Even though fast food chains face a lot of critique by health experts, the fast food industry is still growing. Especially in the US, fast food is as popular as ever.

Analysts forecast that the revenue of the entire fast food industry will climb from 191 billion US $ in 2013 to 210 billion US $ in 2015 the US alone.

However, while restaurant owners such as McDonalds are fighting the first saturation tendencies on the western market, the boom has only just begun in emerging countries such as India and China. All this is reason enough to have a closer look at the industry.

The following are the 5 largest restaurant chains in the world:

5. Pizza Hut (Restaurants: 15.605)

With regard to the number of restaurants owned by Pizza Hut, it is placing the fast food chain almost at eye-level with Burger King (restaurants: 14.372). Other than Burger King, Pizza Hut specialized in selling pizza. The fast food chain was originally founded in Wichita/Kansas in 1958 and now operates from its headquarters in Dallas.

Today, Pizza Hut owns more than 15.000 branches in more than 100 countries world-wide with more than 70 branches in Germany alone. Just like Kentucks Fried Chicken and Taco Bell (KFC), Pizza Hut is owned by the YUM! Brands enterprise which is listed on the New York Stock Exchange.

4. Kentucky Fried Chicken (Restaurants: 19.420)

Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) specialized in selling chicken dishes. The company was founded in 1930 by Harland D. Sanders and since then it prepares chicken dishes according to the original recipe by Sanders on sight. In 1952, the franchise model followed that earns Sanders 5 Cents of licensing fees for every sold chicken.

During the following decades, Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) expanded world-wide and today owns more than 19.000 fast food restaurants in 120 countries.

In Germany, Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) is now represented by more than 100 restaurants – a number that is expected to grow to 200 within the near future. Since 2002, KFC is owned by the YUM! Brands enterprise along with Pizza Hut. The enterprise owns more than 41.000 fast food restaurants world-wide.

3. Starbucks (Restaurants: 21.366)

The American Starbucks is one of the most popular restaurant chains in the world. In 1971, university friends Gerald Badwin, Gordon Bowker and Zev Siegl opened the first Starbucks coffee shop in Seattle. Today, with more than 21.000 shops in 64 countries, Starbucks is the largest coffee house world-wide placing it even before its rival Costa Coffee.

However, Starbucks not only offers different coffee varieties but also muffins and sandwiches. Additionally, the company brands include Teavana, Tazo, Seattle’s Best Coffee, Evolution Fresh, La Boulange as well as Ethos.

2. McDonalds (Restaurants: 36.252)

For a long time, McDonalds has been at the forefront of the largest fast food chains. However, the company that was founded in 1940 and has its headquarters in Oak Brook/Ohio lost its status to Subway in 2011.

Still, In terms of revenue, McDonalds remains number one. Its success on the stock exchange is not too bad either – 300.000% profit for its investors since its listing on the exchange. Until recently, McDonalds owned more than 36.000 restaurants in more than 100 countries which accounts for more than 69 million daily customers.

A decreasing number of customers within the last couple of years, however, led to the development of a new concept that is supposed to be the turning point. McDonalds is planning to reduce its menu offer while new McDonalds CEO Steve Easterbrook is modernising the burger company. On top of that, several hundreds of McDonalds restaurants will be closing their doors.

1. Subway (Restaurants: 42.761)

Since 2011, Subway is leading the list of the largest restaurant chains world-wide. In contrast to McDonalds, Subway focuses not on burgers but on sandwiches, salads and wraps that are freshly prepared in front of the customer. The first Subway restaurant was founded in the US in 1965 by Fred De Luca and Peter Buck.

Today, the fast food chain with its headquarters in Milford/Connecticut manages more than 42.000 restaurants in over 100 countries with more than 400.000 employees and is preparing 265.000 sandwiches per hour according to company data.

Especially in Germany, Subway has been expanding within the last couple of years to now own 600 fast food restaurants mainly managed by franchise partners.

<p>The post The Top 5 largest Fast Food restaurants in the World first appeared on All Food Menu Prices.</p>

McDonald’s, like many other fast food companies, has really upped their App game:

If you download their app, you have numerous great deals to choose from, including a Buy-One-Get-One Free (BOGO) breakfast sandwich, valid through September 25, 2016, as well as free items, when you make a purchase.

You can also use the McDonalds app for weekly drawings for Super Bowl tickets.

