Starling Fitness: Daily writings on Fitness, Diet, and Health

It’s nice to hear the inside story about a company whose business is to provide food. Yum! Brands is the company that owns Pizza Hut, Taco Bell, KFC, Long John Silver and A&W. They were owned by PepsiCo until they were sold off in 1997. This is a detailed interview with the minds behind these restaurants that are probably within three miles of your home, waiting to feed you and your family.

• The Economist – Yum! Brands | Fast food’s yummy secret

Best Quotes:

“We are offering salads because that is what people want to see,” says Mr Novak, choosing his verbs carefully. But the salads are not what the industry calls “business builders”: they are there to win over the “veto vote”, offering something to the calorie-conscious eater who might otherwise dissuade a whole family or group from going to a KFC or a Taco Bell.

These companies won’t concentrate on offering healthy food until we are able to make the healthy choices “business builders” instead of “veto vote” preventers.

Nor does there seem much scope for traditional fast-food chains to grow in America by opening new outlets. According to UBS, three-quarters of Americans already live within three miles of a McDonald’s. Two-thirds live within three miles of a Pizza Hut and a Taco Bell and a KFC as well. To expand, then, the chains will have to win business from one another, using new pitches and products.

Be prepared for more advertising and new products on an increasing basis. The only way that these companies will be able to grow their market share is to keep grabbing our attention with flashy commercials. Remember, they usually don’t have nutrition facts for those new items, so make sure you stick with your “veto vote” food until they are able to tell you how many calories are in those shiny new burritos.

You will never go bust by under-estimating the public taste. But you have to do it cheaply, efficiently and on a very large scale.

The longer I eat healthy, the more refined my taste has become. Don’t be scared of becoming a picky eater. We end up eating the best tasting, healthiest food around.

Nutritional Information for Pizza Hut, Taco Bell, Long John Silver, A&W, and KFC

Via: CalorieLab Calorie Counter News – Yum! Brands in the Economist