PESTLE Please include

PESTLE analysis: Fast food industry

Political

The recent backlash against unhealthy eating could prove to be difficult for the fast food industry. There are calls to limit the marketing of fast food products to children and to limit the sale of fast foods in schools. Given that children are such an important driver of sales, this could curtail the efficacy of many fast food campaigns, particular those with tie-ins to children's films and television shows. Campaigns like Michelle Obama's "Let's Move" campaign underline the importance of healthy eating and eating minimally processed foods. Although President Obama and the First Lady have been photographed eating burgers and they say that they are not against all fast food, the overall emphasis on the administration has been on restricting access to 'junk food' (Michelle Obama loves fast food, 2010, Slashfood).

Economic

The economic uncertainty in America has proved to be salutary for fast food restaurants. Customers are dining at casual sit-down restaurants like Applebee's less often but they are not cooking more: rather, they are switching their consumption patterns to favor fast food restaurants for inexpensive convenience meals. McDonald's, Domino's, and KFC saw their profits soar during the height of the credit crisis and 2008 recession. "Penny-watching consumers are turning away from conventional restaurants and slobbing out on the sofa at home, not with a bowl of hearty, homemade soup, but with a whopping great bucket of fried chicken or a calorie-laden pizza" (Fast food nation: The sequel, 2009,The Guardian).

Customers have grown...

More women are working, and parents are working longer hours. Combined with afterschool activities, going through the drive-in is an easy compromise to have dinner quickly. Also, the popularity of 'dollar menus' at most fast food establishments have seduced customers with the allure of dining for pocket change, in an economy in which food is growing increasingly expensive.
Social

Although the economic conditions are currently salutary for the fast food industry, the social conditions are less so. Many schools are calling for bans on junk food because of fears of the rising childhood obesity epidemic. A study in the American Journal of Public Health found that even when controlling for the economic status of students, students who attended school near fast food restaurants had a greater risk of being obese than students who did not (David & Carpenter 2009). Proximity fostered a tendency to overindulge.

There has also been a rise in interest in cooking, thanks to the Food Network and other popular culinary shows and books. Consumers are more willing to try new flavors, rather than stick to the traditional offerings of burgers and pizza. In response, fast food chains have been trying to offer healthier options and more innovative products, such as products with Asiago cheese and artisan breads. Quasi-fast food establishments like Panera Bread now offer more 'real foods' to compliment more traditional fast food offerings like sandwiches and Subway has made healthy eating a cornerstone of its marketing campaign, which features 'Jared,' a young man who lost weight eating Subway's…