Fast-food outlets target snacks market
NEW YORK — Forget the Big Mac attack — now is the time of the snack attack.
After years of slinging super-sized servings, fastfood chains are seeing the benefits of offering daintier bites. That includes mini-hot dogs, little chicken sandwiches and smaller shakes.
It’s intended to entice people who are searching for a small treat between meals, a cheap bite or a little something extra at mealtime.
This week, Arby’s introduced a lineup of sliders, with the miniature versions of its regular sandwiches costing less than $2 US each. This year, Sonic intro- duced Lil Doggies and Lil Chickies, or petite hot dogs and chicken sandwiches, for around the same price. They were so popular the chain is bringing them back next week.
Taco Bell is promoting its Dare Devil Loaded Grillers, which are smaller burritos for about a buck.
The more modest serving sizes are intended to serve a variety of eating habits, including the rise in people snacking and eating smaller meals around the clock. That means giving people options that don’t make them feel like they’re pigging out.
They aren’t all shrunken versions of regular items, either.
Burger King said the return of its chicken fries is helping push up sales, with many people stopping in to get French fry-shaped fried chicken as a snack.
Dunkin’ Donuts CEO Nigel Travis has said the chain’s new sandwiches are meant to be snacks — not lunch — to fit with the changing way people are eating.
“What we’re seeing is the definition of meals is changing,” said Popeyes CEO Cheryl Bachelder.
She said Popeyes’ new menu items are developed to be snacks and easy to eat on the go, such as its Rip’n chicken, shaped so pieces can be torn off easily.
Snacks on fast-food menus aren’t entirely new; McDonald’s has offered snack wraps for years — and White Castle might as well have patented the slider. But overall, Arby’s chief marketing officer, Rob Lynch, thinks chains are losing customers to convenience stores because they haven’t done a great job with smaller, cheaper bites.
“They’re getting this business because the restaurant industry hasn’t built a platform that meets this need,” Lynch said.
Reduced portion sizes can also be a way to attract deal-seekers, because smaller sizes usually mean smaller prices.
That’s an area some fastfood chains are struggling with, as rising costs for ingredients such as beef and dairy have made it tough to keep offering traditional dollar menus.
McDonald’s and Wendy’s, for instance, have both replaced their dollar menus with value menus that offer options at a variety of prices. But the CEOs of both chains have admitted they need to do something more to satisfy the value-seeking crowd.