Who actually buys McDonald’s salads? It’s a question many of us have asked ourselves. The answer, you may have guessed, is just about no one.
Chief Executive Officer Don Thompson admitted Wednesday that salads make up just 2-3 percent of the fast food chain’s U.S. restaurant sales, Bloomberg News reports. McDonald’s has vigorously marketed the salads in recent years in what many perceive as an attempt to fight the chain's unhealthy image, and entree salads were credited with boosting domestic sales when first introduced roughly a decade ago. (That's distinct from tossed salads, which date back to 1987
But with sales down across the board, the company has started to ax certain menu items, including two salads earlier this year, and instead focus on its Dollar Menu, which accounts for almost 15 percent of sales.
It hasn't been enough, as McDonald’s sales have yet to turn around.
According to Reuters, one of McDonald's biggest problems is just how large it has become, which makes it difficult to experiment with new menu items at a time when competitors have had great success doing just that.
The fast food chain has plenty of other problems too. A recent survey of franchise owners say they fear that items, like the McWrap, are too complicated and slow down service. The same survey found that owners are also fearful of Obamacare's consequences.
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