By the Numbers
Fast-casual eateries like Shake Shack and Chipotle are gobbling up the fast-food market with sizzling IPOs and serious devotion from millennials. While these newcomers are racking up social media likes, older giants are trying to reconnect with hungry people in the digital age.
So until you dig into your next locally sourced and socially responsible meal, digest these fast-food numbers.
15% | The percentage that McDonald’s net income fell in 2014. |
The Golden Arches are having an identity crisis as diners are putting quality and taste ahead of speed. Despite introducing more menu options and healthier choices, the company is struggling to maintain its historic growth. But don’t worry—the Big Mac isn’t going away anytime soon. McDonald’s 2014 revenues were still in the tens of billions of dollars.
Source: McDonald’s
1.6 billion | The amount at which Shake Shack was valued on its first day of trading. |
That’s about $25 million for each of its sixty-five locations. The New York City–based burger chain started as a cart in Madison Square Park and has since expanded to major cities in the United States and abroad. Other newcomers, such as the Habit Burger Grill and Potbelly Sandwich Shop, were valued at more than $90 million at their IPOs.
Source: NASDAQ
350 | The maximum number of miles a farm can be located from a Chipotle restaurant to still be considered local. |
That’s about the distance from Provo to Las Vegas. Last year the American Culinary Federation asked chefs for their predictions on 2015’s menu trends, and their top pick was locally sourced food. Fast-casual joints are riding the trend by using local produce and meat, claiming that local food is tastier and fresher than shipped goods.
Source: fastcasual.com, Chipotle
200K | The number of Shake Shack followers on Instagram. |
Pictures of succulent burgers have helped Shake Shack build a drool-worthy social media presence, with more than 3,000 followers per restaurant. While competitor McDonald’s has a much larger following at 816,000, its omnipresent locations make its ratio only about 22.7 followers to each restaurant. Investors monitor these social media trends, which could be a factor in Shake Shack’s rising stock prices.
Source: entrepreneur.com, Instagram
4 | The number of Panera Cares community cafés. |
Located in Dearborn, Michigan; Portland, Oregon; St. Louis; and Boston, these stores are not-for-profit and operate on a pay-what-you-can model, offering meals in exchange for whatever customers are able to pay or even for volunteer work. Panera’s main business consists of more than 1,880 for-profit bakery-cafés in the United States and Canada. Research shows that millennials want to connect with socially responsible brands.
Source: fastcasual.com, Panera Cares
839,320,100 | The number of medium Frostys you would have to buy to equal Wendy’s total sales in 2014. |
Since 2011 Wendy’s has taken Burger King’s spot as the second-biggest burger chain in the United States, coming in behind McDonald’s. Wendy’s has focused on upgrading its menu to include higher-quality ingredients, and customers are eating it up. Despite rising demand for fast-casual eats, fast-food behemoths still control 85 percent of the limited-service restaurant market.
Source: technomic.com, Wendy’s
