FI Fast Break audio news: Sept. 3, 2025
The latest FI Fast Break news podcast touches on warnings of a deepening farm financial crisis in the United States.
Tag: Taco Bell
The Future of Fast Food: How Top QSRs Are Using AI Tech to Get Ahead
QSRs are revolutionizing the dining experience by integrating AI, mobile ordering, and kiosks, but success depends on balancing efficiency with human connection. Intouch Insight’s 2025 Emerging Experiences study highlights how industry leaders are using innovative tech to streamline operations.
Despite a Rough Q1, Investors Believe Fast Food Will Rebound
Despite sluggish sales and weak traffic in Q1, fast-food giants like McDonald’s and Wendy’s have seen their stocks rebound, reflecting investors’ confidence in pricing adjustments to revitalize the sector. QSRs are positioning themselves for a more efficient, profitable future.
Brands Tap National Burrito Day to Enhance Loyalty Programs
With food-related holidays happening almost daily, brands are capitalizing on events like National Burrito Day (April 3) to drive sales, boost loyalty program engagement, and introduce gamified promotions. Restaurants from Chipotle to Taco Bell are taking advantage, rolling out limited-time deals.
How McDonald’s Won Over Gen Z Consumers
The Magnetic 100: Restaurants report by dcdx reveals the top brands captivating Gen Z, with McDonald’s, Wingstop, and Starbucks leading the pack due to their organic online engagement and unique customer interactions.
Retail Reimagined: Shoppers Skipping Middle Ground for Luxury, Value
Consumers are reshaping retail by prioritizing convenience, with Millennials driving trends like smaller store formats. Meanwhile, shifts in spending patterns reveal a preference for luxury or value over mid-priced options.
Taco Bell Taps Consumers for Ad During NFL Super Bowl
Taco Bell is collaborating with its customer base to create a unique, community-driven ad campaign for its upcoming Super Bowl slot.
Dynamic Menu, Savvy Marketing Key to Taco Bell Success, Experts Say
Taco Bell has achieved 11 consecutive quarters of growth. The keys, experts note, include targeted digital marketing, limited-time offers, and innovative menu updates that resonate with young consumers and drive repeat visits.
A Twinkle in Time: F&B Brands Serve Nostalgia by the Spoonful
F&B brands are tapping into nostalgia by reintroducing iconic products from the past, like Twinkles cereal from the 1960s. By offering these LTOs, brands appeal to consumers’ emotional connection to products, resonating across generations.
New ‘Kidult’ on the Block: Grownup Happy Meals, Halloween Deals
The trend of “kidult” marketing features brands like McDonald’s and Taco Bell creating nostalgic experiences tailored for adults. Brands are tapping into nostalgia to appeal to millennials and Gen Z.
Top 4 Value Meals of 2024
Fast food used to be enticing because it offered comfort food at cheap prices. Today, that’s not necessarily the case. Inflation has hit every industry – with restaurant chains being no exception. As a result, …
Taco the Town: Del Taco Tops Consumers’ Best Fast-Food List
Del Taco, a restaurant chain nearing its 60th anniversary, has never been hotter, winning top marks in a recent best fast-food list.
CEO of Chipotle Departs to Assume Leadership of Starbucks
Tuesday brought big business news, as Chipotle announced that its chairman and CEO, Brian Niccol, had accepted a similar post at Starbucks.
FI News Review (August 2, 2024) – The Ins and Outs of AI Drive Thru Chatbots
Chilling Out: Hot Sales for Cold Drinks
With summer solidly here, a recent trend in coffee may leave many caffeine junkies wondering what happened to a classic cup of joe.
Co-Branding a Powerful Tool to Pique Consumer Interest
Co-Branding is a powerful tool to pique consumer interest, from Oreo and Breyers Ice Cream, to Mike’s Hot Honey and Lou Malnati’s pizza,
Fast-Flation: Fast Food Restaurant Prices Surge, Even as Inflation Wanes
Major fast-food restaurants have raised prices by 60% on average between 2014 and 2024. McDonald’s is the worst offender with average menu prices increasing more than three times the national rate of inflation over the past decade.
The Endless Promise of Pizza
Served as an LTO, in a restaurant, or at a ball game, fired in a brick oven at 800 degrees or reheated Sunday morning in a battered collegiate microwave after a late night, pizza is a tough business that can yield great rewards, revenue, and satisfaction.
