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CHICK-FIL-A TREND ANALYSIS 1

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CHICK-FIL-A TREND ANALYSIS

Trend Siting

Economic system: An example of an event that could affect the economic system of Chick-fil-A could be a shortage of chickens. This comes down to a simple supply and demand model. If there is a shortage of chickens, perhaps due to disease, the price for them will increase. Demand will remain the same, but other goods that come from chickens, such as eggs, will go up in price. This past summer there was an avian flu causing a shortage of eggs. An egg and milk “wash” is also used to prepare the chicken for breading. This avian flu can also deter people from buying foods that are made of chicken, in fear for getting sick as well. The shortage can affect the resource, distribution and production systems, as chicken is the main source of Chick-fil-A’s profit. Another

Political System: There are many FDA requirements on food handling, preparation and storage. If there was any part of this process that didn’t comply with FDA regulations, you can bet that the FDA will release this information which can really affect the Chick-fil-A organization’s reputation. When these regulations aren’t followed, such as cross-contamination of unprepared foods and humid storage that promotes bacteria growth, and then people can get very sick. This can lead to distrust in the organization to keep their customer safe. This can affect all three dynamics of the political system because it would mean that they broke the rules put in place for safety, put the welfare of their customers at stake, and would be reprimanded by the government for their unsafe practices.

Culture: The culture of Chick-fil-A is unique compared to most of its competitors. They are an organization founded from Christian-based values and is a family run organization. They are committed to community involvement by giving college scholarships to restaurant team members to pursue higher education as well as aiding food donations to others such as children’s hospitals, military personnel and first responders. Along with philanthropy, Chick-fil-A invests in the well-being and work-life balance of its employees by being closed on Sundays in order to give their team members a day to rest and spend time with their families. This is unlike any other fast food chain. This culture supports their fundamental beliefs, social relationships as well as the work force mindset, and they are known for doing so. This helps to decrease turn-over, as many team members who start working for Chick-fil-A as teens, go on to pursue careers at Chick-fil-A or as a franchise owner/operator.

Trend Candidates

One of the trends that have been gaining momentum is “being green”. This trend is putting the planet as a priority. Chick-fil-A is going green in a number of ways such as using energy-efficient lighting and equipment, reducing water usage, or using environmentally friendly materials. Chick-fil-A has ranked in the top three food chains for the highest number of LEED (Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design) certified restaurants in the industry. Another trend is the move towards healthier menu items. Although chicken is a healthier food item than burgers, they have still taken steps to make their menu even healthier by making a commitment to completely remove all antibiotics from their chicken by the end of 2019 as well as remove unnecessary ingredients. Here is a recap provided by the Chick-fil-A website http://www.chick-fil-a.com/Company/Environmental, which lists some of their progress to date for making their menu items healthier:

· 13 menu items under 500 calories, 6 grilled items under 500 calories

· Removal of high-fructose corn syrup and artificial dyes and colors from Chick-fil-A dressings and sauces

· Reduction of sodium by 8% across 25 menu items, and up to 50% on some items

· Removal of trans fats across the menu

· Removing high-fructose corn syrup from our buns (in progress)

· Removal of TBHQ from cooking oils

This commitment goes above and beyond what their fast food competitors in terms of serving better food. A trend that has negatively affected Chick-fil-A is their Christian-based principles that caused a protest and boycott of their organization due to their stance on Gay marriage which was loudly broadcasted by their CEO. This tarnished their image and approval rating. This may suggest that businesses should stay out of political agendas and remain neutral in order to avoid backlash.

Trend Verification

The trend of being a “Green” organization has been increasing in intensity over the last couple years, and will only continue to do so as global warming and the decaying of the environment grow. The world is slowly becoming more conscious of what is happening around the world with destruction of the Rainforest, the horrible treatment of farm animals, and the waste of water. Organizations all over the world are trying to appeal to their consumers that they are doing whatever they can to help with the environment, because it is an ‘emerging’ concern. Though its intensity may be in median range at the moment, the trend is likely to be in a high status during the next five to ten years. Many organizations are taking steps to make their food healthier and including sections of their menu dedicated to healthier items. The quality of food and problems with obesity is expected to grow in the future and can be considered an emerging trend as well with a high intensity. Chick-fil-A is proud of the fact that almost all of their entrées are less than 500 calories and they were the first nationally to introduce a kid’s meal with a grilled entrée. The economic problem with healthier foods in most restaurants is that the food is more expensive so these items typically cost more than the unhealthy options, leading those on a tighter budget to feel the need to go for the lower cost items, and less healthy items. The cultural expression of social identity and values seems to be a stronger force that has been hitting companies in a variety of ways. The most recent uprising being about Starbuck’s lack of decoration on their holiday cups. Christians are upset that there is no tie to the “reason for the season” and have set out to social media to display their distaste for the company for such a menial reason. This also seems to be as an emergent trend as organizations are receiving backlash over any intended or unintended action that can somehow amount to political correctness. The intensity can range from low to high, depending on what stance a company, or in Chick-fil-A’s case, a CEO, takes on any kind of cultural issue. It’s hard to say what will happen with this trend in the future, as it is a fairly new problem that didn’t have much occurrence in the years prior.

Trend Impact

Over the next ten years, industry and markets are likely to change to a healthier, cleaner system that will try to pull together economic, political and culture impacts. The trends of caring for the environment will have a positive impact on all three social realms and will converge with healthier food items. Customers will want to support businesses that support the environment, whether that’s treating the animals better or recycling the materials that they use. The cost of saving energy and materials can eventually help to lower the costs of the healthier food items. If demand for the healthier food items grows, then the prices can have a chance to lower and add on to the intended effect of reducing obesity. Consumer demands will be affected because they will be able to take care of themselves health wise. However, more fast food places will need to make moves to exploit people’s need for food delivered to them. Most fast-food places do not do any sort of delivery, but could have the chance to capitalize on that option. Many people are busy with having jobs and children, and it could be a huge benefit to offer a delivery option to those families that find it too much of a hassle to leave the home.

Scenarios

As stated earlier, a delivery option for fast food could seriously benefit them and build their competition. This would offer further convenience and offer those who don’t have a vehicle to get the drive-thru food that they like. Jimmy Johns does delivery well by bringing quality food to your doorstep in a hurry, and you can do it online. The future of Chick-fil-A could affect current businesses that offer delivery because it offers a different variety of food that isn’t normally delivered. There currently aren’t a lot of delivery options for fast food, and third-party websites like GrubHub are capitalizing on that option. They have the ability to deliver any food that you like but they do it at an almost unreasonable price. This has the potential to change the world of fast food with speed and added convenience.