I always quite like these types of videos
Here’s another one “What 2000 Calories Looks Like” (might’ve already put this one up at some point in time):
^This one doesn’t make me think at all, just hungry.
I always quite like these types of videos
Here’s another one “What 2000 Calories Looks Like” (might’ve already put this one up at some point in time):
^This one doesn’t make me think at all, just hungry.
Red Bull will be releasing 3 flavors of its drink: cranberry (meh), lime (meh), and blueberry (hmmm…this could be interesting) as seen above.
‘Bout time! Red Bull GmbH (the company that owns Red Bull and a small handful of other drinks) made €4.253 billion in 2011 (that’s revenue, not profit), and while they probably make a lot of money through sponsorships, and licensing its name, the bulk of their product sales probably comes from their signature drink. Diversifying their product line is probably overdue at this point. While releasing 3 flavors (even if there’s only 1 potentially good flavor imo) is a step in the right direction, they should leverage the power of their brand name more.
The energy drink category is getting awfully crowded with 5-hour Energy, Monster, Amp, NOS, Full throttle, Venom Energy, etc etc. And several of them are owned by PepsiCo (AMP) and Coca-Cola Company (NOS, Full Throttle) which probably have a bit more money to spend in pushing their products out vs. Red Bull. And in a growth market such as energy drinks, PepsiCo & Coca-Cola will probably want to expand and grab as much market share as possible to offset falling soda sales. Simply, the energy drink market is increasingly competitive with more players with more muscle behind the drinks.
Red Bull has an advantage though, ask people to name the first energy drink that comes to mind and Red Bull will probably be the first one for a large number of people. Have them name the first 2-3 brands that come to mind, and it’ll likely be in the top 2-3 of almost everyone. They have a recognizable brand name. And most people who drink it probably like it, more than just ‘grabbing whatever’s available,’ not everybody, and possibly not even a majority of Red Bull drinkers. But probably a number of people do (or hey, maybe’s it’s just me). Red Bull drinkers have a positive brand image and a connection to it. Use that! Leverage the brand name and expand Red Bull products.
Now extending brands is a risky business, it has to be done well, and possibly more importantly, organically. One need only look at brand extensions such as Hooters Air, Coca-Cola Blak (coffee-flavored cola…no really), the multitude of celebrity-endorsed products, and, (thanks for this one, google search!) BiC underwear to see cautionary tales when it comes to brand extensions. And yes, BiC, as in the company that makes pens.
Extend into energy bars! That’s a category that should be relatively stable for the next several years at least. Adventurers and outdoors people will always provide a market for that, and people on the go (9-to-5ers, students, busy parents) would grab them as impulse purchases at check-outs, convenience stores, etc, if not outright buy boxes of them. And the whole category of ‘energy bars’ is pretty broad, there’s the category for mountaineers and cyclists who wanted something to sustain energy for a long period of time that may cost a bit more, protein bars for weightlifters/gym rats, and then the more natural stuff that’s been around for awhile: the Nutri-Grain bars, Granola Bars, Chewy Bars. Not strictly ‘energy bars,’ but granola/chewy/nutri-grain bars were energy bars before energy bars were energy bars, right?
Red Bull could target any of these sectors, or, eventually all of them. Or a combination, use “whole grain oats, wholesome grain, dried fruit packed with nutrients and vitamins” etc etc etc to project the wholesome good-for-your-body image and sell it as an energy bar. It gets a foot into the energy bar market while appealing to those in the granola/chewy/nutri-grain bar segment (though pricing could need to be navigated carefully as energy bars will probably be pricier vs. nutrigrain/granola/chewy is a bit more bulk-buying inexpensiveness).
“Poutine Pizza”
Note: Poutine is on my food bucket list
Photo from Jim Gaffigan’s twitter:
Thought this was bacon bits on mac & cheese at first. Nope, popcorn. I’d still eat it. In a heartbeat. (Imagine mac & cheese with popcorn thrown in to mix up the texture (or even better, O-KE-DOKE cheese popcorn) then topped with bacon bits)
“Garlic Cheesy Bread”
Eggs on top of potatoes? Yes please
My kind of cupcake, “meat cupcake”
“Bacon Breakfast Cup”
Finally this, “The Perfect Baked Potato”
And someone’s attempt, the oozing excess cheese makes it look all the more delectable
So, McDonald’s has been coming out with quite a number of new sandwiches and burgers in the past couple of months. The CBO (3 kinds! Beef, Grilled Chicken, Crispy Chicken), the $1 Grilled Onion Cheddar, the Bacon McDouble, and, of course, the behemoth of annually-reappearing food items: The Almighty McRib, forged from the fires of Hephaestus’s grill itself. And I’ve been delightfully sampling these new burgers: the CBO (Angus beef of course, go big or go home, and by home I mean not suffer from early onset cardiac disease), the $1 Grilled Onion Cheddar, and, yes, the McRib (I realized I’ve had one for 2 consecutive McRib seasons. My God, have I become one of those hardcore McRib groupies?)
So, what’s with all of the new burgers anyways? Isn’t McDonald’s the #1 fast food restaurant in sales, at home and abroad? Head honcho of grilling, frying, sizzling, and slapping together a value meal before you can say ‘extra ketchup please’? The #1 purchaser of beef, potatoes, pork, and apples? Well, yes, but while McDonald’s is still all of these things, last October, it reported that, *gasp* for the first time since 2003, McDonald’s monthly same-store sales dropped.
