Psychographic And Demographic Patterns For Chick-Fil-A And General Fast Food Consumers

It is no surprise that obesity is rapidly taking over our beautiful country by the thousands. The possibility of this number dropping is very unlikely. America is known for being the land of the free, and home to the heaviest living population. But with so many people in a rush on a regular basis, fast food plays a huge role in an average lifestyle. One out of four individuals consume fast food on a daily basis. A majority of these fast food joints carry chicken sandwiches. They have been a staple menu item for years. Without a doubt, Chick-Fil-A has the most delicious fried chicken sandwich ever produced.

People eat about one-third of their meals at restaurants, a figure that has almost doubled since the late 1970s.2 Fast food consumption is even higher among adolescents, with 75% eating fast food at least once a week.3

The availability of fast food has become an easy access to the youth of America, due to an increase in fast food marketing and restaurants being built on nearly every street corner. In David Barboza’s article, If You Pitch It, They Will Eat, he explains that

I have learned the hard way that it is better to just bring your own lunch then wait for the lines at Chic-Fil-A or other restaurants to go down. By the time that we get our food we only have a couple of minutes before our next class. There is so much activity to measure in that hour and in that place. The theme from this observation was gender, age and race majority that ordered at Chic-Fil-A. The majority of the students who ordered here make up the 72% population who are white at CMU, therefore it was not a surprise that they were the majority of the clients (College Factual, 2013). But there are about 8% more females on campus, but males ordered more than females (College Factual, 2013). To find out why they chose to eat at Chic-Fil-A would be a different research project.

With tons of beef fast food restaurants out there such as McDonald’s, Burger King, Wendy’s and Hardee’s, Chick-fil-A is outnumbered. The majority of fast food places sell hamburgers as their primary food product. Chick-fil-A’s attraction is their chicken sandwich, a “healthier” alternative to the hamburger. Chick-fil-A’s position is as a preferred alternative in the burger-dominated fast food industry.

The target market will include residents living in the Grovetown/Harlem area and also the army base, Ft. Gordon located approximately 2 miles from the Gate 2 Grovetown entrance. Military personnel make up the vast majority of residents living in the Grovetown area. Ft. Gordon also serves as a training base for new soldiers coming into service so there is a large market segment being targeted. Ft. Gordon only has a Blimpe’s, Popeye’s, Burger King, Godfather’s pizza, Chinese, and Huddle House. Based on the current market, Chik-fil-a will have a huge competitive advantage. With sickness rapidly attacking the bodies of young and older adults healthier alternatives are taken into consideration. Exercise with a combination of healthier diets is now a priority of much of America. Chik-fil-a will be one of the healthier alternatives that Grovetown will welcome hole-heartedly. What’s better than to start your morning with a custom cup of coffee and a low calorie breakfast sandwich? Adding the franchise here will attract morning employees heading to work, 3rd shift workers heading home from work, and many customers in between are most likely to choose Chick-fil-A over McDonald’s and Subway on any given day.

Kids nowadays know the way to a fast food restaurant. Low income earners prefer to go to fast food restaurants to eat than to prepare foods themselves. This might cost a lot but people just eat it because it is fast.

Chick-fil-A is affected by numerous external forces which challenge upper management’s ability to make Chick-fil-A "America’s best quick-service restaurant". Through intense strategic planning, based upon the vision, mission and corporate values, Chick-fil-A has been able to establish a unique position in a very competitive industry. The corporate purpose of Chick-fil-A, "To glorify God by being a faithful steward of all that is entrusted to us and to have a positive influence on all who come into contact witch Chick-fil-A", their commitment to family and the community, and their sound business decisions, have made Chick-fil-A one of the most profitable and fastest growing quick-service restaurants

The fast food industry both feeds and prays off the young. Pioneers in developing marketing strategies to target children, the fast-food chains have even infiltrated the nation's schools through lunchroom franchises and special advertising packages that answer public education's need for funds; in every way possible, giving the children a loyal friend to rely on. In many franchises, teenagers are perfect candidates for low-paying, low-skilled, short-term jobs and constitute a large part of the fast-food chains' workforce; and often practically run individual locations, having more responsibility than most adults.

