Rising food and paper costs may have you paying more for your Big Mac. / Image: pointnshoot/Flickr/CC BY

McDonald’s is the world’s leader in the fast food market, garnering about 19 percent of that niche. However, faced with the rising costs of food and paper, the company has announced that it plans to implement more small price increases throughout the year in order to offset this trend somewhat.

Earlier estimates proved inadequate

McDonald’s estimates that food costs will rise between 4 percent and 4.5 percent in the U.S. and Europe this year. This is an increase from earlier estimates, which projected only 2 to 2.5 percent increases in the U.S. and 3.5 to 4.5 in Europe. Paper costs were also cited in the projected price hikes. McDonald’s claims that food and paper costs ate up 33.6 percent of the company’s sales in the first quarter of 2011. Those costs were up from 32.9 percent in the same quarter a year ago.

A bad time to raise prices

Consumers who struggle daily with the rising costs for housing, fuel and the other staples, may just stay home to eat if prices increase too significantly.  Steve West, an analyst for securities-related financial services company Stifel Nicolaus, said, “It’s very hard to pass through price increase[s] right now.”

Stock prices fall

After the company announced that it planned to raise prices, shares fell 1.5 percent in midday trading on the New York Stock Exchange.

The company’s CFO Pete Bensen says the company intends to sacrifice some short term profits in favor of long term growth.

Prices up by 1 percent

In March, McDonald’s implemented a 1 percent menu price increase in the U.S. and Europe. Other increases are planned throughout the year. Price increases are also planned for its stores in China.

McDonald’s continues to lead competition

McDonald’s continues to outperform its competition. Peter Jankovskis, an officer at Oakbrook Investments, claims, “The bottom line is they’re still doing a great job of growing revenue.”  The total first-quarter revenue for the corporation rose 9 percent, to $6.1 billion.  Sales in the European stores were especially significant.

Sources

Reuters

MSNBC

Daily Finance

McDonald's will hire 50,000 people on April 19. (Photo Credit: CC BY/David Neubert/Flickr)

McDonald’s is doing its share to melt through the recession hiring freeze, reports MSNBC. On April 19, through its U.S. stores and website, McDonald’s will hold a hiring spree event in which as many as 50,000 people will be hired. The company acknowledged that the hiring spree has been made possible by improved business on the domestic front.

McDonald’s hiring spree boosts workforce 7 percent

All positions, from restaurant workers to senior managers, will be involved in the McDonald’s hiring spree, which will boost the chain’s total workforce by 7 percent to approximately 700,000. On average, that will equate to three or four new hires per restaurant.

On the money

Estimates by a California State University professor indicate that McDonald’s wages and salaries will increase by more than $518 million in 2011. That will also translate into $54 million in additional payroll taxes and nearly $1.4 billion in annual expenditure, or $3.5 million per day, reports FOX Business.

The numbers bode well for the U.S. job market as a whole, writes FOX. Currently on a warming trend, the U.S. job market added 216,000 jobs in March after taking on 192,000 in February. In the private sector, 230,000 new jobs were created in March after a 240,000-job infusion the previous month.

The 24-hour goal for the Golden Arches

McDonald’s currently operates 14,000 restaurants across the U.S., 90 percent of which are administered by franchisees. The McDonald’s hiring spree (alternately called “McDonald’s Hiring Day”) will enable more of those restaurants to remain open 24 hours per day. Such is the case with the 111 Golden Arches locations in southern Nevada, where the unemployment rate is currently 13.7 percent – 14.2 percent in Las Vegas – and 193,000 Nevadans are unemployed.

McDonald’s Co-op Vice President Ron Smith is well aware of the difficult job landscape.

“We feel that it’s very important, especially in light of the critical economic situation, that we put as many people as possible back to work,” he said.

Even though McDonald’s jobs in Nevada will be part time, benefits like free meals and flexible schedules will help people who are struggling financially.

A strong foundation

McDonald’s USA President Jan Fields affirmed via a statement how important employees are to the success of the company.

“Our restaurant employees are the foundation of our business. They are the men and women who interact with our customers every day, enhance the McDonald’s experience and continue to help make our business strong,” she said.

For additional information about the McDonald’s hiring spree, see the McDonald’s Careers website or visit your local McDonald’s restaurant. Applicants must be at least 16 years old.

Sources

FOX Business

FOX 5 Las Vegas

McDonald’s Careers

MSNBC

McDonald’s hiring spree set for April 19

McDonald's is being sued for offering toys in Happy Meals. Image: Flickr / jasonippolito / CC-BY

In a lawsuit filed on Wednesday, California mother Monet Parham is suing McDonald’s. With support from the Center for Science in the Public Interest, this lawsuit alleges that McDonalds unfairly markets to children. The lawsuit, which may become a class-action, pits parental responsibility against government regulation.

