In-N-Out Burger Is a Fast

in-N-Out Burger is a fast food burger chain that operates in a handful of states in the Western U.S.. They are privately owned, not franchised. The company is relatively small, doing a little more than $200 million in sales in 2007.

The fast food burger industry is subject to a number of trends in the macroenvironment. Among them are trends relating to the economy, to social values, and to the political/legal environment, to the technological environment. While some elements of the macroenvironment have changed little in recent years, others are in a state of constant flux, placing the onus on the company to respond to these changes.

The economic environment in the past couple of years has been relatively poor. The economic slowdown has reduced turnover at most businesses, fast food chains included. However, while consumers overall are less willing to go out, those who do sometimes scale down their purchases, which can be beneficial to a chain such as in-N-Out Burger, which benefits from a good reputation in its field.

The social environment also has an impact on in-N-Out Burger's success. Two competing trends exist among the American public with respect to diet. A trend towards healthy foods is increasing, which would negatively impact a burger chain. This trend focuses on reducing meat consumption and avoiding fast foods. However, while this trend is high profile, there is evidence to suggest that the broader trend in American eating is towards fast food. in-N-Out Burger, for example, has been able to sustain steady growth in its markets.

Additionally, the social response to burger chains helps to guide the menu at in-N-Out. Some chains have adopted healthier menu items in order to attract the health market; other chains such as Burger King have taken the opposite approach and designed menus specifically to appeal to the core fast food audience. in-N-Out Burger must choose how it wishes to respond to this new trend towards healthier lifestyles, and what role it wants to play for consumers pursuing healthy lifestyles.

Because in-N-Out is a regional chain, they are subject to demographic trends. Throughout the company's history, it has benefited from an increase in the population in its region of California and the Southwest. Population increases due to migration from other parts of the U.S. bring new consumers and open up new markets. The risk, however, is that new migrants from other parts of the U.S. Or from other countries may not be as familiar with the in-N-Out Burger brand compared with the brands of some of the chain's competitors.

The ways in which consumers interact with businesses is also changing, as a result of social media. Consumers have become more media savvy, making them harder to reach with conventional advertising, but consumers respond well to sophisticated marketing techniques utilizing emerging technologies, social media and viral advertising.

The political/legal environment also can have an impact on the business at in-N-Out Burger. Although the direct legal environment is generally favorable, the indirect environment has some risks. For example, California is in dire financial conditions, which may result in increased corporate taxes, which would cut into in-N-Out's income. Legislation in response to the social trend towards healthier eating -- such as laws eliminating trans fats -- could adversely impact the company. A lawmaker in New York recently tabled a bill banning salt in restaurant food. As absurd as that example is, it represents the risk that food-related legislation can pose, especially at a fast food chain.

In addition, there are legal risks pertaining to intellectual property. in-N-Out has been forced to file suit against companies that have attempted to use its trademarks. The success of the in-N-Out brand, combined with the lack of national presence, only serves to encourage such infringement, which naturally devalues the in-N-Out brand and increases the company's legal costs.