Current App Specials (September):

Free McDonalds Breakfast Sandwich.

Simply buy one Breakfast Sandwich and get another completely free, when you use the McDonalds App. Valid through September 30, 2016.

Free Large Soft Drink.

Get a free Large Soft Drink with any purchase, when you use the McDonalds App, valid from now and through October 30, 2016.

Free McCafe Coffee with 5 drinks purchases.

Buy 5 McCafé coffee or other beverages, and you will get 1 FREE coffee or drink, when you purchase with the App. Valid through December 31, 2016.

Free McCafe Drink.

Get a FREE medium McCafé beverage with any purchase, when using the app. Valid through September 26, 2016.

Free Fries on Fridays at McDonalds.

Get a medium fries with any purchase, absolutely free, on any Friday from  today and through through September 25, 2016.

How the McDonalds App Coupons Work:

First, download the McDonalds App at their  through Google Play or iTunes.

The McDonald’s app is available for free from the Apple store and the Google Play store.

If you want to know exactly which deals they currently offer, then visit their App Deal page here.

The McDonald’s coupons will show in the “Your Offers” part of the app, but you must register first. Be sure to add your location also, as the app often shows customized local and national deals to each customer.

In order to redeem a McDonald’s coupon with the app, simply select the chosen offer, tap “redeem” and then scan your phone, when you order.

The App deals are limited to one transaction per day, regardless of method of entry, at all participating McDonald’s. The deals are valid for all US residents age 13+, who have a with a valid email account.

The app also can help you to find McDonald’s restaurants near you, and shows which locations have drive-thru, and  free Wifi.

The McDonalds Superbowl Weekly Free tickets Drawings.

How it works:

If you redeem any offer between 8/29 – 9/25, you will also automatically be entered for the weekly Superbowl drawings.

See Official Rules at participating restaurants or PlayAtMcD.com, including how to enter without making a purchase.

To see the full menus with prices, please visit our pages: McDonalds Menu and McDonalds Breakfast Menu.

For calories counts, and more, please visit McDonalds Nutrition.

<p>The post Get Freebies with the McDonalds App first appeared on All Food Menu Prices.</p>

Shots fired in the propaganda battle over Breakfast between Taco Bell and McDonald’s.

More and more Americans no longer eat their breakfast at home – a good reason for fast food chains to start the battle over breakfast customers. However, with the Taco Bell ads from last year about McDonalds dictators, some say that Taco Bell has crossed the line of bad taste.

If you didn’t catch the video ad last year, then you catch it here. With a surreal short film targeting its biggest rival McDonalds, Taco Bell started the cold war within the fast food industry in a creative way. The clip features Ronald McDonald as the emperor over a bleak empire full of boring food where the same dull breakfast is served every day. The aggressive and provocative campaign marks the current highlight within the fierce fight over the supremacy over the U.S. breakfast business.

Weapon of Choice: The All-day Breakfast.

McDonald’s is fighting back – not with video clips but on a business level. In October 2015, the market leader started to offer its breakfast all-day long in all U.S. restaurants instead of just a couple of hours per day. This could be significantly harder on Taco Bell than any ad would have been. In the U.S., breakfast is a booming niche for fast food restaurants as more and more people no longer eat their first meal at home. So far, in 2016, the results are good and McDonalds will keep their all-day breakfast indefinately. In fact, McDonald’s profits jump 35% in the first quarter of 2016, helped by the continued popularity of its all-day breakfast and other cut-price offers in the US.

This is why not only Taco Bell acts more and more aggressively when it comes to the breakfast business. Even Dunkin’ Donuts, Wendy’s and Starbucks are doing the same. Waffle sandwiches, scrambled egg donuts, warm snacks at the coffee shop – the breakfast offers around the corner are growing and growing.

Customers enjoy “Franken-Food”.

Experts think that the McDonalds breakfast  was way overdue. Breakfast products such as McMuffins were one of the most popular McDonalds products and customers want more. However, the company faced one large logistical obstacle.  “Our grills are not big enough for breakfast and lunch all day long” was the excuse that could be read on the company website until recently.

Taco Bell on the other hand is not faced with this problem. For more than a year, the popular Mexican fast food chain has been offering breakfast – and that the whole day long. Wild experiments with tacos, mince, waffles or scrambled eggs have earned the menu the name “Franken Food” in allusion to the Frankenstein experiments. Still, fans love the unusual creations – especially the hexagonal crunch wraps that are featured as symbols of resistance against the round McDonalds muffins.