So, what’s the problem? Why so many new items? Is this desperation? McDonald’s has weathered so many storms, heck, super-tornada-hurri-quakenamistorms, in the past, from the mad cow disease beef scare at the turn of the century to changing consumer tastes towards the healthier and an increasing scrutiny from various groups about every gram of fat, carbohydrate, and calorie that goes into its food, and it’s survived. No, it’s thrived with persistent growth over the past decade. So what gives now? Well, first, this is the first time same-store sales has dropped in 9 years. There’s the expectation of continued growth from its shareholders. And also, a drop in profits could be a blip on the radar for McDonald’s, a rare anomaly. But, what if it’s not? The fast food industry has plenty of competitors clamoring to be the one that feeds you lunch. While Burger king has long since been the definitive burger alternative to McDonald’s, there are plenty of up-and-coming burger chains wanting to take a bite out of McDonald’s sales/market share. 5 Guys, Smashburger and a surging Wendy’s (which overtook Burger King as the #2 burger chain in terms of sales in 2011, behind McDonald’s of course).
And beyond burger joints, other strong fast food restaurants are keen to take a larger part of the pie: sub sandwiches has Jimmy John’s mounting a strong challenge to Subway, Taco Bell’s Doritos Locos Taco has become a runaway success, becoming its best product launch ever, and the expansion of menu items at places such as Starbucks and Dunkin’ Donuts, with the latter having a variety of 99¢ items challenging McDonald’s dollar menu. Wendy’s, too, rolled out a 99¢ menu last year. Sure this drop in profits could just be an anomaly as McDonald’s executives would like. But what if it’s the start of a running trend?
And so we come around to an answer (possibly) as to why McDonald’s is pushing so many new items in recent months. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. A good defense is a strong offense. A slight slip in sales and the challenge of competitors with varied menus begs the question of the suits atop McDonald’s: how do we quickly please many different tastes to regain our financial footing (not that they’re on the brink of going bankrupt anytime soon)?
Throw everything at the wall and see what sticks. Not all at once, but on a pretty compressed time table. More upscale fast food burger joints on the rise? CBO! Grilled mushroom & Angus burger!
99¢ alternatives to McDonald’s? Expand the dollar menu!
People still concerned about healthy eating? More salads! And oatmeal!
Then sit back, crunch the numbers: see which offerings consumers are gobbling up, and which makes the best profits, which gets more customers in the door buying more items per visit.
It’ll be interesting to see how McDonald’s charts its course from here on, as well as how its competitors try to put a dent in the Golden Arches.
Fish McBites. Hey, I wouldn’t turn it down (you had me at fish), but I don’t see people rushing out to get them. I mean, you took the filet from the filet-o-fish (which I love, again, seafood), and turned it into deep-fried balls of seafood. There’s never been a huge coolness/uncoolness factor to McDonald’s food either way, but they just took seafood and made it so incredibly…uncool. Again, deep-fried seafood balls. While aimed at expanded seafood/meatless options during Lent, I don’t see it gaining traction beyond a curiosity sampling after March 31 (Easter).
As for McDonald’s “Mighty Wings” (their foray into fried chicken), while I have no urge to lambast it as above, I must admit my curiosity is piqued at the idea of ‘fried chicken–McDonald’s style,’ I’ve no intention to spend money on it while there’s a Popeye’s Chicken in the same food court, or a KFC across the street, or something else cheaper/more interesting on McDonald’s menu. CBO? That was interesting. Bacon McDouble? You had me at bacon. Grilled Onion & Angus? That was interesting. Mighty Wings? Meh.
I’ve been on a flurry of eating out this past week as I won’t be in the vicinity of a lot of restaurants on a regular basis soon, so I’m taking advantage of whatever nearby eateries I’ve had my eye on while I can. Today’s target: Epic Burger.
I’ve heard of it and from what I’d known I mentally categorized it in the same ballpark as Five Guys and Smashburger, a more upscale but still cheap eats fast food place. And for its price and speed, that pretty much fits the bill. While no $1 burgers here, you can certainly make a meal of a $6 burger, pretty close to what you’d spend on a full meal elsewhere.
As much as I like beef, checking out its nutrition calculator, I knew that eating a whole epic burger would make me too full to the point of being bloated for hours on end (I noticed the jr. burger for a buck less too late), so I settled on a turkey burger with all the free fixings (lettuce, tomato, pickle, epic sauce, and onions). Unfortunately, I drowned my burger in mustard so I wasn’t able to taste it beyond the intense Dijon mustard (a little bit goes a long way!), which was available in a bottle along with ketchup, no packets of condiments or squeezing into itty bitty paper cups here. But, from what I can tell, the turkey patty was very moist and well textured. A good bite. I had brought my own water to drink but they gave me a cup to get water anyways.
As for the decor, I’m not a huge decor guy (as any one who’s survived the vast emptiness of my apt can attest to), but it was good. It didn’t try too hard to be anything; a relaxing atmosphere with warm colors (brown, red, orange, wood). This might’ve been specific to my location, but I liked it.
In short, I’ve made a mental note to come back for a burger burger (that is, beef) thanks to its tableside service, free water, free wifi, and bottles of condiments. They don’t seem like luxuries, but in the fast food charge-anything-for-everything industry, a little bit goes a long way.
Also, great friendly service.
Did not take this picture, I can only wish to be in the presence of such magnificence
Ahhh get in my belly now
Awww yeah I got pi(e) day on lockdown!
(apologies for the awful camera)
Looking Ahead to this Week:
These exist:
Oh sweet Lord Jesus I can’t even handle this. I need to get my hands on this.
Stumbled on this shortly after:
They should absolutely bring back the Big Stuff Oreo and air that vintage commercial.
And as a fan of coconut this is also blowing my mind:
Yeah…if (/when!) I ever win the lottery, Oreo’s financial statements are gonna have a big spike for the quarter I win.
Some more Oreo product pictures for your viewing pleasure:
Always love ‘How it’s Made’ videos (wish they’d show how the ingredients are mixed for the creme part though):
And finally…OREO-CEPTION