Why are the fast food restaurants so popular?

Like it or not, for worse or for better, fast food culture has significantly influenced world economy, public health and people’s living style. Fast food restaurants are widespread all over the world, although they are criticized for cause of obesity, exploitation of employees and customers, damage to the environments and so on. What makes fast food industry so successful and fast food restaurants so popular? Here are some major reasons.

Ever since we stepped into the post-war period, people have started to live with rapid paces. We learn fast; we work fast; we date fast and we eat fast. Working wives and mothers are too busy to engage in daily healthy meal planning; husbands and children are no more compatible with long waiting dinners. Therefore, with cleanliness, expectable menu, fast uniform service, fast food restaurants readily become the best choice for those who want a quick meal on the road or a break from home cooking. Moreover, child-friendly atmosphere in fast food restaurants somehow give parents relief since children can obtain some fun from the toys coming with their “Happy meals” during the dinning.

Along with the high customer demands, fast food restaurant business attracts investors with low entrance cost and low running expenses. Due to the “on the go” nature of fast food restaurants, only limited business spaces are required. Hungry burger hunters lining up and passing by the drive-thru windows will not take any dinning space in the restaurants. Simplified producing and selling processes require merely simple economic facilities. Hence, capital requirements to start a fast food restaurant are relatively small. More importantly, low running expenses lead to high profits. Fixed menu, ready-cooked food and standardized service highly improve working efficiency and shorten labour hours. Employees are strictly guided by the service rules and continuously receive lowest-level wages. Furthermore, taking the place of waiters, customers serve themselves without being paid. Obviously, all these modern exploitations can give the investors a great margin.

A small fast food restaurant may not turn into a great force that can shape our dinning style. But when we concern about franchising scheme, we see the truth. Under the franchising scheme, thousands of fast food restaurants, using the same brand, selling food on the same menu and providing the same service, become a powerful chain. One typical chain, McDonald’s for example, can serve billions of customers and make billions of dollars in every month. Therefore, this kind of chains can grow into giant enterprises, controlling huge amount of capitals. By manipulating their huge power, these companies can force the food suppliers to follow the low cost principle, accentuating an unhealthy dinning vogue. Also, through massive exploitive advertising campaigns, especially appealing to the young generation, these business giants explore new markets and expand territories invincibly globally.

The emerging adverse aspects of fast food have drawn back many health-concerning customers in the western world. However, in many other countries, fast food restaurants just enter into their golden ages, being regarded as top grade eateries for high quality food, intense customer service and American-style flavour. Consequently, the increasing overseas earnings not only supply the profit drops in the cradle of fast food restaurants but also persist the business miracle and forge a new era of fast food culture.