“With Tastes Growing Healthier, McDonald’s Aims to Adapt Its Menu” by Stephanie Strom (Sept. 26, 2013)

This article discusses about the changes McDonald’s plan to implement to their menu to provide and promote more healthier options for its customers. This was announced on Thursday, Sept. 26 at the Clinton Foundation’s campaign in an effort to reduce obesity, especially childhood obesity,  globally. There, they stated that they planned to stop marketing its less nutritional options  and instead to start advertising and having in-store promotions of its healthier options such as fruits and salads. McDonald’s is especially keen on trying to sway children into opting for its more healthier options by promoting “…juice, low-fat milk and water as the drink choices for its Happy Meals for children, although customers would still be able to buy soda” and informing of nutrition and well-being to children on their meals because of their powerful role in children’s health and eating habits. McDonald’s also plan to add more healthy options to its menu in “…20 of the company’s largest markets, which account for more than 85 percent of its overall sales, including overseas.” However, it would take them a few years to be able to make these changes and may not be fully completed until 2020.

McDonald’s is also making these changes for economical reasons. In the recent years, despite their efforts in adding healthier items and methods of cooking their products, the company have experienced little to relatively no growth in sales across the US and Europe. The millennial generation of kids are also being attracted by fast-casual restaurants like Chipotle and are therefore providing less loyal patrons to McDonald’s in the new generation. McDonald’s hope that its new line-up of healthier foods will help encourage healthier diets in children’s lives and persuade the millennial generation of kids to come back and be a regular in McDonald’s again.

Link to original article: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/27/business/mcdonalds-moves-toward-a-healthier-menu.html?_r=0