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The Slow Death of Fast Food

Are large food corporations and franchises in trouble?


Every day there is a new headline of a large food chain in trouble. Low margins, high operating expenses, skyrocketing food prices, and lower food quality and availability is taking its toll on food conglomerates that seemed too big to fail.


The latest franchise to be in hot water is Crumbl, according to Yahoo Finance. They expanded too fast, franchisees are suing, customers are suing, employees are getting on social media telling that the recipes are made from Betty Crocker Cake Mix, and that one cookie has the same calories as a Big Mac.


Chipotle is staggering under low food margins, while the Chipotle CEO adamantly denied that the portion sizes had decreased significantly. TikTok users have shared a hack that if you film your bowl being made, you will receive more, trying to mitigate the social media backlash. Users have also said never to order a Chipotle bowl through delivery, as they compared a much larger bowl being prepared in-house versus what they received for delivery from the same location and time.


So, how to win during these tumultuous times and avoid the slow death of fast food? AWAKE Marketing offers some tips on how to take advantage of attracting new customers that would have normally went to the larger chains:


  1. Push the quality - source as much locally and feature local food suppliers often.

  2. Ask for feedback - as genuine questions about the cost, quality and menu options.

  3. Treat staff well - they are your best ambassadors for success. Make sure customers know that you pay a living wage

  4. List ingredients in detail with calories because people really care where products are sourced now.

  5. Offer gluten free, dairy free and vegan options

  6. Offer smaller and larger portions

  7. More ordering options have shown to increase sales - online, app, in-person and kiosk

  8. Show your authentically happy employees on socials

  9. Share your guests' posts on socials and interact with them

  10. Create nostalgia with old fashioned menu items and prices


A great brand that is killing it on all levels is In-N-Out. They refused to raise prices, they are not accused of shrinkflation, they pay their employees well. They refuse to expand past their supplier routes in order to sustain quality.


Guests want to support brands that they trust and believe in. Social Media has become the best undercover investigative reporters, thanks to employees sharing their experiences working there. Cancel culture for GenZ has grown dramatically since the lockdowns and GenZ are all influencing us to buy better, eat better and support local.



A box of crumbl cookies with a bye sign. Crumbl cookies are in trouble.






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