Weekly Global News Wrap: Chick-fil-A still America's favorite fast food chain; Bill Gates-backed Impossible Burger now served in Air New Zealand; KFC South Africa pokes fun at Neymar with new ad
Here is a summary of the most interesting QSR news stories of the week from around the world.
Chick-fil-A continues to be America’s most beloved fast-food chain, earning the top spot in American Customer Satisfaction Index's (ACSI) 2018 survey.
Out of a possible 100 points, the chicken chain 87 – beating other multi-sites such as Panera Bread and Papa John's.
This is the third year in a row that Chick-fil-A earned the top spot in ACSI’s rankings. Read their restaurant report here.
The U.S. fast casual industry continues to grow despite sluggish visits in much of the country’s restaurants, according to a new study from The NPD Group.
According to the research company, visits to fast casual restaurants have grown 6% annually over the last five years due in large part to store openings.
Fast casual units themselves have grown at a compound annual growth rate of 7% in the same time frame, with 19,231 units in 2013 to 25,118 units in 2017. Read more here.
FAT Brands Inc. has completed the acquisition of U.S.-based Hurricane Grill and Wings.
In a release sent to Business Wire, the acquisition was funded through a combination of $8.0 million of cash and $4.5 million of preferred stock.
Following the acquisition, FAT Brands now franchises more than 325 restaurants around the world with annual system-wide sales exceeding $350 million. Read more here.
Air New Zealand, meanwhile, becomes the world’s first airline to serve the plant-based Impossible Burger, as reported by Business Wire.
Business class flights from Los Angeles to Auckland will now have a taste of the Bill Gates-backed burger that contains no animals. Impossible Burger’s notable ingredient is an iron-containing molecule called heme, which it gets from the roots of soy plants.
Made by Impossible Foods, the Impossible Burger is currently available in nearly 2,500 restaurants throughout the United States. Read more here.
And finally, KFC South Africa seemingly poked fun at Brazilian football star Neymar with their latest commercial.
As reported by Fox News, the ad sees a football player rolling around violently in the field, moving out of the stadium up until a KFC site for some chicken.
The new ad seems to reference the star player dramatically reacting to having his foot stepped on during Brazil’s 2-0 win over Mexico earlier this week and prior game against Serbia where he flopped to the ground and rolled round after being knocked off his feet. See the ad here.
