Friday’s e-links: Focusing on a monumental scientific breakthrough, Malcolm Gladwell produced a memorable podcast in “The Obscure Virus Club.”
What an Economist Says About 300 Hamburgers
Hearing the Clemson University football team got 300 burgers at the White House, an economist might name the resources needed for a quarter pounder.
The Response to Calorie Labels
Although research shows the impact is small, the Affordable Care Act will soon mandate calorie labels and nutrition information in restaurant chains.
Why Shake Shack is About More Than a Burger
Displaying the characteristics of monopolistic competition, Shake Shack is showing how the U.S. burger market is adjusting to a changing consumer.
Foreign Investment: French Fast Food
Representing 54% of all restaurant purchases, fast food sales are soaring in France. McDonald’s has more than 1200 outlets, Subway has opened 400 stores during the past 10 years and Burger King recently returned to France after leaving 16 years…
Oligopoly: Competing For Stomach Share
For an oligopoly that sells food, competition is all about “stomach share.” Our story starts with Yoplait… More than a decade ago, General Mills made sure that yogurt would become a popular “health food.” No, it was not because so…
Burger Wars
By Mira Korber, guest blogger. Times have changed. Wendy’s is now the second largest fast food chain restaurant in the US. This interesting Atlantic article describes how Wendy’s savvy marketing pushed BK from second place to third. By focusing on…
Fast (and Slow) Food
Wendy’s is about to pull ahead of Burger King in the U.S. The reason? People care about their lettuce and the shape of their burgers. Led by new ownership, Wendy’s now has 11 different greens (not just iceberg), a slightly rounded bun…
