Frito-Lay, Campbell Soup and Kraft have already made plans to reduce the amount of salt in their products. New York's restaurants may soon be faced with a new law curbing sodium content. Now, salt reduction in food is becoming a national issue.

The U.S. Food & Drug Administration appears to be getting ready to mandate nationwide reductions in the sodium levels in supermarket and restaurant foods.

Lobbied by nutritionists and consumer activists, the FDA reportedly is ramping up “an unprecedented effort” to cut Americans’ salt intake, according to the Washington Post.Continue reading...

You've seen the ads. McDonald's, Burger King, Arby's, Sonic... the list goes on. All of these fast food retailers have been competing on price to get customers in the door. Many chains are offering a number of choices for just $1 each. In fact, McDonald's just started selling a cup of premium coffee for a buck.

The reason is simple: the economy. Analyst Conrad Lyon of Global Hunter Securities tells Gil Rudawsky of Daily Finance, "Everybody is going to continue to undercut everybody, and as long as we have high unemployment, we are going to see these deals." While the economy may be improving, people's income is not keeping pace.Continue reading...

February's bitter cold has put a hold on tomato deliveries from Florida to restaurants and grocery stores across America, causing prices to skyrocket. Trade group the Florida Tomato Growers Exchange recently revealed that the cost for a 25lb box of tomatoes has increased from $6.45 to $30 within the past year.

Fast food giant Wendy's, in an effort to mitigate the increased expenses, will require consumers to specifically ask for tomatoes on their sandwiches rather than receive them automatically. Wendy’s, of course, has spent significant time and money branding its renowned square burger, but consumers will have no choice but to accept – unless they make a specific request otherwise – a different looking, and tasting, product.Continue reading...

H.J. Heinz Co. chief executive William Johnson announced at a food-industry conference this week that consumers are firmly entrenched in a new money-saving mind-set. "This is not a temporary phenomenon, but rather a new behavior," he said. This new behavior includes a dramatic increase in couponing and preparing more meals at home. Johnson further stated that coupons are once again an "indispensable marketing tool."

Americans cashed in 3.3 billion coupons in 2009, a 27 percent jump from 2008 when the financial crisis tipped the US into recession. According to Inmar, a North Carolina-based company that tracks coupons and promotion trends, this marks the first time in 17 years that consumers used more coupons than the year before.

“Brands saw coupons as a key to maintaining brand strength,” said Matthew Tilley, director of marketing for Inmar’s promotion services division. “If they reduced their promotional presence, they stood to lose sales to lower-priced competitors and store brands — so they doubled down, hoping to create brand loyalty once the economic dust settles."Continue reading...

Unfortunately for Burger King customers, the $1 double cheeseburger was too good to be true. Prices will increase to $1.19 in April as an attempt to repair a strained relationship between the chain and its franchisees that was caused by the discounted product. 

According to one Burger King restaurant owner, “the Whopper's price has been stalled for close to three years as the chain has held the price steady on the Whopper Jr. at $1. A higher price for the Whopper makes sense, only with a concurrent increase for the smaller sandwich. Stores don't want customers buying two or three Whopper Jr. sandwiches instead.”Continue reading...

McDonald's, one of the world's most venerable brands, is cranking up the heat on its competitors by offering a new, bullet-proof burger. Wendy's, however, is fighting back.

Wendy's recently launched a line of commercials that entice consumers with a $75 million marketing ploy of “never-frozen burgers and new freshly cooked bacon.” The "You know when it's real" series touts real meat and real ingredients in the chain's fast food. Despite the effort, same-store sales for company-owned stores slipped by 4% in October.

To mitigate the slide, the restaurant chain hopes to appeal to customers by teaming up with Options Media Group Holdings on a new mobile coupon campaign.Continue reading...

Want Wi-Fi with that?

McDonald’s plans to lift the $2.95 charge currently placed on two hours of wireless Internet as a part of the fast food chain's overall rebranding effort to become a “destination,” where customers hang out instead of dine and dash. McDonald’s will continue its partnership with AT&T.

McDonald’s evolution into becoming a destination began this year with the premier of the McCafe, McDonald’s premium coffee line, in direct competition with Starbucks. The chain plans to expand its drink offerings in mid-2010 to include frappes and smoothies, further enticing consumers into making McDonald’s, not Starbucks, the third place in their lives.Continue reading...

Call it the case of a brand whose spokesperson was too popular. Ever since the 2002 death of Dave Thomas, CEO and founder of Wendy's, the fast food chain has been in somewhat of a promotional funk. Thomas was the kind of down-to-earth, believable guy who represented his brand in a folksy, non-commercial way. Since his passing, Wendy's hasn't been able to settle on an ad campaign that's lasted longer than a year.

But now, says The Wall Street Journal, the chain is launching its biggest blitz ever, spending as much as $75 million in the fourth quarter alone. And in a move that may be risky, Wendy's will focus largely on a specific product, its Bacon Deluxe burger, touting quality and freshness over value. "Food-industry experts say that dialing back on value advertising is risky amid the recession," says The Journal.Continue reading...