Monet Parham’s lawsuit against McDonald’s

In San Fransisco, Monet Parham has filed a lawsuit against McDonald’s corporation. The lawsuit alleges that McDonald’s “unfairly and deceptively” markets Happy Meals to kids by offering toys. In a statement about her lawsuit, Parham said:

“We have to say no to our kids so many times, and McDonald’s makes that so much harder to do. I object to the fact that McDonald’s is getting into my kids’ heads without my permission and actually changing what my kids want to eat.”

The goal of the Happy Meal lawsuit

The Happy Meal lawsuit is the second major volley against McDonald’s Happy Meals in San Fransisco. In December 2011, San Fransisco will ban all children’s meals with toys unless they meet certain nutritional standards. In filing the Happy Meal lawsuit against McDonald’s, the CSPI and associated health groups hope to see a change in the marketing or nutrition of Happy Meals. They compare the marketing of Happy Meals with toys to the marketing of cigarettes to children with cartoon characters.

A lawsuit instead of saying no

This McDonald’s Happy Meal lawsuit has been filed because Parham and health groups believe McDonald’s is doing something wrong in its marketing. While these toys and meals are definitely marketed to kids, it is leaving many wondering where the line between nanny state and parental responsibility are. If a government becomes responsible for saying no to children when parents don’t, should that same government become the parents in every situation? It is a very tough balancing act — and one that directly pits freedom to choose and parent as one would like against the potential “better good.” What do you think?

Sources

CNN.com

The recent Happy Meal cigarette incident at a Southampton, England, McDonald's has prompted the mother of a 1-year-old to sue the company. (Photo: Flickr)

It began as an honest mistake, but has become something larger for the mother whose 1-year-old son nearly ingested a Happy Meal cigarette. According to the British news publication Metro, 21-year-old mother Nicky Holloway found an unsmoked cigarette in her young son’s Happy Meal box. Holloway the younger was happily grazing through his lunch with mommy. Ms. Holloway was horrified at the possibility that her son could have easily gotten hold of the cigarette and eaten it, which in turn could have easily lead to infant tobacco poisoning. Holloway took up the issue with the McDonald’s store manager, who offered her a refund or another meal, but this resolution did not satisfy. Now the “cigarette McDonald’s mum” plans to sue McDonald’s over the Happy Meal cigarette.

Server laughed over Happy Meal cigarette

According to Holloway, the server found it funny that there was a Happy Meal cigarette. Clearly, this server is not a parent, as any parent worried for the safety of her child would react with concern, rather than humor. At least save the humor for later, among colleagues, as the Happy Meal cigarette incident appears to be an accident. Don’t treat customers with disrespect, even if you are being paid only minimum wage. Show some pride in your work and take customer complaints seriously; being out of a job would certainly give you something serious to consider.

McDonald’s head office told the cigarette McDonald’s mum it was a foolish mistake

The McDonald’s corporate office even offered multiple free meals to Nicky Holloway and family, but it wasn’t enough. Whether Holloway will be able to get far with her Happy Meal cigarette lawsuit remains to be seen. Aren’t we overly litigious here in Western society? Does raising the Happy Meal cigarette lawsuit actually contribute anything worthwhile to society? It was an honest mistake.

And honest mistakes sometimes teach us much about ourselves

Now set aside any jokes about the quality of the food being just as healthy for the baby as a Happy Meal cigarette for a moment, regardless of how much truth those jokes may hold. If a McDonald’s employee had a cold and accidentally dropped mucus in a Happy Meal box, that would be considered vile by many. It’s an accident that could easily happen amidst the hustle and bustle of a busy fast-food kitchen.

Yet why is it that most people don’t consider the Happy Meal cigarette vile? It’s toxic and represents a tobacco industry that has traded countless cancer cases for gross profits over the course of many decades. Yes, it just fell out of the McDonald’s employee’s pocket by accident. But it is interesting that the overall reaction to the Happy Meal cigarette in the media is to bash Nicky Holloway for “going ape” over a cigarette in her baby’s meal. The Happy Meal is admittedly not a healthy food choice, but there’s a clear desensitization over the image of the cigarette at work here. Chalk that up to advertising and tobacco industry brainwashing and understand why more people don’t scoff at the very notion of “smoker’s rights.”

(Photo Credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/hidinginabunker/ / CC BY-SA 2.0)

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Sure, it's fish, but do you know what kind of fish? Image from Flickr.

Most people have never heard of, much less seen a Hoki fish – at least, not until it’s blended, breaded, and on a bun. However, this ugly little fish has been the center of a very big environmental controversy. Two of sustainability’s biggest players are locked head-to-head, one saying the Hoki fish is environmentalism’s equivalent of low interest loans, easy to get and easy to replace. The other side claims Hoki fish are more like same day payday loans – easy to get, but sometimes very difficult to justify.

Hoki Fish is just part of your fish stick

When you go to your favorite burger joint, you’ll most likely see a fishwich, fillet-o-fish, or fishstick option. While at one point these sticks of fishy flavor were entirely whitefish cod, they rarely are anymore. Cod supplies have been dropping for years – in 2006, scientists actually called for a complete ban. Instead of one fish, fish fillets are usually a blend of Hoki fish, pollock, and other whitefish. Once caught, these fish are sent to factories where they are blended with each other, pressed into shapes, breaded, frozen, and sent off to end up on your plate.

