Provocative Packaging

At most quick-serve chains, the only direct contact customers have with actual food comes when the cashier hands them their order. Aside from promotional posters, cardboard displays, and the menuboard itself, there is precious little in front of the order counter to engage, intrigue, or entice customers to make an impulse buy.

The desire to achieve the perfect combination of form, function, and flavor has led packaged-food companies to create everything from juice boxes with built-in straws to increasingly complex nutrition bars to containers that put milk and cereal into your mouth simultaneously. Back in 2002, Frito-Lay introduced its Go Snacks line—hourglass-shaped canisters containing bite-sized versions of the company’s best-selling treats. And soup manufacturers have brought us innumerable microwavable bowls and cups, while we at the Center for Culinary Development worked closely with Dole on its recently unveiled Fruit Parfaits, which combine fruit and custard in a single cup.

Some of these ideas have proved mere novelties; others have taken firm root and become hugely profitable. One thing’s for certain, though: None of these companies ever boasted the home-court point-of-purchase/impulse-buy advantage that quick-service chains would enjoy if they were to begin producing branded products for display near the cash registers in their units. Burger King has figured this out, thus its test of 100-calorie, Ketchup & Fries chips. McDonald’s could do something similar by offering its famous shakes in a handy takeout six-pack sold in a refrigerated case near the condiment station. The possibilities are many and varied.

Snacks Away

Catering to customers’ increasing predilection for quick and portable foods might also demand that quick-service chains make some slight but significant alterations to their meal-centric orientation. Americans are snackers, and at the moment, businesses ranging from convenience stores to vending machine operators to street-cart pretzel hawkers benefit from their reputation as outlets where snacks are the feature attraction. Quick-serves, for better and worse, are seen as places to head when you’re hungry for a full-on meal.

McDonald’s already has taken steps toward making itself a more nosh-worthy destination with products such as its $1.29 snack-sized chicken wrap line, introduced in 2006. And just as this column headed to press, the company announced it would begin selling fruit snacks and hot cinnamon rolls served in a bowl to boost sales during normally slow between-meal periods. “You are going to see additional items that are portable,” said Ralph Alvarez, the company’s head of North American operations, in an interview with Bloomberg News. “These are loyalty builders.”

Other chains might do well to follow suit. A greater emphasis on finger foods, bite-sized sampler platters, mini sandwiches, and other more snackable offerings could help quick-serves prevent retail outlets and other snack specialists from, well, eating their lunch.