12 up-and-coming healthy fast food chains that should scare McDonald's
Salad and Go
Legacy mega-brands like McDonald's, KFC, and Burger King have dominated the fast food industry for decades.
But within the last few years, many American consumers have shown a growing interest in healthier fast food that incorporates more low-calorie ingredients and fresh produce while remaining convenient and affordable.
In late 2016, top food executives from PepsiCo and Campbell Soup Company told Fortune that cleaner food is not just a trend, but a movement. And that shift is spilling over into the fast food market too, forcing legacy chains to try to keep up. In the last four years, Taco Bell has pledged to cut artificial ingredients and use cage-free eggs, and has introduced a lower-calorie menu. McDonald's has worked with dietitians, removed antibiotics from its chicken, and added more salads to its menu.
But new healthy fast food chains are also seizing the opportunity to compete with legacy brands, creating low-calorie menus for similar prices. These new US chains are regional (for now), but they're growing in popularity.
Check them out below.
Cava Grill — A Mediterranean fast food chain that started as a full-service restaurant
Cava Grill is a Mediterranean grab-and-go chain, originally founded in 2006 as a full-service restaurant. The chain serves Mediterranean salads and bowls — including hummus and pita, spicy lamb meatballs, and falafel — that range from $8 to $11 and average 500 calories.
It has 33 locations on the East Coast and Los Angeles, with nine more set to open by the end of 2017.
Salad and Go — A drive-thru salad chain
Salad and Go sells 48-ounce salads for around $6, as well as soups, smoothies, and breakfast items for around $4.
The brand is trying to rival more established drive-thru chains by making the ordering experience fast and convenient, cofounder Roushan Christofellis told Business Insider.
Since launching in the fall of 2016, Salad and Go now has nine locations in Arizona, with plans to open five more by 2018 and to expand elsewhere in the US by 2020.
Lyfe Kitchen — A healthy chain backed by Oprah's former personal chef
Founded in 2011 in Palo Alto, California, LYFE (an acronym that means "Love Your Food Everyday") has 15 locations in six states: California, Colorado, Illinois, Nevada, Tennessee, and Texas.
While the chain doesn't explicitly brand itself as healthy, everything on the menu contains less than 600 calories and 1,000 mg of sodium, and the dishes are free of high-fructose corn syrup, butter, cream, trans fats, MSG, and preservatives. Most items cost less than $10.
As noted by First We Feast, LYFE is backed by Art Smith, Oprah’s former personal chef, who has also appeared on "Top Chef."
See the rest of the story at Business Insider
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