Whether Taco Bell, which is owned by the industry giant Yum! along with Kentucky Fried Chicken and Pizza Hut, likes the campaign remains to be seen. The expert audience, however is split in their opinions about the ad video. Taco Bell was an underdog and therefore had to act scrappy to get attention. The clip has certainly had this impact, claims the US trade journal “Adweek”. In light of the mass executions and other war crimes of Stalin and the Mao regime it had alluded to, however, the whole thing was a little tactless.

<p>The post Fast Food Breakfast Wars – Taco Bell vs McDonalds first appeared on All Food Menu Prices.</p>

Fast food restaurants have become an inevitable part of our daily life. They not only offer us quick and delicious food, but are also easy on the wallet. You can satisfy your appetite by a burger or a slice of pizza in no time and fast food can taste amazingly well. But it is not only the taste or the quick preparation time that makes them so popular. Fast food restaurants are also low-cost, compared to other options available to us and hence it is of little surprise that they have gained so much popularity among the masses. In fact,  8 in 10 Americans eat fast food at least monthly, and 57 percent of young adults eat at a fast food restaurant at least once weekly.

But traditional fast food items have some adverse effects on our health as well. They are often very high in calories and fats, which can lead to medical complications in later life and they are also one of the major causes of the obesity epidemic in the United States. People are becoming more aware of this every day, and so they tend to veer towards foods, that are lower in fat and unnecessary calories. Does that mean the fast food era is about to end? Not at all. There has been a new concept in the restaurant market for quite some time now and the idea is gaining more and more popularity. The concept is called ‘Fast Casual’ restaurants.

What exactly is a fast casual restaurant?

The concept of Fast Casual is nothing new. Fast Casuals are basically a hybrid of normal restaurants and fast food joints. They offer food served quickly, but in a more professional manner, like the service you get in a ‘normal’ restaurant. In a fast casual restaurant, you would get all the traditional facilities that a restaurant offers and at the same time, you wouldn’t have to wait like you do in a restaurant, after ordering. The service is fast and you would be able to start eating within a few minutes of entering the restaurants.

The Concept Gains Popularity.

The ‘Fast Casual’ concept has been around for a while, but you were probably not aware of it. The idea is spreading, however, due to the low cost of the food, the fast service, and the healthier menu items. Numerous studies have shown that the traditional fast food, as we know it, contains many harmful ingredients for our body. And the young generation are more aware of this than any generation before them. Customers prefer their food less processed, lower in calories and with less fat and trans-fats, but at the same time, they expect the fast service, they they are accustomed to. Fast Casuals are just the kind of restaurants, that they have been looking for and hence they have become so popular. The fast casual market has grown by 550 percent since 1999, and the market now take home $25 billion per year. The traditional fast food restaurants still lead the way with $190 billion in annual revenue, but the fast casual growth is out pacing that of the traditional fast food segment. About one-third of consumers say that they are willing to pay more for healthier ingredients.

Because of the ever growing popularity, fast casual chains like Au Bon Pain, Blaze Pizza, LYFE Kitchen, Freshii, Sweetgreen have recently opened many new branches and according to them, customer prefer their food to traditional fast foods. Even the fast food giants like Pizza Hut and McDonalds are adding new, healthier fast casual menu items to their menu, in order to meet the need of the modern customer.

LYFE Kitchen is an acronym for Love Your Food Everyday, and all their menu items contain fewer than 600 calories and 1,000 milligrams of sodium. Another good  example, Shake Shack, offers antibiotic-, hormone- and GMO-free burgers, hot dogs and shakes.

What’s in Store for Fast Food?

Large fast food chains are taking notice. Taco Bell has developed an entire menu of vegetarian options and has been certified by the American Vegetarian Association. Pizza Hut has removed trans fat, artificial flavors and colors and monosodium glutamate from menu items. McDonald’s is adding whole-fruit clementines and yogurt to Happy Meals.

There is absolutely nothing to be worried about for fast food lovers. Fast Casuals restaurants are just making sure, that the food contain no trans-fats, and less artificial flavors or colors in them. Basically, all the harmful ingredients are being thrown out of the window and you should be rather delighted for this.

<p>The post The New Fast Food: How chains are responding to customer taste first appeared on All Food Menu Prices.</p>