Fresh Fruit is Fast Food and McDonald’s Knows It.

Leaders lead and no company other than McDonalds can boast that they have sold over 1 Billion bags of apple slices.  McDonalds understand grandparents, parents, and kids all want ‘better for you’ options from time to time.  Moreover McDonalds had sold more fresh fruit than any other restaurant chain in the past year and they deserve credit for that.  That as regular readers of this blog know ‘better for you’ fresh prepared food and fresh fruit is better for everyone.

Legacy CPG companies continue to see a “runway of opportunity” within the healthy snack space.  McDonalds has once again headed legacy CPG companies off at the pass once again.  1 Billion plus bags of sliced apples say’s fresh fruit is a good thing.  Companies the ilk of Campbell Soup, J.M. Smucker, and TreeHouse food all have made or are looking for healthier snack companies to acquire to fill the demand in the healthy snack space. None is focused on Fresh Fruit direct to the public like McDonald’s.

McDonalds has tested little orange Clementine’s / mandarin oranges commonly called buy the trade name Cuties in parts of Austin, Texas, last winter according to Lisa McComb, director of media relations for McDonald's.  So having sold a billion plus sliced apples will McCuties be next?

Regular readers of this blog know Foodservice Solutions® Grocerant Guru® has regularly stated that “Fresh Fruit is Fast Food” and documented its growth in restaurants and C-stores as a consumer focused success. A new Nielsen study shows 91% of the 1,100 U.S. consumers the market research firm surveyed over the age of 18 ate a snack at least once per day. Sixty-two per cent said they snack twice per day. McCuties expand the snacking opportunity for McDonald’s all day-parts.

Cuties are easy-to-peel, mostly seedless. Cuties could be offered ala carte, that is, customers would be able to purchase them individually to accompany any meal not just a happy meal.  That makes every meal a happy meal. How would the program work? Something like this: customers would likely have the option of choosing a Cutie, apple slices or yogurt is a standard Happy Meal and Cuties could also be ordered as a stand-alone side order.

Convenience stores including Wawa, Sheetz and 7-Eleven all offer customers the options to add fresh fruit to a meal, sandwich or snack purchase. Consumers have responded by frequenting convenience stores more and more often.  Fresh Fruit in Fast Food Outlets provides a platform for contemporized consumer relevance within the QSR sector according to Foodservice Solutions® Grocerant Guru™ Steven Johnson.  McDonald’s sales of over 1 billion sliced apple snacks edifies its global leadership positioning with an ever expanding halo od ‘better for you’.

Outside eyes can deliver top sales and bottom line profits.  Invite www.FoodserviceSolutions.us  to provide brand and product positioning assistance or a grocerant program assessment. Have you completed a Grocerant Scorecard? Contact: 253-759-7869 or Steve@FoodserviceSolutions.us