Recent survey by Consumer Edge Insight looks at what families with kids look for when choosing a restaurant and which quick-service brands offer both kid-friendly menus and healthier menu options.
According to Restaurant DemandTracker, a recent survey of restaurant customers in the United States, households with younger kids are much more likely to seek out restaurants with kid-friendly menus, and many of those consumers are looking for healthier food items on the menu for their families.
Households with younger children are especially likely to value a kid-friendly menu and slightly more likely to value healthy menu choices than households with older children. Among households with kids under age 12, 39% of them say that a kid-friendly menu is always important when choosing a restaurant, and another 36% say that it is important most of the time. Among these households with young children, 25% of them say a restaurant having a menu that includes some healthy food choices is always important, and another 37% say it is important most of the time. Parents of kids who are age 12-17 also look for kid-friendly menus much of the time—24% say it’s important all of the time and another 27% say most of the time—and healthy food options, with 22% saying that is always important and 38% saying that’s important most of the time.
When rating quick-service brands among consumers who have children under age 12 and who are aware of each restaurant, McDonald’s ranks #1 in terms of the most people thinking it has a kid-friendly menu (65%) , followed by Burger King (57%), Wendy’s (52%), Dairy Queen (45%), and Chick-fil-A (43%). The quick-service restaurant brands that score best in terms of offering at least some “healthy food choices” among consumers with children under age 12 are Subway (69%) followed by Wendy’s (46%), McDonald’s (45%), Quizno’s (42%), and Chick-fil-A (35%).
Among families with older children (age 12-17) in the household, McDonald’s still ranks first in terms of people thinking it has a kid-friendly menu (58%), followed by Burger King (54%) and Wendy’s (48%), but Sonic grabs fourth-place (with 41%) and Chick-fil-A again comes in fifth (with 36%). The quick-service restaurant brands that score best in terms of offering at least some “healthy food choices” among consumers with children age 12-17 are Subway (69%) followed by Wendy’s (46%), Quizno’s (41%), McDonald’s (38%), and Chick-fil-A (35%).
“Families with kids have many criteria to satisfy when they choose a restaurant,” said David Decker, President, Consumer Edge Insight. “McDonald’s is seen as the most kid-friendly, followed by the other big burger chains. Those that are looking for a quick-service restaurant that offers healthier menu items should consider going to Subway, Wendy’s, and Quizno’s. Wendy’s is the only one that performs in the top three brands on both factors. Subway and Quizno’s should look at ways to improve their image for offering a kid-friendly menu.”
Restaurant DemandTracker, a new syndicated consumer research service from Consumer Edge Insight, provides an in-depth analysis each quarter of how key economic and secular factors impact restaurant demand and which brands are best-positioned to succeed. Data for the most recent Restaurant DemandTracker was collected in October 2012 via an online survey of over 3,100 US consumers, age 18 and over, designed and weighted to be representative of the US adult population that visit restaurants at least once per month. Some of the topics covered include economic factors driving changes in restaurant patronage, impact of health trends on overall patronage and by segment, changing demographic profiles of restaurant segment users, and numerous brand performance metrics. The research covers the quick-service, fast-casual, family-dining, casual-dining, fine-dining, and pizza-takeout segments in detail.
To learn more, call David Decker at (203) 504-7558 or send an email to ddecker@consumeredgeinsight.com.
Consumer Edge Insight LLC is a market research and consulting firm that helps clients who want to have deeper insight into how consumer behavior is changing around the world and how to profit from those changes. We help companies monitor key trends and develop strategies to enhance shareholder value. In the restaurant industry we have marketing partnerships with GuestMetrics, BlackBox Intelligence, and People Report. For further information, contact David Decker, ddecker@consumeredgeinsight.com, or visit www.consumeredgeinsight.com.
