|
 "We call it our 'sneaky meal' because my husband thinks it's
absolutely disgusting," said Wood, 35. "He doesn't want to know
anything about it."
Even though Wood has fond memories of her own childhood visits to
McDonald's, that doesn't mean she thinks the food is healthy. At
home, she buys organic milk and meat as often as a tight family
budget allows.
The fact that young mothers like Wood are teaching their children
not to tell their dads that they've been to McDonald's may
underscore how hard it may be for the world's largest restaurant
chain to remake its image and revive U.S. sales. To lure back
consumers, McDonald's Corp's new Chief Executive Steve Easterbrook
recently pledged to eliminate chickens fed human antibiotics at its
U.S. restaurants.
That won't make a difference for Wood, who said she's never eaten a
Chicken McNugget and has no plans to try one, even after the
antibiotic change.
McDonald's didn't comment for this story. The company doesn't break
out what percentage of its customers are young adults and/or
mothers.
"There is still a negative health connotation," said Morningstar
restaurant analyst R.J. Hottovy. "It can be fixed, but it isn't an
easy fix."
Hottovy said he expects McDonald's to eventually turn around its
business, but not within the next couple years. McDonald's shares
fell 30 cents to $96.55 on Thursday. The shares are down 1.8 percent
from a year ago, compared with a 11.7 percent gain by the benchmark
Standard & Poor's 500 Index in the same period.
Sixty percent of American adults would like more restaurants to
serve antibiotic-free meat, according to a recent Reuters/Ipsos
survey of 1,364 participants. Among parents with children under the
age of 18, 40 percent said they would be more likely to take the
kids to McDonald's if it had antibiotic-free chicken on the menu.
The Reuters/Ipsos online poll was conducted between March 27 and 30,
roughly two weeks after McDonald's announced its plan for
antibiotics in chicken.
According to another poll by Morgan Stanley of 3,000 U.S. adults,
the cohort known as Millennials, generally defined as being 18 to 34
years old, care more about all-natural and organic ingredients than
older generations.
Millennials also are more likely than other groups to eat out on a
weekly basis. And while they still eat more traditional fast food
than other generations, they express more dissatisfaction with the
category, according to the Morgan Stanley poll. That helps explain
why chains like Chick-fil-A and Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc, which
have committed to sourcing 100 percent antibiotic-free meats, have
been taking a bite out of McDonald's sales. More than one-third of
parents who answered the Reuters/Ipsos poll said they take their
children to McDonald's at most a few times a year.
MULTIPLE MAKEOVERSA series of critical documentaries over roughly
the last decade, including "Super Size Me" in 2004, amplified
consumer concerns about the health effect of eating fast food.
McDonald's has repeatedly tried to change that image. Among other
things, it introduced salads to its menu and tweaked its Happy Meals
for children by adding apple slices and cutting the french-fry
portion by more than half.
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Last year, McDonald's sought direct feedback from its U.S. diners
with an online campaign called "Our food. Your questions." Frequent
queries included "Is 'pink slime' in a Chicken McNugget?" and "Why
doesn't your food rot?"
Food industry experts have said the move toward mostly
antibiotic-free chicken will accelerate similar efforts by other
fast-food chains and major supermarkets. It may also help curb the
rise of antibiotic-resistant superbugs that contribute to thousands
of U.S. deaths every year.
Samantha Trujillo, 33, a stay-at-home mother of four from Yuma,
Arizona, said McDonald's vow to wean chickens off most antibiotics
makes her feel a little bit better about the chain and its food.
"I probably would eat the chicken a little more often," said
Trujillo, who takes her kids out every month or two to get Happy
Meals and visit the air-conditioned play area for a respite from
Arizona's sweltering heat.
Asked whether McDonald's antibiotic move could move the needle for
the company that saw 2014 revenue, profit and traffic fall, Mark
Kalinowski, restaurant analyst for Janney Capital Markets, said: "My
best guess is that it'll help only a little bit at most."
People who care about antibiotic-free meats want them to be
completely antibiotic free, Kalinowski said. "If you're going to do
it, do it. Don't be half pregnant."
Amanda Libby, 46, a mom from Danvers, Massachusetts, agreed.
She used to take her two sons for Happy Meals fairly regularly
during baseball season, something she now regrets after seeing films
like 2011's "Forks Over Knives," which says that many common
diseases can be prevented by avoiding processed foods. She now only
occasionally allows her boys to eat McDonald's hamburgers, and would
like the chain to use 100 percent antibiotic-free meats before
making more frequent trips.
"Mostly (antibiotic-free) won't cut it for me," said Libby.
(Reporting by Lisa Baertlein in Los Angeles, editing by John
Pickering)
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