Weekly Global News Wrap Up: Starbucks sells Tazo brand to Unilever for $384m; Burger King advocates for men's health; QSRs forecasted to explore the next health frontier in 2018
Here is a summary of the most interesting QSR news stories of the week from around the world.
In a release from Starbucks Newsroom, Starbucks US has announced the selling of its Tazo brand to Unilever for $384 million. It will drive a single tea brand strategy and focus with its super premium tea brand, Teavana.
According to a release from Business Wire, the King of Burger King is shaving his iconic moustache and grow a kingstache for the Movember challenge. The King encourages others out there to participate in the challenge and raise awareness for men’s health by growing their own mustache and sharing on social media with the hashtag #kingstachechallenge. The video of the King’s transformation can be found here.
According to Newsweek, McDonald's has announced new guidelines for all its chicken suppliers, mandating such bird-friendly standards as access to perches, clean coops, peaceful suffocation instead of live slaughter and pen-to-plate monitoring to make sure birds aren't injured during their growth.
According to USA Today, fast-food chains like Taco Bell, Chipotle and Shake Shack are using alcohol to drive traffic and increase footfalls. Taco Bell plans to open approximately 150 new locations across the United States that will serve beer and frozen mixed drinks featuring tequila, rum, vodka and whiskey. And Pizza Hut, which serves beer and wine at approximately 3,500 of its sit-down restaurants, is set to add alcohol to the menus at another 200. Chipotle is market-testing a frozen version of its margarita, while Shake Shack, which features ShackMeister Ale and red and white wine, offered a limited-time wine shake to mark the return of the NBC TV show "Will & Grace."
In the 2018 Restaurant Trends Forecast, Restaurant Business and Technomic predict that even more so, data will drive restaurants in order to achieve a level of personalization that sets brands apart. The highlights from Winsight's 2018 Restaurant Trends Forecast include restaurants exploring the next health frontier: lower-intensity, gut-friendly menu items. Baby boomers is bound to bounce back. Also, federal and local governments will face off over labor issues.
