Canadian fast food chains create value menus to win back customers
Canada’s restaurant industry is in a slump as money conscious consumers are eating out less and spending less when they do go out.
“We absolutely are seeing people come to restaurants less and the spend per visitor is down,” said Kris Barnier, vice president of central Canada with Restaurants Canada.
Barnier said inflation, higher interest rates and housing costs have been putting the squeeze on consumers and restaurants are no different.
Barnier said that many businesses are facing financial pressures due to hikes in their operating costs of 20 to 30 per cent.
Restaurants are dealing with the high cost of food, wages, rents and insurance and Barnier said that’s making it harder to keep menu prices low.
“We are at 47 per cent of restaurants across Canada that say they we are not making money and in fact we are losing money," said Barnier.
Givex Canada, which works with companies to engage customers, said there is currently a value meal war taking place with burger chains, sub shops and taco restaurants creating lower prices on some items.
“What we are seeing with these quick service brands is a lot of value meals, and value meal wars to entice customers to come through the door,” said Mo Chaar, chief commercial officer with Givex Canada.
Chaar also said that Quick Service Restaurants (QSR) are creating dollar coffees, loyalty programs and value boxes that can go further feeding a family.
Many of the people CTV News Toronto stopped outside fast food restaurants in Scarborough said they are eating fewer fast food meals due to higher prices.
“Ever since COVID prices have literally doubled,” said one man, while another added, “You can't afford to eat out every day these days."
A man eating his lunch in his truck on a break from work said, “ A burger combo used to be $7 or $8, but now it’s like $15 or $16.”
Another man said he always looks for deals and if he doesn’t find one he eats at home.
“To be honest I try to go when there are coupons, but if there are no coupons I try to avoid it in general,” said the man.
Some value items are limited time deals, but others could be around to stay as chains try to find new ways to draw more foot traffic into their restaurants.
Restaurants feel that tax changes could help their industry as meals under $4 are free of the provincial sales tax in Ontario, but Barnier said that raising the tax break to a higher amount could make modest meals more affordable.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Donald Trump picks former U.S. congressman Pete Hoekstra as ambassador to Canada
U.S. president-elect Donald Trump has nominated former diplomat and U.S. congressman Pete Hoekstra to be the American ambassador to Canada.
'Ding-dong-ditch' prank leads to kidnapping, assault charges for Que. couple
A Saint-Sauveur couple was back in court on Wednesday, accused of attacking a teenager over a prank.
Border agency detained dozens of 'forced labour' cargo shipments. Now it's being sued
Canada's border agency says it has detained about 50 shipments of cargo over suspicions they were products of forced labour under rules introduced in 2020 — but only one was eventually determined to be in breach of the ban.
Genetic evidence backs up COVID-19 origin theory that pandemic started in seafood market
A group of researchers say they have more evidence to suggest the COVID-19 pandemic started in a Chinese seafood market where it spread from infected animals to humans. The evidence is laid out in a recent study published in Cell, a scientific journal, nearly five years after the first known COVID-19 outbreak.
REVIEW 'Gladiator II' review: Come see a man fight a monkey; stay for Denzel's devious villain
CTV film critic Richard Crouse says the follow-up to Best Picture Oscar winner 'Gladiator' is long on spectacle, but short on soul.
Alabama to use nitrogen gas to execute man for 1994 slaying of hitchhiker
An Alabama prisoner convicted of the 1994 murder of a female hitchhiker is slated Thursday to become the third person executed by nitrogen gas.
This is how much money you need to make to buy a house in Canada's largest cities
The average salary needed to buy a home keeps inching down in cities across Canada, according to the latest data.
Police report reveals assault allegations against Hegseth
A woman told police that she was sexually assaulted in 2017 by Pete Hegseth after he took her phone, blocked the door to a California hotel room and refused to let her leave, according to a detailed investigative report made public late Wednesday.
Boissonnault out of cabinet to 'focus on clearing the allegations,' Trudeau announces
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has announced embattled minister Randy Boissonnault is out of cabinet.