News

Survey: Parents want healthy QSR kids meals

March 7, 2013

A new survey conducted by Restaurant DemandTracker shows that households with younger kids are more likely to seek out establishments with kid-friendly menus and kids' meals that include healthy choices.

Households with younger children are especially likely to value a kid-friendly menu and slightly more likely to value healthy menu choices than households with older children. For example, among households with kids under age 12, 39 percent said that a kid-friendly menu is always important when choosing a restaurant, and 36 percent said it is important most of the time.

Also among these households, 25 percent said a restaurant having a menu that includes some healthy food choices is always important, and another 37 percent say it is important most of the time.

Parents of kids age 12 to 17 also seek out kid-friendly menus, with 24 percent saying it's important all of the time, and another 27 percent saying it's important most of the time. Twenty-two percent said healthier food options are always important, and 38 percent said they're important most of the time.

Top brands for such consumers

When rating quick-service brands among consumers who have children under age 12 and who are aware of each restaurant, McDonald's ranks No. 1 for having the most people thinking it has a kid-friendly menu (65 percent) , followed by Burger King (57 percent), Wendy's (52 percent), Dairy Queen (45 percent) and Chick-fil-A (43 percent).

Brands that score best in terms of offering at least some "healthy food choices" among consumers with children under age 12 are Subway (69 percent), followed by Wendy's (46 percent), McDonald's (45 percent), Quizno's (42 percent) and Chick-fil-A (35 percent).

Among families with older children (age 12-17) in the household, McDonald's still ranks first in terms of people thinking it has a kid-friendly menu (58 percent), followed by Burger King (54 percent) and Wendy's (48 percent). Sonic moved to fourth-place (with 41 percent) and Chick-fil-A again comes in fifth (with 36 percent).

Brands that score best in terms of offering at least some "healthy food choices" among consumers with children age 12-17 are Subway (69 percent) followed by Wendy's (46 percent), Quizno's (41 percent), McDonald's (38 percent) and Chick-fil-A (35 percent).

"Families with kids have many criteria to satisfy when they choose a restaurant," said David Decker, president, Consumer Edge Insight. "Those that are looking for a quick-service restaurant that offers healthier menu items should consider going to Subway, Wendy's and Quizno's. Wendy's is the only one that performs in the top three brands on both factors. Subway and Quizno's should look at ways to improve their image for offering a kid-friendly menu."

Read more about health and nutrition.