Column: Loyalty Apps Becoming a Boon for Fast-Food Restaurants
One great benefit of loyalty programs is that they help businesses, like restaurant chains, build a relationship with a customer. To inspire consumers to join your program you can use price or other incentives.
California Wage Law: The Dominos Are Poised to Fall
QSR jobs will be in high demand once the law passes as workers try to reduce their dining expenses in lieu of high food costs and an inflationary environment. More importantly, however, California just bolstered the prospects of hundreds of thousands of current and (more importantly) future fast-food workers.
Rock the Block(chain): NFTs in Food and Beverage
The heck is an NFT? Their precursors in the ‘90s were called pogs – often cheap and of limited variety for the average consumer, easily tradable and without much long-term staying power. Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) …
What Will 100% Digital Sales at Fast-Food Chains Look Like?
On a recent earnings call, Yum Brands announced its goal to make 100% of its global system sales digital transactions.
Fast Food Tech Evolves
The biggest names in global fast food are adjusting to the new market realities by innovating with cutting-edge technology.
Survey Reveals Four Ways Americans are Cutting Food Costs
Inflation is hitting Americans hard and is causing most to cut back everyday items. A recent survey from Attest proves that food and beverages are not immune to necessary cutbacks. Dr. Lin Carson, CEO of …
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Plant-Based QSRs Boosting Consumer Trial
A growing number of plant-based burger chains are cropping up across the country as more younger consumers flock to quick service restaurants
Middle-Tier Restaurants Threatened as Industry Bifurcates
Middle-tier restaurants would be wise to alter their business models amid raging inflation and predictions of a recession later this year.
Menu Innovation Spurring Breakfast’s Revival at Restaurants
As professionals return to offices and on-site work post-pandemic-peak, restaurants are revitalizing breakfast service in a trend back toward innovative items with international influences. Chains are driving morning traffic back with discounts and deals, TODAY …
Drive-Thru or Dining Rooms? QSRs, Casual Dining Going Different Routes
Hot dog stands and early hamburger joints had one thing in common besides the fries and colas: They were walk up counters where customers would place their orders and stroll off with food to be …
How Restaurants Can Retain Price-Conscious Consumers
A recent survey of middle-income households shows 57% anticipate buying fewer takeout and dine-in meals, reported Restaurant Business (April 20). At the same time, restaurants are struggling to keep prices in check. With these factors in …
What is the Net Value of Restaurant Subscription Services?
More quick service restaurants (QSRs) are rolling out subscription services in the new year to leverage the pandemic pivot towards mobile ordering and remain top of mind with consumers. Throughout the month of January, Sweetgreen …
Latest Salvo in Chicken Wars Includes Taco Bell Hybrid Item
Taco bell is no stranger to unusual combinations (think Naked Chicken Chalupa, Doritos Locos Tacos), but its latest might take the cake. The chain is launching a Crispy Chicken Sandwich Taco on September 2. The …
CASE STUDY: Celebrity-Backed Limited Time Offerings Boost McDonald’s Revenue
One of the most successful limited time offerings (LTOs) over the past year has been McDonald’s “Famous Orders” celebrity collaborations. McDonald’s has been utilizing LTOs to attract consumers for years with items such as the …
UPDATE: Major Ingredient Shortage Impacting Multiple QSRs
Taco Bell is the latest restaurant chain to be hit by significant ingredient shortages. “Sorry if we can’t feed your current crave,” reads an orange banner atop the fast-food chain’s website. “Due to national ingredient …
Chipotle Leading Sustainable Packaging Trend
Chipotle’s half-decade commitment to sustainability largely serves as a blueprint for the foodservice segment. In 2018, Chipotle announced that, by the year 2020, the fast-casual chain aimed to divert half of all of its restaurant …
Millennial Brand Favorites Revealed in New Survey
Millennials’ favorite food and beverage brands in 2021 highlight a taste for convenience, comfort, and quality with a focus on affordability. The popularity of private labels and non-traditional retailer formats are also on the rise. …
UPDATE: Restaurants Forced to Get Creative to Lure New Hires
Restaurants are struggling to win back employees so far in 2021. The Food Institute reported on this issue back in early April when QSRs were finding hiring new workers particularly challenging, and the issue has …