A value menu (not to be confused with a value meal) is a group of menu items at a fast food restaurant that are designed to be the least expensive items available. In the US, the items are usually priced between $0.99 and $2.99. The portion size, and number of items included with the food, are typically related to the price.
Arby's announced the launch of their value menu on April 9, 2010. [1] Items on the value menu vary based on location, but typically include small or value size roast beef sandwiches, curly fries, milkshakes, chicken sandwiches, ham and cheddar sandwiches, and turnovers. [2]
Burger King added a value menu in 1998 with items priced at 99¢ (USD), [3] equivalent to $1.85in 2023. In 2002 [4] and 2006, BK revamped its value menu, adding and removing products at 99¢, and later increasing some prices to $1.39. [5] Many of these items have since been discontinued, modified or relegated to a regional menu option. [6] The Burger King Whopper was the very first 99 cent burger and it revolutionized the 99 cent menu in the fast food industry. [7]
After numerous attempts beginning in 1991, [8] experimenting with a variety of menus and pricing strategies, [9] McDonald's launched its first national value menu, the Dollar Menu, in late 2002 in the United States. [10]
The latest iteration was rolled out on January 4, 2018 in the United States. It features a dozen items at various price points: $1, $2 and $3, with four items per price point. [11] It no longer featured fries, which was criticized by Good Mythical Morning along with only a few items at the $1 price point. [12] In Canada, fries are available for CA$1.59 on the Value Picks menu. [13]
| McDonald's Dollar Menu (United States) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Price point | Items | |||
| $1 | Cheeseburger | McChicken | Sausage Burrito | Soft Drink |
| $2 | Bacon McDouble | Buttermilk Crispy Tenders (x2) | Sausage McGriddles | Small McCafé |
| $3 | Triple Cheeseburger | Classic Chicken Sandwich | Sausage McMuffin with Egg | Happy Meal |
| McDonald's Summer Value Menu 2020 (Canada) [14] | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Price point | Items | |||
| $1 | Any Size Soft Drink | Medium Iced Coffee | Vanilla Cone | Cookie |
| $2 | Small Real Fruit Smoothie | Small Iced Frappé | Medium Slushie | Sundae |
| $3 (retired) | ||||
Subway offered a $4.99 footlong menu in the United States. The promotion began in 2004 as a $5 footlong menu (equivalent to $8.07in 2023).
In 1988, Taco Bell lowered the prices of all new items and launched the first three-tiered pricing strategy and free drink refills. [15] In 2010, Taco Bell introduced the $2 Meal Deals menu, featuring a menu item (i.e., a chicken burrito, a beefy 5-layer burrito, a double decker taco, or a Gordita supreme), a bag of Doritos, and a medium drink. [16] On August 18, 2014, Taco Bell launched a new value menu called Dollar Cravings that included eleven food items each priced a $1. [17] [18] [19] [20]
On December 15, 2017, Taco Bell launched an advertising campaign called "The Belluminati" to advertise its Dollar Cravings menu. [21]
Wendy's is generally credited with being the first fast food chain to offer a value menu in October 1989, with every item priced at $0.99 (equivalent to $2.43in 2023). [22] [23] [24] However, the general price for value menu items is now around $1.55.
Taco Bell Corp. is an American multinational chain of fast food restaurants founded in 1962 by Glen Bell (1923–2010) in Downey, California. Taco Bell is a subsidiary of Yum! Brands, Inc. The restaurants serve a variety of Mexican-inspired foods, including tacos, burritos, quesadillas, nachos, novelty, and speciality items, and a variety of "value menu" items. As of 2018, Taco Bell serves over two billion customers each year, at 7,072 restaurants, more than 93 percent of which are owned and operated by independent franchisees and licensees.
Subway IP LLC, doing business as Subway, is an American multinational fast food restaurant franchise that specializes in submarine sandwiches (subs) and wraps. It was founded by Fred DeLuca and financed by Peter Buck in 1965 as Pete's Super Submarines in Bridgeport, Connecticut. After several name changes, it was renamed Subway in 1972, and a franchise operation began in 1974 with a second restaurant in Wallingford, Connecticut. It has expanded to become a global franchise.
A fast-food restaurant, also known as a quick-service restaurant (QSR) within the industry, is a specific type of restaurant that serves fast-food cuisine and has minimal table service. The food served in fast-food restaurants is typically part of a "meat-sweet diet", offered from a limited menu, cooked in bulk in advance and kept hot, finished and packaged to order, and usually available for take away, though seating may be provided. Fast-food restaurants are typically part of a restaurant chain or franchise operation that provides standardized ingredients and/or partially prepared foods and supplies to each restaurant through controlled supply channels. The term "fast food" was recognized in a dictionary by Merriam–Webster in 1951.
Arby's is an American fast food sandwich restaurant chain with more than 3,300 restaurants. The flagship property of Inspire Brands, it ranked third in systemwide sales in the United States in the quick-service and fast-casual restaurant industries in 2012, behind Subway and Panera Bread. In October 2017, Food & Wine called Arby's "America's second largest sandwich chain ".
Del Taco Restaurants, Inc. is an American fast-food restaurant chain that specializes in American-style Mexican cuisine, as well as American foods such as burgers, fries and shakes. Del Taco is led by Brand President Tom Rose, and is headquartered in Lake Forest, California. On December 6, 2021, Jack in the Box announced it was acquiring Del Taco for $12.51 per share. The acquisition was finalized in March 2022. Del Taco has approximately 600 locations in 16 US states.
