Good-for-you foods waste away at QSR's

"Americans have always had the means to eat healthier, but they do not have the will." Harry Balzer, vice president, NPD.

In a recent survey, "tasty" food was critical to 93.6 percent of fast-food consumers. The availability of healthy/nutritious food tipped the opinion scale at 69.1 percent, reported Sandelman & Associates, which surveyed 600 consumers. If you watch fast food sales, here is a safe bet: approximately 69.1% of the survey respondents were lying.

Dr. Steven Witherly, a food development consultant, is working on a book: "Why People Like Junk Food: Food Pleasure Explained." He thinks we're genetically programmed to seek fat, sugar and salt. He might have a point. Full fat foods are big, fat hits wherever they’re served. The nuts and berries diet, despite heavy and politically correct promotion, just sits there.

Cases in point:
· Hardee's same-store sales jumped 4.4 percent after the Monster Thickburger hit the service counter with a bang.
· Carl's Jr. just added a big, new Big Breakfast Burrito, an 810 calorie morning monster that’s fueling significant growth to their morning business.
· Hardee's dropped their machine regurgitated soft-serve shake and introduced a 715-calorie Hand-Scooped Ice Cream Shake. Shake sales doubled.
· Burger King’s Enormous Omelette Sandwich brought in 20% more breakfast business.
· Pizza Hut’s triple cheese stuffed crust pizza accounts for 20% of their dinner business and their Family Race Pack; a large pizza, bread sticks, cinnamon sticks and a 2 liter Pepsi, is a major league hit.
· IHOP VP John Koch said “Because fewer than 1 percent of guests "show any meaningful interest in healthy foods,” the pancake house changed its limited-time promotion of Stuffed French Toast (filled with sweetened cream cheese) into a full-time menu item.
· Ben & Jerry's dropped all three of its no-carb, no-taste ice cream flavors and, showing the kind of market knowledge that made the company such a sales success, introduced a wider cone that holds two scoops of their16% butterfat ice cream instead of just one.
· KFC is finally returning to its southern fried roots and bringing back the Kentucky Fried Chicken name, along with new menu items with menu items like candied yams, spicy gravy and sweet potato pie. It's also extending its popular line of chicken Snackers to include sausage.

"It's all about taste," said Andy Puzder, CEO of CKE Enterprises, the parent company of both Hardees and Carl’s Jr. He led those two quick service restaurants out of the closet on the healthy food issue. Following the taste monkey led the company to its first profitable year of operation since 1999. His favorite breakfast? One of those big, new Breakfast Burritos, hash browns and a Dr Pepper.