Fast food was first launched in the 1950s in the US following changes in peoples’ demand concerning the cost, efficiency, and effectiveness of service offered by various industries that were operating as food outlets (Alexander 94). The method of classifying fast foods, in this case, is maintained at a basic level and identifies any kind of meal that has a relatively lower time of preparation and is served formally in preheated or as a precooked ingredient. The packaging, branding, and methods of sale are all factors that relate the interest of customers to the services offered by fast-food restaurants. This discussion gives actual accounts of why fast foods and fast-food restaurants are becoming more popular among the people of America and as observed, these services are finding their way into different markets across the world.
Essentially, first foods franchise their operations through a chain of restaurants that are standardized and properly maintained (Alexander 94), and every kind of foodstuff produced is shipped into these restaurants with the aim of making foods available to consumers in various locations. Since the foods are readily and variedly available for all-around consumption, consumers find it easy to purchase different food types at a central location rather than marking purchases in parts from different restaurants. The services offered are also efficient and meet consumers’ taste variance. The response consumers give to fast foods is that of dependency and seemingly, some groups of consumers cannot do without fast food services. The rise in the level of consumption and constant delivery of services, therefore, make fast foods to become more popular.
Fast food industries majorly deliver their services in two forms. The restaurants may be fast-casual or catering trucks. In the case of fast-casual, customers are serviced through a sit-in ratio and orders delivered on request (Schlosser 27). On the other hand, the catering trucks are used as mobile restaurants and in most cases parked outside different workplaces such as factories, companies, and in other areas of businesses. Consumers targeted are employees who have busy schedules and cannot reach the designated locations for meals. This method of delivery is very efficient, advantageous, and timely to employees as enhanced by employees in both private and public business premises who make prior orders and are served in their offices. Businesses and companies operating as fast foods are flexible in nature and capable of meeting customers’ demands in a variety of ways. Consumers have therefore inclined to the services offered and find themselves making regular purchases and in large quantities, which in effect make fast foods very popular.
At a significantly reduced cost of operation, servicing, and delivery, fast foods have ingredients that are technically engineered with the aim of achieving identifiable aroma, flavor, and food texture (Schlosser 30). The packaging style, speed of delivery, and taste combination of the product all aim at retaining product freshness while controlling the cost of preparation and order fulfillment. This means that fast food companies must get professionals from various fields ranging from food engineering, catering to marketing and distributors (Schlosser 34). The combined efforts of these groups of individuals make the industry full of skills and consumers believe that the foods are made under healthy conditions (Schlosser 34). In this, consumers across different social backgrounds find it safe to purchase from fast food outlets than buying foods from any other restaurant. The differences between fast foods and any other hotel are the way services are offered and the high levels of professionalism observed. All these factors account for the reasons why consumers find it worthwhile to purchase from fast-food restaurants that make these services more popular.
Works Cited
Alexander, Devin. Fast Food Fix. Emmaus, Pa: Rodale, 2006. Print.
Schlosser, Eric. Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal. Boston: Mariner Books/Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2012. Print.