2008

McDonald’s shows Moms the production of its World Famous French Fries

Recently, the Moms' Quality Correspondents concluded their second year of unprecedented access to the McDonald's® system of owner/operators, executives and Supply Chain with Lamb Weston, one of McDonald's Potato Suppliers for McDonald’s Hash Browns and...

September 15, 2008

Triarc and Wendy’s Shareholders Approve Merger, closing expected by end of september

Triarc Companies, Inc. (NYSE: TRY;TRY.B), the parent company of Arby’s Restaurant Group, Inc. which is the franchisor of the Arby’s® restaurant system, and Wendy's International, Inc. (NYSE: WEN), announced today that their respective shareholders have...

September 10, 2008

McDonalds aumenta un 8,5% sus ventas mundiales en agosto

La cadena de comida rápida ha esquivado un mes mas a la crisis y ha aumentado sus ventas comparables en agosto un 8,5%, con lo que ha superado las estimaciones efectuadas por los analistas. Las acciones de la blue chip se disparan un 3%. No obstante,...

September 09, 2008

KFC knows how to keep a secret

As a long-standing cornerstone of KFC, world's most popular chicken restaurant chain, Sanders' Original Recipe ranks among America's most valuable trade secrets. "The concept of having a secret recipe is priceless and it provides KFC with a meanin...

September 09, 2008

McDonald's August same store sales up 8.5%

McDonald's Corp. Tuesday said August global same-store sales rose 8.5%, while systemwide sales rose 14.1%, or 10% in constant currencies. Systemwide sales rose 5.4% in McDonald's U.S. division, while European systemwide sales were up 21.5%. Systemwid...

September 04, 2008

Menu labeling is a hit with New Yorkers, survey finds

Nearly nine out of 10 New Yorkers favor their city’s menu-labeling mandate because they believe it helps them make better choices when dining out, according to a survey conducted last week by Technomic Inc. The Chicago-based foodservice research firm s...

August 27, 2008

La crisis económica sienta bien a las hamburguesas

Aumenta el número de clientes de los dos gigantes de la comida rápida, atraídos por sus económicos menús. McDonald's factura un 8% más en julio;Burger King eleva un 28% su beneficio en el último ejercicio.

August 14, 2008

Burger King corp. abre su restaurante numero 1.000 en la region de Latino America y el Caribe

Burger King Corp. (NYSE:BKC) anunció hoy que ahora tiene abierto 1.000 restaurantes en la región de Latino América y el Caribe. En la actualidad, los restaurantes de BURGER KING® operan en 27 países de la región y han alcanzado 15 años de crecimiento p...

August 14, 2008

Big Mac si, pero sin ’grasas trans’

Tras haber sido declarada la guerra contra la obesidad en Nueva York por la alcaldía, franquicias como Dunkin’ Donuts, Burger King, McDonalds, KFC y Pizza Hut han eliminado de sus locales en la ciudad los tratamientos industriales para prolongar la vid...

August 14, 2008

Council of Better Business Bureaus reviews Wendy's advertising claims

The National Advertising Division of the Council of Better Business Bureaus has determined that Wendy's International Inc., provided sufficient evidence to support product description claims made in the context of the company's "Always Fresh, Neve...

August 13, 2008

Wendy's ranking slides to No. 4

Wendy's International, long ranked No. 3 among fast-food restaurants based on total sales, has ceded that standing. Subway took the No. 3 slot in the latest rankings by QSR Magazine, an industry publication. Wendy's was No. 4. In the nine years QSR Mag...

August 12, 2008

Commodity costs cut into Wendy's profit

Wendy's International, which is in a pending merger with Arby's parent Triac Cos. Inc., said Tuesday that its second-quarter profit fell by one-third, hurt by sharply higher commodity costs, flat revenue and a big investment in its new breakfast menu. ...

August 06, 2008

Wendy's Q2 profit drops 32% on commodity costs, charges

Wendy's International, Inc., the third largest U.S. hamburger chain, said Tuesday after the markets closed that second quarter earnings fell from last year, hurt by declining sales and rising commodity costs as well as restructuring charges and expense...

August 04, 2008

Restaurants Spurn Food Contracts For Spot Market

Higher prices and shorter lengths for food contracts are forcing some restaurants to reconsider locking in prices for ingredients and instead buy chicken, beef and other goods on the spot market, exposing themselves to volatile costs. Major food suppli...