As far back as the 1970s, international fast food restaurant chain Burger King has attempted to introduce a premium line of burgers. These sandwiches are part of a system which eventually became known as the barbell strategy; a plan designed to expand Burger King's menu with both more sophisticated, adult-oriented fare along with products that are more value-oriented. This program is intended to bring in a larger, more affluent adult audience who will be willing to spend more on the better quality products on one side while maintaining a lower cost value menu dedicated to a more cost-conscious audience on the other. The hope is that the customers would be drawn in initially for the lower prices of the value-menu and upgrade to the more expensive products, upping overall sales.
When the predecessor of international fast food restaurant chain Burger King (BK) first opened in 1953, its menu predominantly consisted of hamburgers, French fries, soft drinks, milkshakes, and desserts. After being acquired by its Miami, Florida franchisees and renamed in 1954, BK began expanding its menu by adding the Whopper sandwich in 1957, and has since added non-beef items such as chicken, fish, and vegetarian offerings, including salads and meatless sandwiches. Other additions include a breakfast menu and beverages such as Icees, juices, and bottled waters. As the company expanded both inside and outside the United States, it introduced localized versions of its products that conform to regional tastes and cultural or religious beliefs. To generate additional sales, BK occasionally introduces limited-time offers of special versions of its products, or brings out completely new products intended for either long- or short-term sales. Not all of these products and services have been successful; in 1992, Burger King introduced limited table service featuring special dinner platters, but this concept failed to generate interest and was discontinued.
Burger King Dinner Baskets were a series of products introduced in 1993 by the international fast-food restaurant chain Burger King. The products were designed to add appeal to families and customers looking for a "higher class" meal found in family style restaurants.
Love's Travel Stops & Country Stores, doing business as Love's, is an American family-owned and -operated chain of more than 630 truck stops in 42 states in the United States. The company is privately owned and headquartered in Oklahoma City. Love's ranked No. 10 on the 2022 Forbes list of America's largest private companies. Love's has two primary kinds of stores: country stores and travel stops. Country stores are fueling stations with a convenience store attached. The larger travel stops are located along highways and offer additional amenities such as food from restaurant chains such as Arby's, Bojangles, Burger King, Chester's, Dunkin', McDonald's, Taco John's, Subway, Wendy's, Hardee’s/Carls Jr., truck parking spaces, showers and laundry. The company started adding RV hookups and RV Stops in 2022. Love's had more than 40,000 employees in 2023.
Wendy's is an American international fast food restaurant chain founded by Dave Thomas on November 15, 1969, in Columbus, Ohio. Its headquarters moved to Dublin, Ohio, on January 29, 2006. As of December 31, 2018, Wendy's was the world's third-largest hamburger fast-food chain with 6,711 locations, following Burger King and McDonald's. On September 29, 2008, the company merged with Triarc Companies Inc., the publicly traded parent company of Arby's; Wendy's headquarters remained in Dublin. Triarc then became known as Wendy's/Arby's Group, and later as the Wendy's Company following the sale of Arby's to Roark Capital Group.
The Burger wars are a series of off-and-on comparative advertising campaigns consisting of mutually-targeted advertisements that highlight the intense competition between hamburger fast food chains McDonald's, Wendy's, Burger King and others in the United States. The term first came into use during the late 1970s due to an attempt by Burger King to generate increased market and mind-share by attacking the size of bigger rival McDonald's hamburgers.
The Bacon Deluxe is a bacon-topped hamburger offered at international fast food chain Wendy's. It is Wendy's entry into the premium sandwich category, "something other hamburger chains have used to compete with fast-casual restaurants." Burger King offers the Steakhouse XT Burger and McDonald's has had an Angus Third Pounder. The Bacon Deluxe was launched with an extensive media campaign and priced at $3.99 for a single, $4.99 for a double and $5.99 for a triple, and is being launched alongside another Wendy's bacon sandwich: the Baconator.
The fast-food restaurant chain Burger King was the first major fast food chain to introduce a grilled chicken sandwich to the marketplace, in 1990, six months before Wendy's and four years before McDonald's. Since then, Burger King, and its Australian franchise Hungry Jack's have offered a variety of grilled chicken sandwiches, as have Wendy's and McDonald's.
Dollar Cravings is the value menu of American fast-food restaurant Taco Bell. Dollar Cravings was launched August 18, 2014 in reaction to the new McDonald's and Wendy's value/dollar menus. The current menu contains 13 food items. Dollar Cravings replaced Taco Bell's previous value menu Why Pay More. A Taco Bell spokesperson said few of the food items from the Why Pay More menu will remain in Dollar Cravings.
Mac n' Cheetos are a deep-fried macaroni and cheese product based on the Frito-Lay snack Cheetos. Mac n' Cheetos were introduced in late June 2016 and sold at Burger King in limited supplies. The original product contained five pieces and was served with a side of ranch dressing. Today, Mac n' Cheetos are available frozen at grocery stores around the United States.
KFC is a subsidiary of Yum! Brands, one of the largest restaurant companies in the world! KFC had sales of $23 billion in 2013. KFC is incorporated under Delaware General Corporation Law, and has its headquarters at 1441 Gardiner Lane, Louisville, Kentucky, in a three-story colonial style building known colloquially as the "White House" due to its resemblance to the US president's home. The headquarters contain executive offices and the company's research and development facilities.
The chicken sandwich wars is a marketing trend in the United States during which a great number of American quick serve restaurant chains introduced fried chicken sandwiches to their menus. The phenomenon began in 2019 when Popeyes and Chick-fil-A disputed which of them was first to serve such an item. Over 20 American fast food brands added fried chicken sandwiches to their menus during the next two years.
| Common meals | |
|---|---|
| Components and courses | |
| Table service | |
| Presentation | |
| Dining | |
| Regional styles | |
| Packed | |
| Menus and meal deals | |
| Communal meals | |
| Catering and food delivery | |
| Places to eat | |
| Related | |
