News

Restaurant chains falling short on healthy option promises

September 23, 2014

A new white paper from Technomic, titled "Better-for-You Chains: Consumer Ratings of Restaurants' Health Offerings," shows that a majority of consumers are unsatisfied with restaurant chain's availability of healthy options.

A majority of consumers said it's important for brands, including QSRs, to offer healthy options.

Data was gleaned from Technomic's consumer brand metrics program.

"Consumers may not select healthy options on every occasion," Technomic EVP Darren Tristano said in a news release. "But increasingly, operators must understand the importance of health to their customers, and many will need to refresh their menu offerings to deliver what their customers demand."

Highlights from the white paper include:

• Limited-service restaurants: More than three-fifths of consumers rate the availability of healthy options at Jamba Juice, Jason's Deli and McAlister's Deli as very good. Jamba Juice enjoys broad awareness of its better-for-you brand positioning, and is ranked as the top chain on this attribute by Generation Z, Millennials, Generation X and Baby Boomers.
• Full-service restaurants: More than half of visitors to The Cheesecake Factory, Bonefish Grill and Bahama Breeze Island Grille say these chains are very good when it comes to providing healthy options. While Millennials' top choice on this attribute is Bonefish Grill, Baby Boomers award the highest ratings to The Cheesecake Factory.
• Most improved chains: Consumers increasingly rate Whataburger and Bonefish Grill as very good on the availability of healthy options year over year. For Whataburger, improved ratings may result from the 550 Calorie Menu it introduced in 2012, while Bonefish Grill's increase may be driven by consumers increasingly associating its fresh seafood offerings with health.