Defining Hoki Fish’s sustainability

The issue with Hoki fish comes when examining questions of sustainability. Two of the world’s largest environmental groups that deal with fish, the World Wildlife Fund and Marine Stewardship Council disagree on the issue of Hoki fish. The World Wildlife Fund has stated that they believe the Moki is being over fished, and asked for the Marine Stewardship Council to remove the “sustainability certification” from Hoki fish. The Stewardship Council, however, certified Hoki fish as “sustainable” for the next five years. The New Zealand government has chosen to remain fairly neutral – they have not officially declared Hoki fish as “over fished” but they did reduce the allowable catch from 275,000 tons to 100,000 tons.

This Hoki fish story has happened before

Though the Hoki fish was originally chosen because it was thought to be sustainable, this story has played out in the past. McDonalds alone uses over 100 million pounds of various white fish each year. Originally, the majority of McDonalds fish sandwiches used Orange Roughy, but when that fish was found to be very slow-growing and long-living, they switched to Hoki fish as a “sustainable” substitute.

Hoki Fish’s future shrouded in darkness

As one of the largest consumers of white fish on the planet, McDonalds has stated sustainably goals that are supposed to take precedence over even cost. The larger issue, however, is how to feed the growing appetite for fishy flavor in our diets while protecting the thousands of species in the oceans. Sustainable fishing practices coupled with fish farms are a good place to start. Until there are worldwide standards for sustainability, however, the Hoki fish’s future will be as dark and murky as its underwater home.

Photo from money.cnn.com courtesy of Jollibee Foods.

Though higher-end restaurants are struggling as people try to scrimp and save, fast food restaurants in the United States are doing as well as ever. In fact, more foreign fast food restaurants are opening locations in the United States, even during this recession.

CNN Money wrote a series on several foreign fast food restaurants that are continuing to spread their businesses across the United States. Here are some highlights.

Jollibee

CNN Money says “Jollibee is known universally as the McDonald’s of the Philippines.” There isn’t a Jollibee anywhere near me, unfortunately, but this place sounds pretty good. Jollibee burgers can come with pineapple on them and sides of spaghetti. A side of spaghetti with a burger? Sure, why not.

I like the cute, smiling bee that’s the restaurant’s mascot. Also, instead of apple pies like McDonald’s, Jollibee has mango pies. Sounds delicious! And, because it’s fast food, you can keep up on your debt consolidation loan and still afford to eat there. Jollibee also serves a side dish called palabok, made of shrimp and noodles, and fried chicken.

Pollo Campero

Speaking of chicken, another restaurant continuing to open U.S. stores is Pollo Campero, the Guatemalan chicken place that beat out KFC in South America. CNN Money writes:

The problem, however, is describing exactly what Pollo Campero’s taste is. “Even when you talk to most experienced and devoted followers,” says Roberto Denegri, president of Campero USA, “describing the flavor is so hard.”

So as the chain grows in the United States — 52 stores so far, since they first opened in 2002 — they’re trying out a new marketing slogan this year: “Flavor you can’t Compero.”

Although it is a fast food place, it serves exotic foods — well, foods that seem exotic here in the U.S. — like yucca fries and fried plantains, and drinks like horchata, cinnamon-flavored milk served cold, and agua de tamarindo, a sweet-and-sour fruit drink. Pollo Campero is growing quickly and ambitiously. It has 52 U.S. stores now and plans to bring that number to 300 by 2014, so keep an eye out.

Chutney Joe’s

I am a huge fan of Indian food, but in some areas it’s so hard to find! If Chutney Joe’s has its way, though, that won’t be the case anymore. The founder, Vijay Puniani, had a restaurant in New Delhi, but moved to the U.S. to work in real estate. Apparently cooking and serving Indian food is where his heart is because he is back to it.

Chutney Joe’s uses healthy cooking techniques — no frying — and doesn’t use butter or heavy cream. Puniani said turning Chutney Joe’s into a fast food chain is challenging because Indian food is complex and consistency is an important element of a chain. He’s managed to focus on a few simpler dishes, and he plans to open five new locations in Chicago in the near future before expanding to New York, Dallas, Atlanta, and Los Angeles.

Nando’s

Most Americans have had Indian and Latin American food, but cuisine from South Africa is not easy to come by unless you’re in a large city. One of those places you could get South African food in Washington, D.C. is Nando’s, which expanded to several other countries — Botswana, Australia and Great Britain just to name a few – before finally coming to the U.S.

Though Nando’s serves foreign food, it’s using a very American marketing strategy, which is to tell people that Oprah Winfrey is a fan. No one’s saying that isn’t true, but I am hoping that the food will be able to speak for itself when it expands to 10 more stores in the next couple of years. CNN Money says:

At the heart of this chain is a Portuguese-style of cooking chicken in a spicy, vinegary sauce known as “peri-peri,” brought to South Africa long ago by Portuguese explorers.