Many Fast food companies target children because they are young and are good at persuading their parents to get what they want. “It’s not just getting kids to whine” (Schlosser 43). Fast food companies target kids based on what they are looking for which is money. “The decade of the child consumer” (Schlosser 43). Americans need to pay close attention to how their children spend their money. As more kids visit fast food restaurants, companies will come out with more items for kids to purchase as time goes along. More companies in America will keep targeting kids because they see an advantage in it that the reader does not see. “We see this as a great opportunity” (Scholosser 48). In the meantime, an employee at a fast food restaurant will sell fast food items to kids because they want their money in order to increase the business. As more fast food companies make sales, this will create a dynamic bond between parents and their children because the reader ponders how the fast food industry is affecting their children. As more kids leave after school to go and have something to eat with friends at a Taco Bell, or Pizza Hut, kids will buy food based on what they may be craving during lunchtime. “Research has shown children are more likely to choose foods with familiar logos” (Heyes). At some point in time, there will be millions of parents who will talk to their kids about their active interest in visiting fast food restaurants after school all of the time. The reader may

From a study completed by Chicago-based Research International USA completed a study called “Fast Food Nation 2008. The panel consisted of 1,000 respondents of ages 16-65 who provided their inputs with an online survey which was conducted between March 13 through 2008. Which was based on results on fast food restaurants like McDonald’s, Burger King, and Wendy’s are gaining popularity even through the economic hardship and recession. Marketing strategy has become more of influence on kids and young American’s. As population grows and the demand increases of fast food restaurants are expanding their stores to capturing more consumers. Fast food chains are also willing to change their menus to continue to gain and retain repeating customers.

Chick-Fil-A is a fast food restaurant that I love it got wide variety of foods including breakfast in the mornings, grilled chicken, and more healthier options. The drinks always have free refills It also is very child friendly has most restaurants where they even have a play land for the kids and have kids meals. The restaurant is always clean inside and the wait for all foods are less than 15-20 minutes. The employees look very clean they always have ironed clothes and is always wearing their full uniform. When I went to order I ordered a regular chicken sandwich meal with fries and a milk shake. The person who take my ordered smiled and was very polite, I have had always good service at Chick-Fil-A. When I got my food

The New York Times bestseller Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal is one of the most riveting books to come out about fast food restaurants to date (Schlosser, 2004). Fast food consumption has become a way of life for many in the United States as well as many other countries in the world. The author Eric Schlosser an investigative reporter whose impeccable researching and bold interviewing captures the true essence of the immense impact that fast food restaurants are having in America (2004). Beginning with McDonald’s, the first fast food restaurant, which opened on April 15, 1955 in Des Plaines, Illinois to current trends of making fast food a global realization McDonald’s has paved the way for many fast food

As of now in the United States there are 22 fast food franchises. McDonalds was the first franchise to open in 1940 and since then they have been the leading and most successful franchise in America (“The Raw Prawn” n.p.). Other franchises include: Burger King, KFC, Wendy’s, Arby’s, and Taco Bell. Each of which target young students and children. Most of them have a value menu where items to purchase are cheap and tasty but very unhealthy. Some fast food restaurants provide a toy for children with their meal which attract them to come again and again ( “Eating Yourself to Death” n.p.). In addition, some restaurants contain an indoor play ground which attracts small children even more. The fast food industry mainly brings customers for their tasty food and simple convenience, they attach a drive thru to their building making it faster for customers to purchase and collect their food which is also less time consuming. Recently in the past few years, fast food franchises have begun to change their restaurant and attempt to become healthier as a whole, in some fast food restaurants they have a nutritional menu to choose from which generally contain healthier food compared to the regular menu (“The Raw Prawn” n.p.).

Hook/Attention getter: Isn’t fast food is your first choice in your daily life when thinking about eating? According to the National Restaurant Association (2005), the total sales of fast food in America reached $163.5 billion. Thus, the fast food industry is becoming a global business as well.