Causes and consequences of fast food sales growth

摘要

Reasons underlying the growth in fast food sales are described. The US economy is becoming increasingly service oriented and the food service industries that offer the highest levels of convenience have been rewarded with strong sales growth. Risingincomes and longer working hours have also contributed to this growth. The limited menu aspect of most of the fast food industry will exert an enormous impact on selected segments of the agricultural marketing system. Menu changes by any major firm (e.g. the introduction of Chicken McNuggets R in 1983) can have an enormous, almost immediate effect. In addition, the fast food industry's large scale, nonseasonal demand for particular food products of consistent quality has prompted vertical coordinationwithin the production system. However, changes in the price of food commodities have an exceedingly small effect on restaurant and fast food prices, and vice versa. Vertical coordination of the supply chain, especially through production contracts, helps ensure that fast food firms receive a constant supply of the desired input without the degree of price volatility often found in the open market.